[Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for The Actor.]

Summary

‘The Actor’ follows Paul Cole, a man in a small town without his memory, drawn to a local named Edna.

André Holland and Gemma Chan discuss challenges, finding their characters, and working with Tracey Ullman.

Holland reflects on his experience with Steven Soderbergh on ‘The Knick’ his hopes to still do more, while Chan wants to return to her ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ character.

From director/co-workers Duke Johnson and based on the novel Memory by Donald E. Westlake, the indie drama The Actor follows Paul Cole (André Holland) as he finds himself stranded without a memory in a mysterious small town. While he doesn’t know anything about who he is or how he got there, he finds himself inexplicably drawn to local costume designer Edna (Gemma Chan), even when she’s wearing a clown costume. The more he tries to put the pieces together, the more frustrated he becomes and the more unsure he is about what’s real.
During this interview with Collider, co-stars Holland and Chan talked about why they were so excited about the world of The Actor, figuring out a character when even they don’t know who they are, why their characters were so drawn to each other, working with the hilarious Tracey Ullman, that clown costume, shooting a couple of the trickier scenes, and what it’s like to get lost in a role. Holland also discussed his experience working with Steven Soderbergh on The Knick and how he hopes the series will continue, while Chan hopes to return to the world of Crazy Rich Asians and her character.
André Holland and Gemma Chan Love the World That’s Created in ‘The Actor’

“It felt like an exciting opportunity.”

Image via Neon

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?
ANDRÉ HOLLAND: The way (director) Duke [Johnson] described to me the world that he wanted to create was one that had this inherent theatricality to it. That, for me, was one of the things that really got me excited about it because it allowed me to imagine what it is that he was imagining, with walls moving and lights being turned and off and suddenly being in different locations. That stuff was the language that he was proposing. That, for me, was really exciting.
GEMMA CHAN: I watched and really loved the stop-motion animation film he did, Anomalisa. And then, I read the script and spoke to him about how he was planning to shoot this, and he described bringing a lot of these practical techniques and methods to the filming of this, even though it was going to be live action. The way the sets were going to be painted with force perspective, the transitions like walls being moved and lights going out, and then casting an ensemble of actors to play multiple roles, already sounded exciting and the opportunity to do something really different that we don’t get to do very much in filmmaking. It felt like an exciting opportunity.
Once you signed on and started to dig into this, what became the biggest challenge for each of you, in figuring out how to approach this? André, especially for you, how did you approach figuring out who this guy is, when even he doesn’t know who he is?
HOLLAND: That was probably the hardest part and one of the things I was nervous about. When you play somebody who doesn’t know who they are, they can feel a bit inert, but we both wanted the two characters to feel alive and to feel that there was a sense of forward movement about it. He’s actively trying to figure it out, as opposed to just passively sitting there saying, “I don’t know. I’m confused. I don’t know anything.” That was tricky because there are a lot of beats with me saying, “I don’t know.” It also became one of the fun part about it to try to figure out how many ways can we can have him be unsure, but also still feel like he’s taking little baby steps forward.
Gemma, how did you figure out your character? Did it feel like you were playing little vignettes of her life?
CHAN: Yeah. Despite the fact that [André’s] character didn’t know where he was coming from, I felt that my character sensed something within [him] that she responded to. And I know that Duke really wanted me to bring vulnerability to my character and to be open to how [his] character affected mine. I really enjoyed my scenes with André. They were like beautiful little vignettes.
HOLLAND: It was beautiful. There’s something so wonderful about these two people discovering each other under those circumstances. There’s something magical about it that really touched me. There’s this guy who doesn’t know who he is, where he’s going or where he’s from, and goes to his town and bumps into [Edna], and they just have this spark and interest in one another. I really enjoyed playing that with [Gemma].
André, I first became aware of you and your work with The Knick, which was also a very specific character in a very specific time period and world. It also seems like that would have been a very unique experience to work with a filmmaker like Steven Soderbergh for so many hours of a TV series. What did you learn and take with you from an experience like that? And is there still any chance we might see more of that character because I will never give up hope of seeing more of that world?
HOLLAND: Never will I. Thank you for the faith. It’s been a fight. That experience taught me so much. [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. It also taught me what it feels like to be on a set with good people, a set that doesn’t have this mean-spirited, hierarchical thing that exists on many sets. People just want to make good stuff. It also taught me how to be entrepreneurial, in thinking about how to produce things, the kinds of things I want to see in the world. That has completely changed my life. And then, to your last question, I still have hope that we’re going to find a home for this new iteration of the show. We’ve been doing a lot of work on it. We have these two scripts that we feel really, really great about. It’s a world that we love. Steven is still on board. Barry Jenkins is on board. We’ve got the right people in place. It’s just a matter of finding the right home.
Gemma, with the TV series Humans, it was fascinating to watch everything you did with your performance in that. Did playing a synthetic being teach you anything or change anything about how you approach playing actual human beings since then? 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 couldn’t with that?
CHAN: It was an experience that taught me so much. Playing a character that is a synthetic human who has a burgeoning consciousness and emotions makes you rethink every single thing that you do as a human being. I couldn’t automatically do any of the instinctive things that I would do, as me. That was a huge challenge that I relished at the time, but I was also really craving just playing a human being that could breathe and blink and have a snotty nose and just be messy. I really enjoy playing human beings.

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André, 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. Even just getting from the hotel to the set, we were all in stitches, just getting to the workplace. She’s hilarious and so inventive and creative and has so many wonderful stories to share, and then will also break your heart. One of the most moving scenes that we shot was when she’s in the attic in Bobby’s room, and she gives a speech that came out of nowhere and just had all of us on set in tears. She’s a genius. It was an honor getting to work with her.
André Holland and Gemma Chan Have a Spark in ‘The Actor’ That Keeps Drawing Their Characters Together

“He forgets all this stuff about his life, but then meets this person in a clown costume.”

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. It’s such a part of this world that we’re creating and all these period references. It was probably one of the most comfortable costumes I’ve ever worn. What a way to make an entrance and meet [André’s] character. I loved it.
HOLLAND: It’s so beautiful that somehow he forgets all this stuff about his life, but then meets this person in a clown costume. There’s an openness in him that allows him to see this person for the beautiful, magical, amazing human that they are, despite the costume.
André, the moment when you forget the woman’s name and she throws the glass at your head, and then it turns into a fight and there’s a blinking eye in a chair was quite a lot. 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. I think we landed in a good place, but that was one of the more challenging scenes of the whole shoot, I thought.

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The Actor | Official Trailer | Neon

The Actor | Official Trailer | Neon

The courtroom scene where you’re breaking down and shouting, “I don’t want to die, I just want to go home,” was very emotional. 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. I think I had enough of the movie behind me that it did end up quite emotional, in a different way than the other scenes did. That was a really wild, crazy scene to shoot because it was extremely technical and also really emotional, at the same exact time. Trying to pull the judges thing at the exact moment and look at the exact place, it was so precise, but we also wanted it to have this rough emotional quality to it, as well.
‘The Actor’s André Holland and Gemma Chan Have Each Had Roles That Were Harder To Shake Off When They Were Done

“With all the roles I’ve played, I did bring something of myself to it.”

Image via Neon

Those of us who are not actors watch actors playing a variety of different roles, and sometimes it feels like maybe it wouldn’t be so difficult to lose who you really are somewhere in all of that. Did that ever make what Paul is going through in this relatable, in that way? Have either of you ever had a role that felt so all-consuming that you needed to reconnect with yourself again, once it was over?
CHAN: Yeah, that has happened. With all the roles I’ve played, I did bring something of myself to it, to varying degrees, and there are definitely the ones where you feel it’s harder to shake at the end. But in terms of the themes of the movie, I’ve never suffered amnesia and I’ve not gone through what Paul is going through, but I do feel like we have multiple selves throughout our lives. When you think back to periods in your life, 10 or 20 years ago, it almost feels like it is a different person that you’re looking back on, and yet it’s still you. The sum of all of that is who you are now. That was the theme of the film that really resonated with me.
HOLLAND: Same. Some are easier to let go of than others. I did Exhibiting Forgiveness a year and a half ago, and that’s one that stuck for a long time. It has a lot to do with fathers and sons, and that stuff always gets me.

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Do either of you know what you’re going to be doing next? Do you have that next project already set to go, or are you trying to figure out what that is?
HOLLAND: I’m figuring it out. I don’t know yet.
CHAN: I have something that I’m 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. You never know.
HOLLAND: Yeah, it’s a gamble.
Is what you think you want to do always changing?
HOLLAND: Yeah, for sure. Sometimes there’s this idea that we’re out here picking from hundreds and hundreds of opportunities and that there are so many things that we have to pick from. That’s not always been the case with me. Sometimes it’s just a matter of, “Do I want to go back to work right now, or not? Is there something out there that seems interesting, or not?” A lot of times, there isn’t anything that’s interesting, so you find yourself waiting or doing other things to keep yourself interested and engaged and alive. I don’t know what’s going to come next, but I think it’ll be something good.
Gemma, how close are we to seeing you reprise your Crazy Rich Asians character? The more years that it gets away from the release of that film, do you get more nervous or more excited about actually, hopefully, someday soon, getting to play Astrid again?
CHAN: I know. Oh, man! 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. Jon M. Chu said it a few weeks ago. He doesn’t want to bring everyone back unless it’s right. So, hopefully they’re figuring it out and hopefully we’re a little bit closer.

The Actor

Release Date

March 14, 2025

Director

Duke Johnson

Writers

Stephen Cooney, Duke Johnson

The Actor is now playing in theaters. Check out the trailer: