Collider: How did you guys get your first impression of this?
As the audience, we have the advantage of the visual for the story being told.
What was it like to connect with this on the page?
That stuff was the language that he was proposing.
That, for me, was really exciting.
It felt like an exciting opportunity.
Image via Neon
I dont know anything.
That was tricky because there are a lot of beats with me saying, I dont know.
Gemma, how did you figure out your character?
Did it feel like you were playing little vignettes of her life?
I really enjoyed my scenes with Andre.
They were like beautiful little vignettes.
HOLLAND: It was beautiful.
Theres something so wonderful about these two people discovering each other under those circumstances.
Theres something magical about it that really touched me.
Image via Neon
I really enjoyed playing that with [Gemma].
What did you learn and take with you from an experience like that?
HOLLAND: Never will I.
Thank you for the faith.
Its been a fight.
That experience taught me so much.
In The Actor, based on Donald E. Westlake’s novel Memory, Paul Cole (Holland) becomes stranded in an unfamiliar small town with no recollection of his identity or past. Starting anew, he forms a connection with local costume designer Edna (Chan). As fragments of his memory resurface, he struggles to discern reality, identity, and his true home.
[Working with Steven Soderbergh is] an experience like no other.
It definitely taught me how to be responsible for my choices in a very particular kind of way.
People just want to make good stuff.
That has completely changed my life.
Weve been doing a lot of work on it.
We have these two scripts that we feel really, really great about.
Its a world that we love.
Steven is still on board.
Barry Jenkins is on board.
Weve got the right people in place.
Its just a matter of finding the right home.
Did it make you more aware of behaviors we have as humans?
Are things that you infuse when bringing a character to life that you really couldnt with that?
CHAN: It was an experience that taught me so much.
I couldnt automatically do any of the instinctive things that I would do, as me.
The co-director of ‘Anomalisa’ returns with a gripping story about identity and the lives we lead.
Andre, what was it like to work with Tracey Ullman on this?
How is she a scene partner?
HOLLAND: She is extraordinary.
We had such a good time.
It was an honor getting to work with her.
Gemma, how did you feel about the clown costume?
Did you try several looks before that was chosen?
Was it always very specifically what we see in the movie?
CHAN: I really wanted to keep that costume.
It was so useful.
We had such an amazing team working on this, with the hair and makeup and the costume.
Its such a part of this world that were creating and all these period references.
It was probably one of the most comfortable costumes Ive ever worn.
What a way to make an entrance and meet [Andres] character.
What was it like to shoot that sequence of events?
Did you do variations of that sometimes going bigger or pulling back on it?
What was that like to figure all of that out?
HOLLAND: That was a tricky scene because there were so many people in that room.
It was technical and specific, and it was late at night and very, very cold.
We shot it a bunch of different ways with varying degrees of shock and horror.
We did a bunch of stuff that day.
Tanya [Reynolds], who played the woman, is so hilarious and brilliant.
What was that like to shoot that, in comparison?
Did that feel like it came from a much more emotional place rather than physical?
HOLLAND: Yeah, it did.
By that point in the story, so much has accumulated in the character.
And also, we shot that towards the very end of the shoot.
Did that ever make what Paul is going through in this relatable, in that way?
CHAN: Yeah, that has happened.
The sum of all of that is who you are now.
That was the theme of the film that really resonated with me.
Some are easier to let go of than others.
I didExhibiting Forgivenessa year and a half ago, and thats one that stuck for a long time.
It has a lot to do with fathers and sons, and that stuff always gets me.
Check out these other stellar performances from ‘Don’t Worry Darling’s Gemma Chan.
Do either of you know what youre going to be doing next?
HOLLAND: Im figuring it out.
I dont know yet.
CHAN: I have something that Im going to be doing in the summer.
And then, there are some other projects that will probably go next year.
Nothing is set in stone yet.
HOLLAND: Yeah, its a gamble.
Is what you think you want to do always changing?
HOLLAND: Yeah, for sure.
Thats not always been the case with me.
Is there something out there that seems interesting, or not?
I dont know whats going to come next, but I think itll be something good.
Gemma, how close are we to seeing you reprise yourCrazy Rich Asianscharacter?
CHAN: I know.
I still get so many messages every day saying, When is it coming back?
When are you going to play her again?
Everyone wants to get it right.
Starting anew, he forms a connection with local costume designer Edna (Chan).
As fragments of his memory resurface, he struggles to discern reality, identity, and his true home.
The Actoris now playing in theaters.
Check out the trailer:
