Variety: Actors on Actors Returns With New Season 17 and More
Variety features important conversations between some of this year’s most inspiring actors as well as Hollywood’s most distinguished directors.
After major movie releases, the press flock to interview actors and directors, hoping for interesting clips and behind-the-scenes information. This crucial part of the industry allows fans to feel connected to the people who capture their hearts on the big screen. However, Variety created a series that flips this practice on its head. Instead of interviewers, the series allows actors and directors to interview each other.
This season introduces some of the industry’s biggest Hollywood stars and reputable directors in film.
Known for her pop discography, Taylor Swift sits down with Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin) in the latest Directors on Directors interview.
Taylor Swift and Martin McDonagh for Variety’s Directors on Directors. pic.twitter.com/HkGy4KWlwF
— Pop Base (@PopBase) December 12, 2022
When writing characters for a screenplay, directors often have an actor in mind for that role. McDonagh asked Swift why she chose Sadie Sink to star in All Too Well: The Short film. Swift reveals that when watching Sink’s performance in Stranger Things “She has such an empathy to her. I mean, you can just see micro emotions flash across her face in a way that I don’t usually see in performances.” Swift noticed Sink was never cast as a romantic lead, and she wondered if the Stranger Things star would be interested in her short film.
When writing for The Banshees of Inisherin, McDonagh also wrote the film with a cast in mind. “Yeah. I wrote it for Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon — I guess to write to their strengths, but give a little leeway to bring some strange new things to it,” he comments.
Another highlight from the interview includes how both their works’ themes feel similar to each other. Swift’s short film documents a breakup of a romantic relationship while McDonagh’s film is about a friendship falling apart. Martin notes how rare it is to film a “friendship breakup.” He adds that films “Don’t usually have sort of platonic, old guys on an island breaking up. – But it’s so important! – It is.”
Watch the interview between Taylor Swift and Martin McDonagh down below.
Cate Blanchett (Tár) and Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once) sat together to discuss their most recent influential works.
A fascinating conversation ensues as Yeoh states that her role was originally written for a man. She comments, “I think it’s the norm, because it would be easier to finance. It would be easier to understand that a guy would multiverse jump.” However, Yeoh adds that the directors changed the main character into a mother which made sense to them “because they’re surrounded by very strong, smart women.”
Blanchett responds by stating that the film’s director, Todd Field, had also envisioned her character as a man. She claims that we’ve seen many instances of men abusing their position of power in the media. By casting her character as a man, “you would’ve had a much less nuanced examination of that. We understand what the corruption of male power looks like, but we need to unpack what power is itself.” Both actresses’ roles are a perfect example of how gender can change the narrative’s intention, which creates nuances in the story.
Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh’s m̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶s̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶m̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶s̶ #ActorsOnActors conversation debuts Dec. 8. https://t.co/pAZTK08c4z pic.twitter.com/NYdNah46OK
— Variety (@Variety) December 5, 2022
The Woman King has engrossed some of the highest box office success in its opening week with over 19 million. Viola Davis (How to Get Away With Murder) embodies the role of a disciplined scarred general, Nanisca, with a powerful performance. Jennifer Lawrence received widespread success with her breakout role as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games trilogy. In her new film Causeway, Lawrence returns to her indie roots with her role as a former soldier who struggles with PTSD.
OMG JENNIFER LAWRENCE AND VIOLA DAVIS IN #ACTORSONACTORS pic.twitter.com/KHVlHyI1oX
— ~ Lu ~ (@todoxjlaw) December 5, 2022
In the Actors on Actors segment, Davis wanted to delve deep into Lawrence’s role in Causeway. She asked, “I want to know what drew you to the story, to the character.” Lawrence comments that while she was on the set of Causeway, she was also working through childhood trauma. She had to deal with the fact that she had to live with her past without being able to erase it with meds or a therapy session. She stated she felt she could relate to her character due to “the idea of carrying this invisible injury and knowing that the healing is not linear — there is so much progress and then there’s a step back.”
Despite her success with the blockbuster hit movie, Davis reveals that she previously believed The Woman King would never get studio backing. When Davis was presented with an award at Skirball Institute, Maria Bello pitched The Woman King in front of the audience declaring “Wouldn’t everyone want to see Viola in The Woman King?” As a result, Davis was met with unanimous applause. But Davis had doubts in her mind. She thought a Black-female-centric film would never happen because she has never seen a film like this.
Despite her apprehensions about the film, it is to no one’s surprise The Woman King has received box office success and critical acclaim from audiences and critics alike.
Variety‘s Actors on Actors showcases amazing actors and directors revealing the motivations and intimate thoughts behind their roles and career. More interviews of these creative artists are to come. Watch the full episodes of these introspective interviews on Variety’s YouTube channel down below.
