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DEADLINE: How did you become involved withThe Brutalist?
So, it went via my agent in America.
Im trying to think when that was… Maybe two and a half years ago.
Guy Pearce in ‘The Brutalist.‘A24
It was quite a while back.
DEADLINE: Did you know Brady before that?
PEARCE: Id heard of him.
Guy Pearce at theThe Brutalistphotocall during the Venice International Film Festival.Franco Origlia/Getty Images
Id heard ofChildhood of a Leader, but I hadnt seen it.
Its funny when jobs come along, because theres a whole range of responses.
Sometimes you might feel excited by the director, but the script needs work.
Or the script may be great, but its the director who you dont feel particularly inspired by.
This was one of those ones where it all felt right.
DEADLINE: How would you best describe the script?
PEARCE: It was long, it was big, and it was detailed.
I found the way in which the characters were realized quite intriguing.
I think it was probably longer than most other scripts I get.
It was very clear from the outset that he had a vision.
My memory of it is that it was pretty much the same as the finished film.
DEADLINE: So, nothing changed at all?
So, if anything was trimmed or shaped slightly differently, I dont really remember.
Because, with Brady, you feel like youre in trusted hands.
Obviously, every film involves people.
Im just fascinated in dynamics betweenpeople.
DEADLINE: How did he picture the character?
Did he give you the script and leave you alone, or did he give you homework?
But with this I felt like I was able to see this character as I was reading him.
Which is, to me, always the best.
I do my best work when thats my response.
Sometimes you reallydofind it.
Maybe theres a little clincher moment.
You might see something in their eyes and go, Aha!
I feel like Im cobbling something together and trying to present something which just doesnt feel authentic.
And then were in trouble!
DEADLINE: What was the eureka moment here?
What was your way into Van Buren?
PEARCE: Well, just reading the script.
It was very clear.
Some of them have become very wealthy.
I witnessed this power that these people pursue.
I guess were all trying to identify ourselves.
But then, in the second scene, we see him be quite touching.
Hes in a cafe with Laszlo.
Hes realized, and hes learned, who Laszlo is, and hes actually moved.
One of the things Brady said to me was, Look, Van Buren has great taste.
Hes got a great sense of artistry and a great appreciation for the finer things in life.
Its like Salieri; he can recognize the genius.
Apparently, my grandfather was the same.
My mothers father used to get horribly drunk every night and scream and yell.
I dont think he was ever violent, but he was violent in his energy.
How come youre all in a bad mood?
But I do feel sympathy to a degree.
But, obviously, with someone like Van Buren, its more extreme.
I suppose on some level its the Donald Trump version: the bigger, the better.
Thats what gives him his power, because he sees people swoon at his feet.
Its funny, actually.
When you see him younger, theres less bravado, theres less…
DEADLINE: Less pomposity?
He doesnt have his empire yet.
Once youve got your empire, youve got to hang onto it.
Youve got to dig your heels in and go, No, no, no, Ideservethis.
Whereas in the beginning, there was a slightly more humble approach.
So, in the early days, he was having to work out how to do that.
And if youre not going to be humble about it, you become this inflated version of yourself.
Its so difficult to deal with, when youre watching someone like that, isnt it?
You know theres some humility in there, but theyre not prepared to show it anymore.
I feel like my character had more class than Trump.
But, no, I dont think I thought of him at all when I was making the film.
I just happened to catch a bit of the documentary.
I was like, Oh, thats right.
Thats what heusedto be like…
DEADLINE: How did you feel about shooting in 70mm?
It took me back to when I started.
Once youre into the moment of the scene, then its all about that interaction.
DEADLINE: What was the atmosphere on set?
PEARCE:Id worked with Felicity Jones before, and I just adore her.
And Brady, hes just really relaxed.
I never felt like, Oh God, this guy doesnt know what he wants.
Its never that feeling with Brady.
DEADLINE: What other locations did you shoot in?
It was extraordinary and overwhelming.
We went up quite high.
You have to really trek up some very treacherous roads to get to where we went to.
PEARCE:We were thrown in.
It wasnt a five-week shoot, I think it was more like nine weeks or eight weeks.
Which I find really hard, because its very different for me rehearsing something as opposed to shooting something.
As much as people say, Just treat it like a rehearsal, I cant.
If I know cameras are rolling, then the cameras are rolling.
I want the freedom in rehearsal to do that.
I often believe that most people dont really understand what actors do.
They think, Well, you justdoit, right?
So, we might as well roll camera.
But there are times, workwise, that I really struggle with.
We dont want to waste any of it.
DEADLINE: Im astonished at how prolific you are, given that you put so much into your roles.
Do you ever find yourself wishing to take a break?
How are you able to pack and unpack these characters and then move on?
But Im pretty ready once a jobs done, it really is an expulsion of something.
Thats why I really dont like doing reshootswhen they say, like.
five months later, Were going to come back…because it really is a difficult process.
Once Im back in it, I can deal with it.
But some jobs, especially if theyre emotional, can be really quite exhausting.
If its an emotional rollercoaster for the character, then you go through it yourself as well.
This happened years ago, like, the late 1990s.
You dont actually think, No, this is valuable, this time that I have in between jobs.
I need a break.
You learn that the hard way if youre fortunate enough to get offered a number of things.
Ive been really lucky, just balancing it, I guess.
DEADLINE: Which roles took that toll on you, would you say, back in the day?
PEARCE:When we didFactory Girl, I played Andy Warhol and that took a toll.
Not so much because I was exhausted from it, but we also had a weird experience.
So, the film was put on ice.
It was a really fantastic opportunity to play that role.
All of us did a really good job.
He was a very specific personality.
When I didThe Proposition, that really took it out of me emotionally.The Rovertook it out of me emotionally.
I love that as well.
So, yeah, theres been a few that have had different effects.
Its funny, I was just thinking aboutMildred Pierce, which I did withKate Winslet.
I was like, Just say yes.
Then they were like, Well, well send you the script.
Have a read, have a think.
And I was like, No, no, no.
Kate Winslet, Todd Haynes, James M. Cain, HBO.
I did the job, and it was delightful.
My wife was with me, and it was glorious.
In a way, I was spoiled on that job.
I was like, I just want to be Monty.
That shift affected me in a different way.
Shes like, No, no, no.
Ill see you when youre done.
DEADLINE: Whats next for you?
PEARCE:Well, Im right in the middle of doing a film right now, actually.
Im doingThe Woman in Cabin 10directed by Simon Stone, with Keira Knightley.
Im just taking a little break.
Are you doing another album or is it just for fun?
Could this be a song?
I love mucking around with equipment.
I love sitting in the studio and finding sounds and orchestrating and arranging.
DEADLINE: One final question.
Did you mark that anniversary, or did it just pass without incident?
PEARCE:Well, there were a few interviews that we did.
A lot of people were talking about it.
The funny thing is, we always make films a year before they come out.
So, for me the 30-year anniversary forPriscillawas actually last year because we made it in 93.
But, of course, Im aware that 94 was the big year.
But yeah, I agree.
Its pretty surprising to go, Wow, was that 30 years ago?
My skin was amazing back then.
So yeah, its pretty funny to think of how long ago it was.
In fact, itwasfinishing.
So, Ive now got to get myself out of the street again.
DEADLINE: Have they all been shown yet, those scenes?
Most of them are FaceTime calls with Annie and the young girl who plays my daughter on the show.
But its actually been really lovely, I have to say.
Im quite nostalgic about it.
In fact, it was Jason and I that had to convince Kylie to come back on the show.
It was a little bit like going back for a school reunion, in a way.
