Robert Eggers on Aaron Taylor-Johnson casting

    by Anjali Filmi: Robert Eggers

    Robert Eggers confirms Aaron Taylor-Johnson landed the lead in WERWULF partly because of his traditional attractiveness, though he also cited the actor's dance background and athletic ability as crucial for the transformation sequences. The director describes a beautiful, traditionally masculine appearance with a haunted quality that fits the role, while noting Taylor-Johnson is actually a warm, gentle, kind father in real life. Filming was an insane process where he spent most of the time naked, covered in blood, screaming, and acting in the woods of England and Wales. Eggers says this contrast makes it powerful for audiences: "It's powerful for the audience because this is someone who is cursed, trapped & in this world he doesn't belong in." The character is cursed and trapped in a world he does not want to be in, creating a difficult experience for the actor. #RobertEggers

    Transcript (en)

    For Aaron because of a lot of reasons like one I knew about his dance background and that he would be able to be like super athletic with the transformation stuff as you can see and very few people can do that period. uh also he's obviously very beautiful uh but in like in a in a you know like a traditional masculine way which also lends himself to to this to this role very well and he has and aaron has a haunted quality uh which is something i look for in most of my actors but uh but the other thing is like aaron is he's not a dark person like he is a really warm guy he is such a warm and gentle kind father in in real life and this is not his world and i had to like and i and i knew that it would be like extra challenging for him but but if it worked like powerful for the audience because this is someone who's cursed and trapped and in this world that he doesn't belong in and doesn't want to be in and and he's just like stuck there you know and and this was a really like insane process for aaron to be like pretty much all the time naked covered and blood like in the woods in England and Wales like you know screaming and going crazy I mean it was a really intense experience.