Being a film actor is a job that generally requires a lot of patience. On a set, there are many people performing specific tasks on each take, and there is a lot of repetition thanks to multiple takes and multiple angles that ensure the director gets everything he wants before taking the material to the editing room. Of course, different filmmakers work in different ways, and for Josh Hartnett on the set of Oppenheimerhe was impressed by Christopher Nolan’s efficiency and speed.
Hartnett, best known for films such as the faculty And Black Hawk downis in the midst of a career renaissance, and the Hollywood Reporter recently spoke with him about his latest work. The actor is in The bear Season 3 (now streaming with a Hulu subscription) and he is in M. Night Shyamalan’s new film Catch (in cinemas in August), but he also talked about his experiences with Oscar winner Christopher Nolan during the filming of OppenheimerHe told the trade,
I’ve never shot anything, even small budget independent films, that was shot as quickly as Chris (Nolan) did. I find that refreshing. He’s not overly fussy. The scripts are written really specifically and the actors are all so immersed in their roles that he gets what he wants right away and then just films a bit and he’s done.
It’s worth noting that a director who knows exactly what he wants can also make things significantly more difficult on set. The classic example is of course Stanley Kubrick, who, although he had a clear vision, was a perfectionist who demanded dozens of takes to get exactly what he wanted. Christopher Nolan obviously doesn’t work in the same extreme way.
In OppenheimerJosh Hartnett plays Ernest Lawrence, a key nuclear physicist who was part of the Manhattan Project, and he shares scenes with Best Actor winner Cillian Murphy and Matt Damon – two actors who both had previous experience working with Christopher Nolan before his 2023 biopic. Harnett recognized the trust his co-stars had in the director, adding:
Watching the actors on set, you can tell that they really trust the process and that it has helped them tremendously. I also think the show is groundbreaking in terms of the tension of the show, in a way that feels organic. You can’t come in and not know what you’re doing or you’ll be left behind.
Since his cinematic debut in 1998 HalloweenH20Harnett has had the opportunity to work with some notable directors, including Sofia Coppola, Michael Bay, Robert Rodriguez, Ridley Scott and Brian De Palma. One of the main things he appreciates about the best directors he has worked with is that they are open to collaboration and don’t get too bogged down in details on set. Harnett said:
All the really talented directors I’ve worked with trust their collaborators. They have such a clear vision, and it seems like only the directors who aren’t sure of their vision tend to micromanage too much. There aren’t many top-notch directors who overspend, so to speak.
What will happen to the collaboration between Josh Hartnett and M. Night Shyamalan? We will soon find out, because Catch is set to hit theaters on August 9th and features the actor in the role of a serial killer who tries to evade police capture during a pop concert. And if you like Christopher Nolan’s OppenheimerYou can currently stream it with an Amazon Prime subscription.
