Oscar Isaac on his recent work and future projects
by Ana Walia | Sat, 18 Dec 2021 21:15:58 GMT
Oscar Isaac's still from his recent 'Scenes from a Marriage'. Image Source: The Wrap 

Oscar Isaac is a Guatemalan-American actor who is a Juilliard graduate and rose to fame with his role in Ethan Coen and Joel Coen’s "Inside Llewyn Davis," for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination. He later starred in J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens as Poe Dameron was recognized as one of the 25 greatest actors of the 21st century. Oscar also appeared in a crime drama movie in 2014 titled, "A Violent Year" and a science fiction thriller, "Ex Machina."

Oscar recently appeared in Hagai Levi's HBO limited series "Scenes from a Marriage" opposite Jessica Chastain and in Denis Villeneuve’s "Dune". The actor soon garnered positive responses from the audience and critics for his recent work, and recently, during a discussion with The Hollywood Reporter’s podcast, Oscar discussed his recent work, life, and future projects.

During the podcast interview, Oscar was asked if, even though Juilliard is a great school and has produced many great actors, it is still focused on stage work, so did he always aspire to have a screen career? To which the actor said, "He wanted to make movies as it was his first love," which was watching and making movies with his dad and his video camera. Oscar Isaac added, "I got really into theater and the tradition of theater—I loved the idea of being more of a classic actor. But movies were my first love".

Talking about getting his first role, Oscar mentioned he learned guitar with Eric Frandsen, and with his help, he managed to crack the audition and got to play Llewyn Davis in Ethan Coen and Joel Coen’s "Inside Llewyn Davis." But when Dave Van Ronk inspired the character of Llewyn Davis, Oscar thought the movie was a direct adaptation. He mentioned that it was his first lead role in a movie and that he loved every bit of it because what the role demanded was everything Oscar loved.

Oscar Isaac as Llewyn Davis in 'Inside Llewyn Davis'. Image Source: The Daily Beast

Further, into the conversation, Oscar revealed his Star Wars role as Poe Dameron and said, "J.J. and Kathy wanted to sit with me." They asked me to fly to Paris to talk to them about a role. So I went out there, and they were like," He sets up the whole movie, and then he dies spectacularly. I was like, "Oh, okay. Yeah, It’s a bit of a bummer because I feel like I’ve done that so much, where I set it up for the main character, and then I die spectacularly. Then Kathy, to her credit, was like, "Yeah, you did that for us in the Bourne movie, and I was like, "Yeah." Then J.J. started thinking about it, and he was like, "Oh, I think I’ve figured out a way for him to survive. Then the rest is history.

Oscar Isaac was a part of Denis Villeneuve’s recent blockbuster movie, "Dune," which already has a green light for a sequel. Talking about being a part of Dune, Oscar shared that he reached out to Denis when he heard that the director was going to make a movie about it, and he swiftly mentioned that he loved the book. Years later, Oscar mentioned that Denis appreciated his interest and, years later, sent him the script of Dune. "I was familiar with it. I’d read the book. I didn’t know what the script was going to be like. Funny enough, when he sent it to me, he wasn’t sure exactly what part it was. I think he had a sense, but then I looked at it, and it was just clear that that was a role for me, "he added.

Oscar Isaac in 'Dune'. Image Source: Digital Spy  

Oscar's' The Card Counter 'was also released on September 10th, 2021, and Oscar was thrilled to work with Paul Schrader. Oscar, while expressing his excitement, shared, "The dude was so energetic and so razor-sharp. He just knew what the movie was and what it wasn’t. We shot it in 20 days, and we didn’t have the luxury of three takes. It was basically one, two, and done. The mixture of trust that he had in us and, at the same time, his precision was really astounding. Working with a guy that is so punk rock, he’s old-school but subversive in the way he approaches this stuff. He fucks with an audience. He knows what you want, and he’s like, "I’m not going to give it to you." Being a part of that, for me, was really exciting and really felt like, and it sounds dramatic, breathing again. "

Sharing about his highly acclaimed "Scenes from a Marriage", Oscar was asked whether there had ever been anything else in his career not on stage that was even close to the series where Oscar and Jessica go back and forth, to which the actor answered, "No." That’s what made it feel like a stage. It felt like we were doing a play. At the same time, it had the intimacy of film and the episodic nature of TV. It was such a weird combo of all those things, and wholly unique and special because of it. "

Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain in 'Scenes from a Marriage'. Image Source: People

During an interview with The Wrap, Oscar shared that when Hagai Levi asked him to be in the American remake of Bergman’s series, he decided to watch the original show and said, "I was just floored by it, and by its really dry, dark Scandinavian sense of humor. I could feel that brutal Scandinavian irony. I felt there was a lot to explore and a way to make this new, modern version. " He further revealed that his friendship with Jessica had been the key to the project and added, "Usually you have to get to know the person that you’re working with, especially when it’s this intimate and intense. But we didn’t have a lot of time, so it was fortunate that we didn’t have to get to know each other. We were able to focus all our efforts on "Who are these people?" and "How do we live in these really harrowing situations in a truthful, authentic way?"

Jessica, on the other hand, spoke to The Wrap where the duo talked about their experience of working on the show together, especially when the two of them have a great friendship. She said, "Oscar and I have a great love for each other, and we can read each other’s minds. We can make each other laugh if we want to, but we can also really, really hurt each other. It becomes difficult when the characters are hurting each other. I would come home from work and say to my husband, "I don’t think Oscar and I are going to be friends after this. "

Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain at the Venice Film Festival. Image Source: Daily Advent

The two also addressed their viral red carpet video from the Venice Film Festival, in which Oscar said that sometimes knowing the co-star or even being familiar with them does create problems or difficulties. "We know each other so well, we’re like family. I know what she is thinking based on the little micro-expressions on her face, and she does the same with me. At the same time, there’s no pretense or formalities between us. But that pretense and those formalities give you the distance from people, and the daily onslaught of situations that we had to act out made it difficult when you’d want to hide from the person or not want to seem so transparent. You’re not able to, because the person knows you so well. "

Oscar Isaac is soon to be seen in Brian Petsos’ "Big Gold Brick" along with Emory Cohen, Megan Fox, Lucy Hale, Shiloh Fernandez, and Frederick Schmidt. Samuel Goldwyn Films recently released the trailer for an American dark comedy movie, which is slated to premiere digitally and on-demand on February 25th, 2022. He also reprised his voice role as Gomez Addams in The Addams Family 2, which was released on October 8th, 2021.

Oscar is also going to play Marc Spector in the American television miniseries, "Moon Knight," based on a Marvel Comics character of the same name. Jeremy Slater is going to create the series, and it is intended to be a part of the television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. Marvel's 'Moon Knight' is scheduled to be released in 2022 and will consist of six episodes and is going to be a part of Phase Four of the MCU.

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