{"id":350450,"date":"2025-12-15T17:19:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T17:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/350450\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T17:19:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T17:19:10","slug":"oscar-isaac-and-teyana-taylor-on-frankenstein-and-bad-set-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/350450\/","title":{"rendered":"Oscar Isaac and Teyana Taylor on Frankenstein and Bad Set Days"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tOscar Isaac<\/a> and Teyana Taylor<\/a> both\u202fembrace\u202fmorally complicated and deliciously outsize roles this year. In Guillermo del Toro\u2019s \u201cFrankenstein,\u201d veteran actor Isaac\u202fplays\u202fa version of the titular doctor who, in this telling of the classic Gothic tale, beats and chains up\u202fhis creature creation (Jacob Elordi). And in Paul Thomas Anderson\u2019s \u201cOne Battle After Another,\u201d Taylor \u2014 a recording artist and choreographer whose dramatic-acting breakthrough came as a heartbroken single mother in the 2023 indie drama \u201cA Thousand and One\u201d \u2014 catalyzes the movie\u2019s chaos as the ambiguously motivated, possibly traitorous Perfidia Beverly Hills.<\/p>\n

\n\tOscar Isaac: When I first saw \u201cA Thousand and One,\u201d I was so blown away. I was like, \u201cWhere did this person come from?\u201d It was such a well of emotion \u2014 it felt like, \u201cI don\u2019t even think she knows there\u2019s cameras on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTeyana Taylor: I had just retired music and was like, \u201cI want to pour into everything else that I love. I don\u2019t want to be stuck in one box.\u201d Everybody [said], \u201cWe don\u2019t think that\u2019s smart.\u201d When I took that leap of faith, I was so scared, but I knew I had to walk on this faith journey. Not even a month after I retired from music, this role comes across my desk \u2014 that\u2019s nothing but God. I knew I had a point to prove; I had work to do.<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: So you had closed the door to music?<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: I did. I thought I was closing the door for good, and I was OK with that. I wasn\u2019t going to allow people to back me into a corner. I usually let people do that \u2014 it\u2019ll be me against the whole room.<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: It felt like you brought that into it \u2014 it\u2019s somebody against the world.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: It made it easier to find her layers and color-coordinate them.<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: I\u2019ve been thinking about that word \u201cvocation.\u201d What\u2019s our calling? Acting is an element of that; music, for you. But the source of it is something deeper. It feels like you access that source. It feels like it\u2019s coming from some real fiery furnaces. Did you train in acting? I know you had done \u201cStomp the Yard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: Taking it back! Honestly, I\u2019ve just always been a character. As I got older, kids would play and I would watch movies \u2014 some, probably, I should not have been watching. I\u2019ve always been into how an actor can emote. I always wanted to be Julia Roberts or Kate Winslet. (\u201cGirl, you are eight years old, what do you mean?\u201d)<\/p>\n

\n\tAs I got into music, everything else was put to a back burner. I didn\u2019t get the opportunity to go to classes and study it the way I would\u2019ve liked to. Once I started to feel claustrophobic in the music space, I was like, I need to pour into other things that I love.<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: Particularly storytelling.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: It was such a passion. Timing is everything: I always say, the wait is not punishment; it\u2019s preparation for what was already written for you. If everything went my way, I wouldn\u2019t have been the same Perfidia in \u201cOne Battle After Another.\u201d I had to feel some shit to know how to channel these emotions.<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: It\u2019s funny. We can get so resentful \u2014 why didn\u2019t I get that chance? This idea of loving your fate, because it\u2019s exactly where you need to be.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: I don\u2019t think anything will fall into line. That\u2019s why I thrive in complex roles, because it\u2019s just so much built up in me that I\u2019m able to color-coordinate every single layer of mine and apply a layer to this character. I do have a few layers for Perfidia.<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: Let\u2019s talk about Perfidia. Perfidia! Faithlessness; the betrayer. That name is like Shakespeare.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: It\u2019s such a good name. I wish it didn\u2019t mean what it meant.<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: She\u2019s the character that everything is in relation to as the movie plays out. That\u2019s a lot of responsibility. That opening shot, you are walking with such command, and, immediately, there\u2019s this gravity with the way that you\u2019re walking, scoping out that detention center. It reminds me of you as a dancer \u2014 the command of your body. There\u2019s a full awareness of what your body is communicating.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAlexi Lubomirski for Variety<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: Maybe it\u2019s the choreographer in me. Everything is just a flow. I\u2019m an over-communicator \u2014 so if we have a conversation and we\u2019re talking about what this scene feels like, I just do it. What makes it easy is the color-coordination of layers.<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: You\u2019ve said it twice: color-coordination. What do you mean?<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: The scene with Perfidia and she\u2019s walking out from the baby and Bob: She don\u2019t cry, but you see this face that she makes at the baby, and you see the face she makes when she looks at Bob. All that happened in less than five seconds. When I\u2019m looking at baby Willa, this is the color of She is my soft space. So I\u2019m pink. But then when I roll my eyes up, I\u2019m instantly red. And when I walk out and this is the new consciousness, I\u2019m blue.<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: Do these colors come in beforehand or while you\u2019re doing it?<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: I find it in real time. I work under pressure.<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: You can see she\u2019s so heartbroken by this thing, but at the same time, pulled by a real commitment of what it means to live a revolutionary life.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: On top of that, she\u2019s dealing with postpartum depression. Finding those layers, I\u2019m all about this. But at the same time, I\u2019m dealing with this, and no one\u2019s showing up, and I\u2019m all I\u2019ve got. I need to be free, and you want me to stay home and play house.<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: You bring so much of your own personality into these things. I think about the scene when you guys are by the campfire, and you\u2019re just going wild. Was there a lot of improvisation?<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: Yeah, it was. With PTA, we always joke about the chaos to be determined: \u201cChaos TBD.\u201d That\u2019s what it says on the script. When we get there, he says, \u201cGo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: Is improvisation a tool that you love?<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: At the end of the day, this is still somebody else\u2019s vision. You want to make sure you respect the vision. I feel like I\u2019m still a student, so I\u2019ve got to prove the point and make my professors proud.<\/p>\n

\n\tSpeaking of that, your work ethic is so insane. I can literally name 50 different movies \u2026<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: Yeah, I\u2019ve been around a while.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: But, then, you don\u2019t look like it. You make me excited for when I start really getting up there. I\u2019m just not going to age, because you\u2019re not aging! You\u2019re giving me hope that I just will not age. But because you\u2019re a fucking legend, how do you prepare for roles? Do you ever get stuck in any of your characters?<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve ever got stuck in something. I did have a hard time when I went into another project after \u201cFrankenstein.\u201d It wasn\u2019t until I brought back Victor to talk for a moment that I realized.\u2026 After \u201cFrankenstein,\u201d I was playing a character that was quite tight and small; Victor was still in there, angry that he had to be in this tiny little sad man.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere was something about playing Victor that was very freeing and pleasurable. He is a character that loves pleasure \u2014 a bit like Perfidia. There was something about playing somebody so unhinged, with no regard for moral judgment, that it\u2019s this vitalist energy that was really exciting and pleasurable to play. Leaving that was really hard.<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019ve started to add in a ritual. I show up in the morning and do a little ritual just to get my nervous system ready. To thank the ancestors and begin in a place of openness. And then at the end of the day, even more important, I do a little ritual to say, Thank you, body. Thanks for being open, and now you can release. I\u2019ve got kids and stuff to do, so I don\u2019t need your help anymore.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: Victor was just insane. Do you feel like that was the most intense character you\u2019ve ever played?<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAlexi Lubomirski for Variety<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: Energy-wise? Yeah. The energy required for this particular person that just does not stop, can\u2019t be caught, is moving and running away. The creation of the creature was three weeks in rain and those high-heeled boots, running up and down steps. But del Toro, when he\u2019s sitting there with that wide smile, just feeds you energy. It didn\u2019t feel like I was alone. It\u2019s a big character and it\u2019s heightened: It was very much like an opera, like a dance.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: What was one of the most difficult scenes on a personal level, through any of the movies that you\u2019ve done?<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: Well, obviously, the really difficult one is when it\u2019s not working, when the self-consciousness comes in. But there were so many that were very hard in \u201cFrankenstein\u201d; interestingly enough, the last scene between the creature and Victor.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: Did you feel bad when you were beating him?<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: No.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: Oh my God, Victor! You are selfish!<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: I wasn\u2019t supposed to! When you yell at yourself, do you feel bad that you\u2019re yelling at yourself? That\u2019s how I was thinking about it.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: I\u2019m talking to you like you\u2019re actually Victor Frankenstein; that\u2019s how good the movie is. Why would you show him what the sun is to take it away and lock him in the basement in darkness? What made you treat him like a monster?<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: This is a very extreme version of \u201cHow can an adult treat a child that way?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: Even though he\u2019s seven feet tall, he\u2019s still a baby!<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: I\u2019ve had to catch myself with it, too, treating your children as extensions of yourself, as objects of pride or shame. And then the loss of patience; to be able to lose your shit with your kids. This is an extreme version where he never thought past creation. All he sees is, \u201cI\u2019m going to be judged by this, and I don\u2019t understand that, and I just want to run away from it.\u201d The way you run away from it is you lock it down there.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: You\u2019re running away from your true self. It\u2019s a reflection of you, and, yeah, \u201cI have to run away from this now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: Perfidia has to go through that as well, right? She loses the baby.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: Walking away from my baby, it was hard. It was a hard scene because I wanted to cry. Perfidia, don\u2019t cry.<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: The scene at the end was really difficult \u2014 the forgiveness scene. It was the first scene we did together with Jacob.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: Now I know that probably was hard. The level of grace from the monster was \u2026 I don\u2019t even want to call him the monster! This is a baby! But it did show grace. Again, to lock him into darkness was a lot. But what I\u2019ve realized with \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d is that these things have to happen for one to rise. Perfidia had to make these mistakes for Willa to rise. We have to anchor the movie for the rest of it to prevail.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow was the chemistry-building? Did you and Jacob know each other already?<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: No. We met once, briefly, in Guillermo\u2019s office. The first time I saw him as the creature was on set, the day that we filmed the last scene. There was no chemistry-building; there was chemistry in action. He approached it in a way that was very vulnerable and raw and open. We played it like it\u2019s one person. On the one side is pure awareness, and on the other side is pure ego. Those two things come together, finally, at the end.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow about you? Sean Penn. the thing with Sean \u2026<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: They\u2019re toxic. They are toxic.<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: I don\u2019t judge her at all. She sees a bit of a freak in him, and so she sees a vulnerability. So she starts playing into that vulnerability.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: It was a pissing contest. They both had a lot of pride and were egocentric \u2026<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: Warriors.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: Exactly. Two fucking warriors. It was about power for Perfidia. And at one point she just got greedy. But it\u2019s crazy. The bathroom scene was our first time ever meeting each other. So he was already in gear. I was like, Oh, I\u2019m not bothering him. I\u2019m a fan, but I\u2019m not a pest. I mind mine. Drink my water. I do not play. When they yelled cut, he was like, \u201cI love you. I\u2019m such a big fan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMe and Leo were already buddies for a long time, but we never worked together before. I don\u2019t bring the personal into set. This is not like, \u201cOh, that\u2019s my homie.\u201d This is still Leonardo DiCaprio and I\u2019m still just little old me. So I\u2019m nervous. But how he mentors, it doesn\u2019t feel like one is above the other; he meets me where I\u2019m at. My job is to be present for my scene partners, and be present for my director and my DPs.<\/p>\n

\n\tFortunately for me, I\u2019ve seen the best of them be so warm and kind. It made me feel comfortable, and I was able to get into that bag. We didn\u2019t really get to meet each other\u2014<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: Or rehearse?<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: No. And I like to film the rehearsals too. I tell P.T., \u201cCatch every fucking thing.\u201d I think I\u2019m more relaxed. Something about \u201cQuiet on the set\u201d \u2014 my nerves just go.<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: You\u2019re interested in directing as well, right? So it must have been an incredible master class.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: PTA was just a super master class. Because not only am I directing, but I\u2019m also in culinary school to become a chef. I started using culinary terms \u2014 \u201cMaster Chef PTA. Let him cook! He\u2019s a master chef.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: Culinary school as well \u2014 how do you have time?<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: It\u2019s actually the thing that gives me a few to just be quiet and cook. It\u2019s an art. But when I signed up and realized I had business classes and all other types of shit, I was like, Oh, shit, baby. So now I\u2019m on my way to the \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d premiere on my iPad doing schoolwork. But it keeps me grounded. Some stuff you\u2019ve got to let sit for three hours before you can cook it. Culinary school and working with PTA really geared me up. I feel like I\u2019m going to be a great director. It might sound weird, like, All this from learning how to make a steak?<\/p>\n

\n\tIsaac: I think you\u2019re the coolest person I\u2019ve ever met in my life. You\u2019re so astounding \u2014 all the energy to do this.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor: It\u2019s all about balance.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis is a conversation from Variety and CNN\u2019s Actors on Actors<\/a>. To watch the full video, go to\u00a0CNN\u2019s streaming platform<\/a>\u00a0now. Or check out Variety\u2019s YouTube page at 3 p.m. ET today.<\/p>\n

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