Emma Stone & Bradley Cooper | Actors on Actors

So seriously, I do want to talk about your immense talent. Why are your eyes so closed? Because I realized as I've gotten more comfortable with myself, the truth is I think better when my eyes are closed. It's not, you have to work through this. Oh man, I think it's really nice. It's crazy. Okay, so Emma. Emma. Coopsie poopsies. I'm so happy to see you. You too. You're looking so fresh. Am I? Yeah. Oh, thanks. You look great. I like the blazer. Thank you. I have to give it back at the end of the day. And the leather skirt. Also not mine. Well, maybe you should ask to keep them. Okay. Thanks for having me. Thanks. I just moved in, so we still have a couple of things. It's gorgeous. I like the kind of liminal space. Yeah, it's like we're in a space shuttle, but we're also in a living room. Yeah, it's really nice. It's cozy, but scary. All right, let's wait. Hold on. Let's begin with talking about when we first met. I think I have to populate the room so it's not so echoey, right? When people come in here and it won't feel so comfortable. Yeah, but I like what you've done because you can go and dance quickly. Oh, that's true. Easily. Yeah, should we? It's beautiful. Not right now. Okay. I have something that I can't cancel. So, okay. What an American summer joke anyway. Yep. Already met you twice. Called it. You're a trapper keeper. I've already met you twice. Okay, so we've known each other for half my lifetime now. Yeah. You know that? I do know that. I think I was... That's actually not true because I'm always forgetting your age, remember? Well, I guess it's not. I just turned 35 and we met when I was like 19, 18. Yeah, on The Rocker. On The Rocker. Yeah. Which was a real... Which was actually immense fun. A very fun moment. But I feel like you were only on that for like a week. I was. It was me and Fred Armisen and Will Arnett. Yeah. Had a gentleman who played the drummer of Vesuvius. I remember that was the band. I know I'm closing my eyes. Just deal with it, dude. All right, fine, fine, fine. Just please don't make a thing about it. Okay, it's fine. I'm good. I'm going to do it too. Tell me it doesn't feel good. I'll fall asleep if I do it too. So I was like, what's up? It's not weird, is it? No. Okay, okay, okay. All right, all right. Keep it together. They're going to edit this. We're fine. Right? We're fine. They're going to run the whole thing. Jeez Louise. Well, I was just making sure. Oh my God. We're just going to relax. So I do want to... Can I just skip to poor things? Is that all right? Oh, okay. Yeah. Just because I was blown away by the film. And I called you and luckily you answered. I was able to... There's nothing like being able to communicate with somebody you love when you've seen them create art like that. And we had an... I'll never forget the FaceTime we had after I saw it. You'll never forget it? I'm serious. Really? Just... All right, all right, all right. Okay, okay, fine. Just take it. All right, all right. Just breathe and just let me talk. I'm closing my eyes. Keep yours... So I love you so dearly as a friend. But to see you soar as an artist in this film, it was really moving. Yeah, it means so much to me. And just your effortless abandon. I think I said this to you. There's absolutely no one else who could have done that, like ever. I assume you didn't shoot in order. No. So how the F did you... Were you able to track her evolution? Because you're basically playing a baby to a 35-year-old. Yeah. In a matter of two hours. Yeah. So how did you do that? Thank you for saying all of that. First of all, it's so incredibly sweet of you. You know, we've talked about this before, but that means the world to me. Yorgos told me about the general kind of overall structure of the story right after we made The Favourite. So we had about four and a half years between talking about poor things to making poor things. Explore bloods in me. Bella, it's dangerous to go out without me. I have adventured it and found nothing but sugar and violence. It is most charming. I am fine. We realized after a while that we needed to create stages for her. I went through the script and I mapped out about 10 stages. And then we were like, that's way too many stages to hop around in. So we made it five. And then we went through and talked about her language and how that evolves. And then the physicality within each stage and what occurs sort of on her journey to kick her into the next stage. So at the beginning in Baxter's house, we basically only did stage one and stage five because it was, you know, we only had that location then. And then we sort of did the middle of the movie afterwards. So did you shoot that last scene in the beginning? Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. All of the last, you know, end of the movie. First and last scene. Yeah. First tranche of the film. Yeah. I speak French. Can I be excused? Yeah. I don't really need you. Okay, great. Hold on. We're getting back. That was good. Yeah. C'est bien. My accent is... Stone rose. Cool, cool, cool. Oh, I should have... So back to the... Okay, so you're talking to Jurgos about the five stages. Yeah. And then you go back and then how do you start to inhabit what those are? You're certainly not just thinking about it, I assume. How did you prepare for each stage? It was really like the two of us collaborating through the entire thing. So we had like... What does that mean? Are you FaceTiming? Are you spending time together? Well, we went to Budapest for a month before we started shooting. So we had like a month-long rehearsal process. With the other actors? With the other actors. And then we would have solo rehearsals with just him and I, where we would work truly on like the walk for an entire day. Or we would work on, you know, how she... And can you just do that right now? Yeah. That was just like one of my favorite things. Can you just do it? Yeah, you do the walk, you do the walk. We'll do it later. Yeah, so we worked on that. And then a lot of it was kind of just experimenting in the moment. Because a big thing was, you know, early on I went into it being, I think, more literal than I needed to be. You know, watching videos of like a toddler learning to walk. How someone says their first words. And because she's in this fully formed adult healthy body, her relationship to not knowing how to walk, you know, it's not even like you could compare it to someone who's just been like in an accident and is recovering and learning to walk. She's completely fine and needing... It's just her brain that hasn't caught up. Which was great because there was nothing to compare it to. So it was just completely like, does this work? Does that not work? This looks stupid. Like this is, you know, I mean, it all looks a little stupid, but that's the part of the film. It's all absolutely believable. Yeah, well, I'm glad you feel that way. But it's a metaphor. It's not based on a true story. No, you know that, right? I got it. It's in my research, dude. Dude, what did you look it up on Wikipedia? Yeah, on Wikipedia. On Wikipedia? Yeah, man. Google told me. Google told me this isn't real. It's immediately after. I was with my daughter the other day. She's like, so what happens after when you die? Oh, no. I was like, you know, I don't, I actually don't know. I just always tell her the truth. Yeah. Doesn't Google know? I was like. She asked if Google knew? Yeah. Did you look it up to see what it said? No, I didn't. It turns out Google does. Yeah, yeah, we were getting ice cream. But. You have a phone though, right? That has internet on it. Yeah. You can Google on your phone. I don't like to be on my phone around my daughter. That's cool. You're a really good dad. Thanks. Anyway. So, so you were, they're like, what the ****'s happening? Sorry, guys. So, so. Again, we've known each other for way too long. The camera just looked at his watch. So, so. So, okay. So, so here's my question. So the second thing is, so you're preparing each stage. Do you talk about comedy or you just trust that you have rhythm, comedic rhythm? Because it's just so, it's so believable and so funny at the same time. Well, Tony's writing, Tony McNamara, who wrote the script, also wrote The Favorite. He also wrote Cruella. So I've worked with him quite a few times and he's very funny and he's a very specific type of, you know, the way his dialogue moves. And like, I know it's Tony's writing right away. Right. Because he, he just has that sort of like feel for it. But when you say his writing, did he write the sounds that you're making and the rhythm and the way that you make them in the beginning? Because you're not even saying words. No. So that's just you. That. You and your ghost figuring it out. Yeah, like kind of figuring out what would happen. The rhythm of it around the dinner table. You know, I mean, all that. Yeah. I mean, that's, but that. That's just instinct. I guess so partially, but it also was that rehearsal process was so helpful because we all got to know each other so well. And we, all you do in a rehearsal with your ghost is like mess around. You play theater games. Wow. It's not literal at all. You're not like reading the scenes and working out how they're gonna go. It's very playful. Like you're like a human noodle or you're doing log rolls or whatever. Really? Yeah. Like really fun things where you kind of embarrass yourself. Does he do it with you? Sometimes he does it with me. But then otherwise he kind of like just laughs through the whole thing, which is great. And is his DP with you or just he? Yeah, Robbie. Robbie comes in and watches and sort of, you know, gets to know everybody. So everybody feels really like silly. Like a troop. And free and like a troop. And that's what his movies feel like quite honestly. But it's because of that. It's because of that process. And we have the same. No other cast in any other film. It feels like I'm watching this film and then they're going to take it somewhere else. And that's exactly what it feels like by the time you're even on set for the first day. You're like, we've already had dinner every night. We've already been like all over each other in rehearsals. And like, you know, have made fun of each other. And, you know, been embarrassed. And so there's nothing that really feels like it's off limits when you're on set. Because you're with your friends. I've been a hole, you understand. Cocks for money inside me. You okay with that? So you show up on set. Are you the kind of actor where like you're just you talking, making jokes. And you then you switch it on with action. Or with this movie, which is so in your body. Was it easier just to sort of be in that place the whole time? I didn't think that I was staying in it between at all. But then I think once the movie finished. And I like went back to life. And I left Budapest and I went back to New York. I was like, whoa, it's very weird to not be Bella. It is sort of embarrassing because it sounds very actory. But I'm sure you know this with we're going to get into your movie in just a second. I look painful. You okay? We don't have to talk about it. Do we do not have to talk about it? Bradley? I'm right here. All right, I'm back. Okay. Sorry about that. It's all right. I had to take a call. You took a call? I had to take a call. Yeah, I was on the phone. Sorry about that. That's okay. No, I miss Bella. I actively miss Bella. I do. She was like the most joyous, curious, incredible, inspiring character to be in. And so I didn't really know how kind of altered. And that's what I love about the writing too. Because everybody feels that way in the movie. All the other characters feel that way. About Bella? Yeah. She's such an incredible character. So far beyond whatever the performance of it is. She is so lovable. The movie is allowing you to love her too. Because everybody in the movie can't not be around her. And they also want to completely like her. Yeah. Some of them want to stifle the life out of her. Until they realize that she's more powerful than them. And they still want to be around her even though... She makes them insane. Yes. Which leads to Mark Ruffalo. Oh my God. Who I've always loved. But I haven't seen him do something like this where you just realize, oh, like this guy can do anything. He's so funny. Yeah. He's so funny. And just went out on a limb. Completely. And the amazing thing about Mark is that could not be more opposite of that character in real life. Yeah. And so in between he's just like this love bug. And he's like... Wait, so he was not like that in between? Oh my God. That's nuts. What am I doing? This is so... I'm being so nasty. And then, you know, it's like action. And he's like... It was incredible. They could not be more opposite as people, Duncan and Mark. Right. So can I ask you a little bit about Maestro? Wow. I love the way you pronounced that. What? Pronounce what? Maestro. Yeah. Your film Maestro. Sure. Okay. Bradley, this has been really fun because I got to sit and watch A Star is Born. You were in the back of the theater. And then for an hour after A Star is Born, I sobbed uncontrollably. And then my mother and I got to come over and watch Maestro with you. And you were not sitting right next to us, but you were in the room. And both of us were just like an absolute wreck by the middle of the film. And so in awe of what we were seeing, what you were doing, what Carey was doing, your direction, that conducting scene, which I was like in full body chills for an entire... How long was that? Six minutes? Yeah, six minutes. Insane. It felt like an hour and it felt like I was watching a true conductor, a master at work. And you got to talk to me about that entire process. Because I knew when you started... I mean, it was six years in the making and six minutes of conducting. What's your thing with sixes? I don't know. You have a little... Cool. It's not funny stuff. You don't mess with that. There's only two. I remember when you were beginning the process of Maestro years ago and you were talking about Lenny and what you were feeling about this whole project and that idea for the opening shot. I remember having dinner at your house and you were showing this kind of idea for that whole movie. So to see that in the film years later was so unbelievable to watch you in the bedroom and then moving into the theater. And it was just so personally fulfilling to watch, having seen pieces of it throughout. But for you, entering into that, what I heard, which I didn't understand, was that there was a Spielberg... He was going to direct that. He was going to direct a movie about Leonard Bernstein. Got it. And he talked to me about potentially acting in it. How much I loved conducting since I was a kid. Yeah. Obsessed with it. How did you get into conducting as a kid? I mean, when I say conducting, play conducting. Like, you know... No, I know, but why? Tom and Jerry, you know, Bugs Bunny, you know... So it was like cartoon conducting you thought that was so cool. That's where I started. I was like, oh, you can do this and like the sound comes out. Yeah. And then I asked Santa Claus for a baton when I was like just around eight years old. And then I would just conduct all the time because there was classical music playing in my house. We had a record player in the living room. And I always just sit in the living room and just start to conduct whatever the music was. And then I started to have favorite pieces of music. And I would ask my dad to get CDs of that. And then one of them was this Tchaikovsky's Opus 35 in D major. Do you remember that movie with Dudley Moore and Armand DeSante? They played conductors. I don't know if you've ever seen it, but it was that piece of music. So I remember seeing that as a kid like, oh my gosh, I've had to do that music. And so I would spend hours and hours. And then in grad school, Ellen Burson came and did a workshop with us. And we'd create a character. And I wrote a monologue about a conductor. So I was like, this conductor has always been a huge part of me. And I knew that somewhere in me, I thought, gosh, I've done so much work on believing I'm a conductor that if I ever had the chance to play one, there's years and years of rehearsal inside of me. And I felt that way about Merrick too, the Elfman and certain things. Like a rock star, I was always like, I've done a lot of air guitars. When you believe you are something, that's all we're trying to do anyway. It's the only thing we have to do. Right. So I always thought that, gosh, if I ever got to play one, cellularly, I believe it. And then he wasn't going to direct it. And I just finished A Star is Born. And I really found what I loved, which is writing and directing movies. I just never dreamt that big when I was a kid. But that was actually the dream I had. When I saw The Elfman. Well, you've been that way since I met you, I feel like. That's always been part of you. Yeah, sort of. But I never gave myself the license to do it until I was 40 for A Star is Born. But also, I had the luxury of the honor of being able to work with directors who really allowed me to be a part of that process. But then he decided not to do it. He didn't think he was going to do it. And I just said, well, what would you think if I took it on? And then I showed him A Star is Born. And then he said, yeah, then I had to get the rights to the music from the kids. And then it just all started. And I just started doing research. And that's how it started back in 2017, the end of 2017. I know exactly who you are. Let's give it a whirl. How is your relationship with his kids? Oh, I mean, the whole movie wouldn't be what it is if it wasn't for the kids. I mean, they were a part of it every step. I included them in everything, except for the shooting. That I keep closed off. Yeah, of course. But then, yeah, they were invaluable. And they provided so much. Just being around them. Because Felicia and Lenny, they spoke melodically. And his voice was just lyrical. The kids have inherited that rhythm. So it was great just to be around it. Really? That's so interesting. I feel like our movies, you couldn't have made Poor Things if you didn't have a tremendous amount of prep. And it's the same thing with Maestro. I watch your movie and your performance. And I think there's just no way. This wasn't like you got a call and then this is how much you're going to do it. This had to have taken years. But that is interesting. Because it sounds like we worked on... I mean, obviously, I didn't direct Poor Things. You were also writing, directing, producing. You were in every single facet of that experience. And then the lead actor of the film. I mean, that's so much to take on. But it is interesting that we both kind of... These projects began in 2017. And then we made them years later. I know. So living with it in that way, even if you're not actively on a daily basis... Typically, it is what you're saying. Oh, six months from now, I'm going to go do this project. And I'll start prepping soon. And it's going to be really specific for these couple months. And then I'm done with it. This kind of thing, for both of us, lived in the same frame of time. Where it's sort of more interior. Even when you're not actively prepping, it's weirdly working its way inside of you. Because you're thinking about it so much. Which is a really amazing... It's a huge gift. And it's also scary. Because you have so much time to think about it. To think about everything that could go wrong. Or the ways you could **** this up. Or all of that. Or at least for me, there's a lot in you that I really want to... I have felt that before in projects. And maybe that's because I'm... Maybe. Although I've just recently realized that maybe I'm a bit of a control freak. I knew that if Maestro was going to mess up, it was all on me. Because I was doing it. I was not beholden to anybody else. Totally. So there was a freedom in that. Yeah, that's true. As well as a huge burden. That makes sense. We've done incredible roles in our career. But this kind of thing, to me, feels completely different. This is actually a period of my life I'll never forget. I'll carry it with me the rest of my life. It has changed who I am as an artist. And when I watch your performance in that film, there's no version where I don't think that's the same case for you. Because it also feels like there's a lot of firsts. Even though I'm not physically sort of naked, I was completely naked. Putting on this prosthetic and being him and the way he talked. And I would direct the movie that way. So I was acting from crew call to the end. So you stayed in character the whole time. Yeah, of course. It would be impossible. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I felt so vulnerable. And just watching your performance, the idea that that was a set and there were people shooting it, and you were that vulnerable with your voice and your body. Just being able to act so unorthodox. You had to give yourself permission, which I had to do as well, of just jumping off the cliff every day. And that doesn't always happen when we do movies. We're not always asked to literally jump off a cliff in terms of giving over to, I don't know, people laughing at us on set, quite honestly. And that's what I used to think. And did you feel that? That there was that level of abandon that you had to have? I did, but to your point, you were saying that it all winds up with you at the end of the day. That's what Jörg says all the time. You know, he takes responsibility that the final product is on him. I mean, he always kind of takes it on himself. And so I do have that separation of being able to really, like, there's a captain of the ship that I fully trust and have such admiration and respect for. Which is clear. Immense, immense, immense respect. We've made four projects together now. I'm able to sort of give everything over. So in that circumstance, it's like people did laugh at me. He would laugh at me. He'd be like, that one was crazy. I'm like, let's get it, whatever. But that was the best because it was like, there's no eggshells. We can fight. We can laugh. All of that is totally free. And we're so close that it was a very safe environment to do that. And when it comes to any of the legitimate nudity or any of those scenes that were that way, we had this tiny, tiny crew that was, you know, our limited crew was Yorgos, was Robbie Ryan, our cinematographer, who looks at me like I am a table or a lamp. Like, it was amazing. He was just like, whatever. Yeah, I'm not even thinking about you actually being physically naked. I just meant like your performance. Oh, yeah. But even in that respect, it was like, there were as few people as possible at any given time. And by the way, that's the way we do it, too. I mean, there's no video village on set. Yeah, there's none. There's no chairs. Not on ours either. Really? Yeah. It's all there. Even yours sits right next to the camera and has the monitor and that's it. It's exactly the same way. I don't want anybody else around. Completely. And it feels very freeing because you know that you're just to the point where it is kind of strange to see. Wow, I did not know he did it like that. Yeah, it is kind of strange to see the movie after you make it because you're like, it felt like such an intimate experience. There was a camera? This was a movie? Like, what the hell? I knew there was a camera. I just didn't know it was on. You know what I mean? But we have no marks. There's no action. Yeah, I don't see the action. Yeah, it's very... So that's a really nice, like... Which is amazing, too. I'm so glad you told me that because Maestro and Poor Things is a very structured, stylistic... They're both stylistic films. Yeah. Like, you know, we had like three cameras running and then we made it... Pretty sweeping. Those movies were made while we were shooting it. Yeah. You know, so it was very thought out. Yeah. I love that. I did not know that. That's really cool. What was it like working with... I hope I pronounced his name correctly. Your husband. He was a comedian. He was so awesome. The young actor. Rami Youssef? Yes, yes. Oh, he was amazing. That was his first film. Man, he blew me away. I mean, he has his own show. I know that. Yeah, but he was so wonderful. He's so, so good. I know. He's so lovable and he was just like... Again, that rehearsal process is invaluable because by the time you go in there, I'm like, Rami, oh, he feels like my brother. You know, he's just so wonderful and he's fantastic. And it's a hard part. Very hard. It's a hard part. And for you to go back to him and for us to believe why is really... He really becomes... Because there is something kind of twisted about what he's agreeing to do and marrying her, but then he also is the most accepting of where she's been. But it's also like, you know, when you think about the trajectory of a relationship, in the end, you just want a kind person. And someone that allows you to be yourself. Yes, exactly. When she says to Duncan, like, I'm a flawed and experimenting person. We was never married. I think that line alone, too, I've carried with me. We're all flawed and experimenting people at our best. And he sees you for who you are. Exactly. Accepts you. Yeah, but there's so many aspects of who he is as a character and who Bella is that I really love. The one scene I also want to talk about that was your co-star who runs the brothel. Catherine Hunter. Wow. She's incredible. That scene when she comes to you and you're in bed. She's amazing. Wow, that was really... just her physicality. Are those her tattoos? No, that was all... That was all... That's unbelievable. Yeah. I really... I didn't know who... I don't know that actor. Oh, my God. So I thought that Yorgos had cast somebody who just... Oh, no, she's amazing. Yeah, I had no idea. You better do some research. Let's cut that out. Just want to protect. I didn't know. I think the cameras are still rolling. They've been whispering. Hi, you guys. You're watching Variety Actors on Actors with me, Emma Stone and Bradley Cooper. So, Bradley, great to see you. What was it? The other question I have is, you know, the set design, the production design is insane. I assume most of that was done on a soundstage. Is that correct? It was exclusively a soundstage, except for there was one scene where we're in the park. And how much of that is practical where you as actors can see what it is? Almost all of it. Wow. The Lisbon was the only part where there was... There needed to be set extensions at the top where the cable cars are going across and the kind of ocean in the background. But even on the ship, it was a giant LED screen. So it meant to feel artificial. But it was a giant LED screen of the ocean. Wow. But these sets, I've never seen anything like it in my life. It took about 45 minutes to walk through Lisbon. You would walk down alleyways, go into a hotel, a full lobby, walk upstairs, multiple hotel rooms, walk back down, walk out to a full restaurant. It was just wonderful. Another restaurant, downstairs to a bar. You are the character, and then you walk into the space. It made it so easy because, you know, Belle is wandering through Lisbon for a good amount of that. And I just was, you know, just looking. We did something similar in Maestro that, like, but we found, I was so adamant that we shoot on these locations because I wanted the same thing where we would just walk, because Carrie did so much work. And it was like, we owe it to ourselves to actually shoot in the places. Yeah. Just because we, so we could dwell and then you don't know what's going to happen. Yeah. Yeah, that's, I'm a big believer in that. Walking into Baxter's house and seeing Belle's bedroom for the first time, like a week before we shot, was so emotional for me to be like, this is what you guys have seen Bella's room as. And it's so detailed and gorgeous. And like, the walls are literally quilted. And it was the same thing with costumes. Holly Waddington, who did our costumes, every part of the process was like, it's just the most detail-oriented film I've ever worked on. I remember walking in, a lot of it we shot at their Fairfield house. And I remember walking up the stairs and going into his bedroom, where he lived after she passed away. And they lived together and just like, you know, the wall. Oh my God. Yeah. I mean, you were really in his environment. I was playing a metaphor of a person. You were playing a very real person. But you both created a world that's the same thing, that you were able to walk around and inhabit. Yeah. When he had the LED screens of the ocean, did he play sound of the ocean for you guys? Uh, no. No. No, because we had to record sound for the movie. Are you okay? It was a phone. We're current, dude. It's not going to throw us. We're professions. Uh, okay. Bradley, will you talk to me about conducting the cathedral scene? I'd love to, Emma. Thank you so much, Bradley Cooper. Um, you know, this was such a tricky movie to, to structure and figure out what I was even going to do. And I knew that I didn't want to make a biopic, but I also wanted... Biopic, if you will. Yeah. Maestro. Maestro. But I didn't want to, I can't do it. You do it. Maestro. One of the best voices in the biz, everybody. And that's what I keep telling people. No one's listening. Anyway, continue. Um, but I, I knew that if I put his music in the movie, then that's, that would do everything that a biopic would ever do anyway. Like if you want to learn about Martin Scorsese, just watch all of his films rather than watch an interview. So early on, I knew I wanted to do all of his music and I wanted a classical pillar for his classical music and then for his musical theater. And he loved Mahler, Gustav Mahler. And to me, when I was researching it, for some reason I'd never heard Mahler's music, which I don't know how I missed that. But I missed it. And that to me is the most powerful piece of music I've ever heard in my life. Yeah. And he conducted it. It was one of the first things I had researched. Six years ago, there's a YouTube video of him conducting in Ely Cathedral, this huge Gothic cathedral in the seventies with the London Symphony Orchestra. It encapsulates everything you ever want to know about him as a conductor. His ability to harness that music, to be in the center of the sun and not burn, but instead just shine the light back onto us. I thought, well, if I could figure out how to conduct, just like those six minutes at the end, that could be that piece of that pillar for the movie. The benefit was that I knew six years ago and then I just started researching and I was able to get the footage of just him conducting. So I literally had him conducting that piece. And then Gustavo Dudamel was kind enough to be working with me for the last six years. He conducted that piece with the LA Phil at the Hollywood Bowl. And I was with him from the first rehearsal all the way to the last rehearsal. Oh my God. And then three and a half years later, I traveled with him to Berlin and spent two weeks with him with the Berlin Philharmonic. That is so cool. Which is arguably the best orchestra in the world in one of the best halls in the world. That hall, if you ever get a chance, you can hear every single instrument. It was built in the sixties and it still is one of the best halls in the world. And he did that same piece with them. And then Yannick Seguin, who was the guy that really was like the other part of Lenny musically in the movie, was there with me through all of the shooting. And he made videos and he actually, I had an earpiece when I did that. And he would, he was in another room making sure that I knew the tempo for the time changes, even though I couldn't hear it because it was so loud. Oh my God. And I made this movie fearlessly. And like we, as we spoke about, you know, there's really nothing on the cutting room floor within the scenes. They are just what they are, which was wonderful for the actors and also challenging. But that scene, I had like five different setups and I realized, because it was all out of fear that I wasn't going to be able to pull it off. I didn't consciously know that at the time, but the rest of the movie is like two cameras, not even, you know, and then we're done. We had very short days, but that one, and that one day, I think it was a Thursday, I just kept messing it up because we were doing it live. That was live with the London, with 75 orchestra members, 130, and then all the background. And these are all unicorns. Like they're the best at what they do. The concert master showed me like a still of him at four years old with two wooden spoons. Like that's when I started. So imagine like, yeah, you know, I played like sports psychology. It's like, it's like you're in the, you're in the like finals. Yes. Yeah. And you're, and you're like, okay, I've played well this whole time. And standing on that podium. Yeah. Oh my God. And conducting is the hardest thing. People are always like, what's conducting? You're sort of just like, it's like, no, it looks exotic. You're like pouring sweat. You're keeping tempo a little bit ahead to make sure. And you're also reminding everybody of these things that you'd worked on in rehearsal. Luckily, they're the greatest orchestra in the world. Yeah. But still I had to conduct them because the shot is seeing everybody. So I messed up the whole first day. I kept messing up. And the minute I was behind tempo, it's over. Like you can't, you're, I'm lost. And imagine that, like, I'm doing this in front of, first of all, I'm Lenny, I'm directing it. And I'm like, and I just thought, and they don't really give you anything, you know, these conditions. Yeah. And I was just like, oh my, it was a nightmare. It was total. And I went to bed and I texted the sound mixer, which he gets a text at like 2 a.m. from the director saying like, do we have it? Question mark. That's how bolder I was. I'm texting the sound mixer. But it makes total sense. And then he wrote me back. He's like, I think so. And I text Jason Ruder, the musical, the other guy. And I'm like, do we have it? You know, it was like an insecure, like, we got it, right? We got it. Yeah, of course. Well, of course. But it makes total sense. We didn't have it. You had to do it again? No. So I woke up in the morning. The next morning we were supposed to shoot that outdoor scene with the cathedral. There was a scene of her driving up that I didn't keep in the movie. So we had a techno crane for that. And again, honestly, like, I feel like Lenny kept showing me what to do all the time. I really did. So I was, I would always get ready before crew call. So I was like at work six hours or five hours before crew call, become Lenny. And then I'd be able to walk in the set a little bit, maybe before even anybody came. So because we were all staying right in that little small town, Ely, we shot in the cathedral that he played in. I walked into that church and it was empty. We're not supposed to shoot there that day. And I just, and I looked up and I just, I had like a conversation with him. And I was like, I got to give it one more shot. And they all came in. Maddie came in, Mango, Scott Sakamoto, the crew. I said, guys, before we go outside, I know we have time. That's not going to take long. Let's bring the techno crane in. And it was so crazy. Like this huge, you know, 40 foot techno crane or bring it in the bowels of the cathedral. And I asked everybody to wait. And I set up the shot of a one take, one shot that becomes her reveal. Felicia's reveal on her right shoulder. Yeah. And it took like, you know, an hour and a half to set up. I had like the audio from the day before and we're going, and I had like a bow to make sure the camera could go. And then I was being her. And we had set it up for six and a half minutes. And then I brought everybody back in. And I actually said like a prayer to Lenny in front of everybody. Like, thank you for this opportunity. We're just going to, we're going to do it again. And that's what's in the movie. It was one take. Whoa. And I did it. And when it ended, the tympanist, the guy, you know, from the back came running up and he was like, you know what you did yesterday, it was total ----. You know, today you conducted us. I was like, no, no, I know. I know. No, no, you don't understand. You can't use yesterday at all. I was like, no, no, no, we're not. We're not. We got it. And he's like, it was crazy. Yeah. And it was really like, it was new. And my feeling, my memory of that, of that, that take. Cause the other one, I was just in my head was that I was actually floating above the orchestra and that I was able to like point to each musician. Do you think that's what, where he talked about like the, you know, it was interesting. I don't know, but it was the most, you know, I'd be singing at the Oscars, like playing at Glastonbury, which I thought would be the things that I would do. Don't even didn't even compare it to what that experience was. You're saying those were crappy experience. No, but it was like really, and I'm not, and everybody, and I feel like everybody felt it. It wasn't just me. No, it's something, something actually happened in that take. That's what it feels like when you're watching the film. It was really, it was crazy. It really is. I don't know what the heck happened, but it was beautiful. But the only thing I can say is that, you know, all the prep, you know, that's kind of thing can only happen if you work. And that's what I see in your movie. It's like, there's no way she just winged it. Do you know what I mean? Like you're sick, talented, but like that had to be a tremendous amount of work. It was, but it was like the most joyous work ever. Yeah. By the way, I never felt like it was hard. You know, people say it was so hard. It's like, it's not hard is not the word. Hard is not the word. I don't think ever when it comes. No, when you're enjoying it. Yeah, completely. It's a, it's, it's beautiful. We're so lucky to get to do this. This is like, it's a joy. Yeah. The only thing real quick. Did you ever think you would ever play Franken, you know, a female Franken? Was that right? I mean, no. So when your girls first pitched this to you, what was your initial reaction? I was completely in love. I was like, I depleted, he wasn't even pitching it to me. We were just having dinner and I was like, so what are you, what are you gonna do next? He's like, oh, well, there's this, there's one project. There's this book that is put by Alistair Gray and working out with Tony, you know, again, wrote the favorite. And it's not what that went about. And then he gives me this woman, Bella. I mean, the, the short form explanation of that story is pretty wacky. Well, when he jumps off a bridge, now it's pregnant. He's going to take his baby's brain out and puts it in her head, reanimates her. And then, you know, she's going through life and meets all these men and they're kind of like, you know, they try to possess her and she drives them crazy or whatever. And I was like, I would love to do that if you're free. That sounds incredible. Yes. And he's like, I don't, it wasn't a pitch, you know, that's what I do. It's one of the things I'm kind of working on. But it was, I was, I, from the very, it was like a, like something was screaming out in me. It sounded like the most incredible thing. And it's based on a book so that, you know, obviously there's so much there already, but she's my favorite character of all time. I don't know how I'll ever, if I'll ever get to, get to play another character that makes me feel the way that she made me feel. And, and that's okay. Yeah. That's like an incredible. And, and by the way, I would say that like, you're going to bring her to everything you do because she's a part of you. I really do think that. Does that sound too hokey? I do believe it though. You do? Yeah. Because there's a fearlessness that I saw that, that, that's not going to go away that she gave you. I hope not. It's not. It was, it was a very, very, yeah, it was a, it was a very life-changing experience just as an, as an actor. As an actor. Yeah. What, what she demanded of you and what Lenny demanded of me, I thought there's no way it's not going to translate. It's impossible. It's like impossible. It's not going to stick with you. The lessons that you learned throughout. Yeah. Um. Cool. Thanks dude. I thought we were done. Cool. It's a good out. I love you, coach. That was awesome.