Speaking of identity shifts, you became a dad pretty recently.I did.What’s that been like for you?It’s changed my life. My daughter is three months [
Speaking of identity shifts, you became a dad pretty recently.
I did.
What’s that been like for you?
It’s changed my life. My daughter is three months [old]. Just watching my partner [filmmaker and photographer Camille Summers-Valli] be the mother that she is, it’s the most incredible, lovely thing. I’m so just inspired and moved, and my heart’s completely opened up. I understand time a little bit better now, the structure of time, you know?
You and your own mom seem to have a very close relationship. You’ve brought her to awards shows; she has a voice cameo in Beef. What did she teach you about being a parent?
She was just always there. And I don’t mean, like, there 24/7, but when she was there, she was there. I think from my mom and my dad, especially my mom, just, like, learning the example of someone who’s passionate and has so much love and richness in their life is, like, the great example to me as the father I hope to be, where my daughter can see me and her mom just pursuing our dreams and doing art and just so cheerful, where she’s like, Oh, I can do that too.
May December was such a huge moment for you. How did you approach what you did next?
I’m filmmaker-driven. So my experience with Todd Haynes, he’s one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. He’s a pioneer. It’s always great to think about being a lead in something, but I’d rather be a part of something great than just have a great performance in something that’s maybe not so good. For me, it’s just a feeling I get. When I read something, I’m like, Ooh. I read this script the other day that I was sobbing for 20 minutes after I finished the script. It’s like a fresh breath of air because you’re like, Ooh, this part of my soul.
Your next projects are with Nicolas Winding Refn and then Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley, the pair who did Train Dreams. So what was it about Refn that made you wanna be a part of that project?
He’s a lovely painter and he paints with colors and the cinematography, and this unreality that he kind of creates for you to exist in as the artist is the best. We made that movie with very little money, but that experience was some of the best 56 days of my life. And I got to do action. There’s a lot of action in it. He was like, “You’re gonna be a superhero.” So I did my superhero movie with Nick Winding Refn.
Do you know, upon your first conversation with a filmmaker, if they’re going to have the right vibe for you?
I get a good sense because a lot of it is subconscious. For example, with Refn, it was like a Q&A. He was asking me, “What do you think about this?” I knew what he was doing. He wanted to see how I saw the world, how I thought about certain things, which I thought was very engaging. I think every filmmaker kind of does that in a way.
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