Al Pacino once refused a set note from Christopher Nolan: “I’ve already done that”
nme.comChristopher Nolan has revealed that Al Pacino once turned down a directing note on set, insisting to the filmmaker that he’d “already done that”.The acclaimed director – who is preparing to release his new biopic Oppenheimer starring Cillian Murphy – recalled filming 2002 thriller Insomnia with Pacino.“I had gone up to Pacino after a series of takes and given him a note on what I wanted,” he told The Los Angeles Times.“He told me, ‘I’ve already done that.
You can’t see it to the eye, but I’ve done it on the dailies.’ I looked for it and I was like, ‘Oh, my God,’ because there it was.”Nolan added: “Great film actors can do that, and that’s what I had with Cillian.”Elaborating on Murphy’s challenging role of playing J.
Robert Oppenheimer, Nolan explained: “He was so conscious of his iconography, very theatrical and self-aware. It’s too simple to say he was a dandy, but he knew the power of creating an iconic physical image for himself.”Murphy recently shared that he was “desperate” to play a lead role for director Nolan, having previously played supporting roles in five of the director’s films; Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Dunkirk and Inception.Speaking to Associated Press, Murphy said: “I have always said publicly and privately to Chris, that if I’m available and you want me to be in a movie, I’m there.
I don’t really care about the size of the part.“But deep down, secretly, I was desperate to play a lead for him.”He added: “We have this long-standing understanding and trust and shorthand and respect.
Read more on nme.com