Under The Skin: Casting
Jonathan Glazer’s critically acclaimed Under The Skin stars Scarlett Johansson as an alien prowling for men in Glasgow, many of whom were played by non-actors appearing in a film for the first time. Casting director Kahleen Crawford shares the challenges of casting this unique piece of cinema.
On getting the job…
It was Jim [Wilson, producer] who phoned me the first time and said "we’re looking for somebody to cast Under The Skin - would you like to read the script and tell us if you’re interested?" And I went, "sorry, did you say Jonathan Glazer? Yeah, I’m fairly sure I’m interested!" And he was like "no, no, no, read the script." Then I spoke to Jonathan and he said "great, you’ll read the script and tell us if you like it," and again I went "honestly, I’m saying yes!" There was a bit of crossover with The Angels’ Share, which I was doing with Ken Loach at the time, so there were a couple of hairy weeks towards the end of that when it was all happening, but then I was able to go full time onto Under The Skin for about six months.
On Scarlett Johansson…
Scarlett was fully attached to the project when I came on board. I think she’s crafted something incredibly special with Jonathan. But with the other roles we were creating a world that was very separate from her character, so in a funny sort of way I didn't actually have to think about her when we casting everyone else. I thought about her as a professional and a woman having to come to set and work with people who weren’t experienced with filming, of course. But I didn’t think about her character or casting to fit her character; she's supposed to be apart from them. We did think about it visually. When I saw the look that Jon and the hair and makeup people and everyone were creating, it was really useful for me to imagine how that would look on screen. But essentially she’s so removed from their world that it gives you a bit of freedom.
The casting briefs…
The casting briefs for Under The Skin were often very non-specific in terms of things like age or height. Jonathan’s very collaborative, so he’s genuinely interested in your thoughts and your opinions, and we would talk about references, looking at lots of images and videos together. Then we started looking together at people who could be relevant to the process. Mostly I would bring someone to him who I thought might grab his interest and he would let me know. He needed the right energy and to find people that he wants to point the camera at. We really trawled the length and breadth of Scotland and the acting community in London as well. In fact, we trawled worldwide for some of the characters.
There were couple of more specific details for some characters, of course. I remember that Andrew, who Paul Brannigan played, had to be able to dance quite freely, and that can sometimes be quite an interesting one with actors because they’re not always comfortable dancing. But Paul sent us some tapes of himself dancing around in his living room with abandon while his friend played really loud house music.
The Bad Man was quite challenging, because of the special skills of the character - we needed somebody who was really a world-class motorbike rider, who could go at very high speeds. We were looking at a lot of ex-world champion racers. We really had to trawl across Russia, the Ukraine, Australia, everywhere.
Casting The Woodsman...
The Woodsman, Dave Acton, was not an actor, but owned one of the locations that we were looking at. And we saw several people for that character, but there was just something visually special about him. We thought "could he be that guy, could he be that person?" We were looking for something to bring a difficult scene to life, and we didn’t quite know what we were looking for, but again, we knew it when we saw it. He went through really extensive auditions. There was one day in particular when he was with us for three or four hours. We had to get him to push me around a bit. But I had to make sure Dave would be comfortable, because it’s quite upsetting taking part in something like that - it can be quite difficult for the actors involved.
We wanted to check he could go to where Jon might need him to go to. And also we had to bear in mind the fact that someone who wasn’t a performer by trade has to be violent in a difficult scene. We had to push Dave very hard, it didn’t come naturally to him - it wouldn’t come naturally to many men - but he got there in the end and he did a brilliant job and in the film I think it’s an incredible scene.
It was Jim [Wilson, producer] who phoned me the first time and said "we’re looking for somebody to cast Under The Skin - would you like to read the script and tell us if you’re interested?" And I went, "sorry, did you say Jonathan Glazer? Yeah, I’m fairly sure I’m interested!" And he was like "no, no, no, read the script." Then I spoke to Jonathan and he said "great, you’ll read the script and tell us if you like it," and again I went "honestly, I’m saying yes!" There was a bit of crossover with The Angels’ Share, which I was doing with Ken Loach at the time, so there were a couple of hairy weeks towards the end of that when it was all happening, but then I was able to go full time onto Under The Skin for about six months.
On Scarlett Johansson…
Scarlett was fully attached to the project when I came on board. I think she’s crafted something incredibly special with Jonathan. But with the other roles we were creating a world that was very separate from her character, so in a funny sort of way I didn't actually have to think about her when we casting everyone else. I thought about her as a professional and a woman having to come to set and work with people who weren’t experienced with filming, of course. But I didn’t think about her character or casting to fit her character; she's supposed to be apart from them. We did think about it visually. When I saw the look that Jon and the hair and makeup people and everyone were creating, it was really useful for me to imagine how that would look on screen. But essentially she’s so removed from their world that it gives you a bit of freedom.
The casting briefs…
The casting briefs for Under The Skin were often very non-specific in terms of things like age or height. Jonathan’s very collaborative, so he’s genuinely interested in your thoughts and your opinions, and we would talk about references, looking at lots of images and videos together. Then we started looking together at people who could be relevant to the process. Mostly I would bring someone to him who I thought might grab his interest and he would let me know. He needed the right energy and to find people that he wants to point the camera at. We really trawled the length and breadth of Scotland and the acting community in London as well. In fact, we trawled worldwide for some of the characters.
There were couple of more specific details for some characters, of course. I remember that Andrew, who Paul Brannigan played, had to be able to dance quite freely, and that can sometimes be quite an interesting one with actors because they’re not always comfortable dancing. But Paul sent us some tapes of himself dancing around in his living room with abandon while his friend played really loud house music.
The Bad Man was quite challenging, because of the special skills of the character - we needed somebody who was really a world-class motorbike rider, who could go at very high speeds. We were looking at a lot of ex-world champion racers. We really had to trawl across Russia, the Ukraine, Australia, everywhere.
Casting The Woodsman...
The Woodsman, Dave Acton, was not an actor, but owned one of the locations that we were looking at. And we saw several people for that character, but there was just something visually special about him. We thought "could he be that guy, could he be that person?" We were looking for something to bring a difficult scene to life, and we didn’t quite know what we were looking for, but again, we knew it when we saw it. He went through really extensive auditions. There was one day in particular when he was with us for three or four hours. We had to get him to push me around a bit. But I had to make sure Dave would be comfortable, because it’s quite upsetting taking part in something like that - it can be quite difficult for the actors involved.
We wanted to check he could go to where Jon might need him to go to. And also we had to bear in mind the fact that someone who wasn’t a performer by trade has to be violent in a difficult scene. We had to push Dave very hard, it didn’t come naturally to him - it wouldn’t come naturally to many men - but he got there in the end and he did a brilliant job and in the film I think it’s an incredible scene.
On street casting and obtaining retrospective permissions….
I wasn’t massively involved in the street casting, but Caroline [Stewart, Casting Associate] was very much involved with the second AD and his team and all of the extras and the featured extras. Jon is so drawn to everything visually in front of him and he didn’t overlook any element of it, so you just need the right people there on set, whether they perpetually featured or not. I think Caroline was running to whatever the location was going to be in advance and saying "look, we’re going to be shooting this, can you hang about?"
Some of the guys who didn’t know they were being filmed in advance, who were coming up to the van because Scarlett was attracting their attention, somebody would chase after them afterwards and explain and ask "could you just sign this, is that alright?" We got some other permissions retrospectively about four months ago. We went around some of the shops in Glasgow that were featured in a montage when Scarlett falls down, where the people were on screen long enough to want to pop in and speak to them, but they were delighted. The guy in the chip stop, the girl in the bakers, they were like "no problem, that’s fine!"
On nudity…
The guys who do the nudity had all been on screen before, so they were very comfortable with it. Of course, I don’t know what thoughts went through their heads - I’m sure there were some embarrassed thoughts or nervous thoughts or anxious thoughts! But I spoke quite a bit to Paul and he was so professional; he was like "you know what, it’s part of the job." We had a giggle. We spoke to Joe Szula about it - he’s the football fan who she picks up, and he's just so cocksure. But we explained it all to them in advance - there’s a nudity clause, so they’re properly prepared. And it works in the film, and it’s there for a reason. It fitted the drama, it fitted the story, it fitted it visually.
The most difficult role to cast...
The most difficult thing to cast was the girl who Scarlett undresses and then dresses herself in her clothing. The scene was so important to Jon because it was part of the opening sequence of the film and he really wanted to set up the sense of the one who had come before Scarlett, and the idea that she would meet a fate like that herself. I can’t tell you how many women we saw. We saw them from all over the world, we had tapes coming in from France and Spain and Australia and all over, and we just couldn’t quite crack it. In the end what we decided to do was to find somebody who we would film the body with and then we would do the close-up on the face for that moment of emotion, that tear that falls, with the person who Jon wanted to work with once we'd found them. So Lynsey [Taylor Mackay] went down as a body double, and then on the day Jon actually phoned and said "she’s perfect."
On working with Jonathan Glazer for the first time…
This is the first time I've worked with Jon and I hope it’s not the last. I really enjoyed it and I got on really well with him so it was great. He’s unpredictable, you never could quite figure where he was going to go. Some directors I know who they’re going to pick out of - say - ten people, but not so much with Jon. He just knows it in his gut when he sees it, and that’s great.
It was very enjoyable, and very demanding, very challenging. Everyone worked really hard because we all wanted to get it to such a high standard. Jon is a perfectionist and he’s brilliant, so you just go with it and sometimes you’re completely exhausted and thinking "you know, I’ve shown you 200 people, you’ve got to choose one." But actually you then find the reserves to go that bit further and then you crack it and it's worth it.
I wasn’t massively involved in the street casting, but Caroline [Stewart, Casting Associate] was very much involved with the second AD and his team and all of the extras and the featured extras. Jon is so drawn to everything visually in front of him and he didn’t overlook any element of it, so you just need the right people there on set, whether they perpetually featured or not. I think Caroline was running to whatever the location was going to be in advance and saying "look, we’re going to be shooting this, can you hang about?"
Some of the guys who didn’t know they were being filmed in advance, who were coming up to the van because Scarlett was attracting their attention, somebody would chase after them afterwards and explain and ask "could you just sign this, is that alright?" We got some other permissions retrospectively about four months ago. We went around some of the shops in Glasgow that were featured in a montage when Scarlett falls down, where the people were on screen long enough to want to pop in and speak to them, but they were delighted. The guy in the chip stop, the girl in the bakers, they were like "no problem, that’s fine!"
On nudity…
The guys who do the nudity had all been on screen before, so they were very comfortable with it. Of course, I don’t know what thoughts went through their heads - I’m sure there were some embarrassed thoughts or nervous thoughts or anxious thoughts! But I spoke quite a bit to Paul and he was so professional; he was like "you know what, it’s part of the job." We had a giggle. We spoke to Joe Szula about it - he’s the football fan who she picks up, and he's just so cocksure. But we explained it all to them in advance - there’s a nudity clause, so they’re properly prepared. And it works in the film, and it’s there for a reason. It fitted the drama, it fitted the story, it fitted it visually.
The most difficult role to cast...
The most difficult thing to cast was the girl who Scarlett undresses and then dresses herself in her clothing. The scene was so important to Jon because it was part of the opening sequence of the film and he really wanted to set up the sense of the one who had come before Scarlett, and the idea that she would meet a fate like that herself. I can’t tell you how many women we saw. We saw them from all over the world, we had tapes coming in from France and Spain and Australia and all over, and we just couldn’t quite crack it. In the end what we decided to do was to find somebody who we would film the body with and then we would do the close-up on the face for that moment of emotion, that tear that falls, with the person who Jon wanted to work with once we'd found them. So Lynsey [Taylor Mackay] went down as a body double, and then on the day Jon actually phoned and said "she’s perfect."
On working with Jonathan Glazer for the first time…
This is the first time I've worked with Jon and I hope it’s not the last. I really enjoyed it and I got on really well with him so it was great. He’s unpredictable, you never could quite figure where he was going to go. Some directors I know who they’re going to pick out of - say - ten people, but not so much with Jon. He just knows it in his gut when he sees it, and that’s great.
It was very enjoyable, and very demanding, very challenging. Everyone worked really hard because we all wanted to get it to such a high standard. Jon is a perfectionist and he’s brilliant, so you just go with it and sometimes you’re completely exhausted and thinking "you know, I’ve shown you 200 people, you’ve got to choose one." But actually you then find the reserves to go that bit further and then you crack it and it's worth it.
Adam Pearson was an interesting one, because Jonathan had written that character but never wanted to use somebody wearing prosthetics. It was important to him for that person to be as real as everyone else. We contacted the charity Changing Faces, to let them know what we were doing and let them know about the integrity of the project, and they agreed very generously to give us a bit of their time in circulating information about it.
So we made contact with a small pool of people, and then a smaller group of people who were even remotely interested in being on camera. There was a lot of people who were just like, "I’ve got a job, thank you, goodbye." Adam and a couple of other people who we spoke with had been on camera before, and Adam works in television production so he’d was totally relaxed about it. He’d been on a show called Beauty and the Beast. So we met with him and we spoke with him at length about the scenes.
We spent some time with Adam talking to him about the scene and what the character might talk about with Scarlett’s character - how might she lure him, what would grab his attention and that sort of thing. And he gave us some very honest answers and a lot of that is in the film. I think it works so well because you don’t know where the scene is going to go or what’s going to happen in it, and I think actually some of the energy comes from the fact that it’s so real. It says so much about her - well she’s not a her, she’s an 'it'. It says so much about it that it can’t really see his difference.
'Don't call me ScarJo!' Scarlett Johansson calls her nickname tacky and insulting as she graces the cover of Glamour magazine
Scarlett Johansson does not like her nickname.The 29-year-old has long been known as ScarJo but the actress is definitely not a fan.
Featuring on the cover of May's Glamour magazine, the star branded the moniker 'insulting'.
 |
| Cover girl: Scarlett Johansson stars on the front of May's Glamour magazine |
'It sounds tacky. It's lazy and flippant... There's something insulting about it.'
 |
Moving? The star, who is engaged to French journalist Romain Dauriac, said she likes that in Paris you are on show for your style |
The actress revealed she is also not a big fan on the focus many have on how she looks so good.
And her dislikes did not end there, with Scarlett explaining she has struggled to get people to recognise her for her entire body of works and not just her first hit movie, Lost In Translation.
'When I made Lost in Translation, I was 17. Now I'm 29... That's a normal side effect of being a young actor.
'You're captured in a certain time of your life, and it's hard for people to move past that.'
While she did not say it directly, perhaps a move to France may soon be on the cards for the Her star.
The 29-year-old is, of course, engaged to French journalist Romain Dauriac and is reportedly expecting a child with him - but has yet to confirm her pregnancy.
The star said she loves Paris and its fashion: 'The nice thing about being in Paris is that you know everybody is looking at what you are wearing. You have an audience, you know?'
Matching her newly red hair, for the cover Scarlett was dressed in a metallic red jumpsuit but wore little accessories.
Her new hair colour is for her role as Black Widow in Captain America: The Winter Solider.
Opening this weekend, the Marvel Comic's film set the record for April releases making $96.2 million already.
The superhero flick walked all over the previous record-holder, Fast Five, which made $86 million in its own April opening weekend back in 2011.
 |
Hit flick: The 29-year-old stars in Captain America: The Winter Solider which set an April box office record on the weekend |
No comments:
Post a Comment