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At this point in its history, Marvel isn’t known for tampering with the proven superhero formula. And yet “Moon Knight,” The studio’s current Disney+ lineup has taken some unexpected luck.
The first episode introduces Steven Grant, a villainous museum souvenir clerk, who he plays with a dangerous British accent. Oscar Isaac. Isaac also plays Marc Spector, a grizzled American mercenary who shares a body with Grant and is also Moon Knight, a crime-fighting avatar of an ancient Egyptian god.
As the “Moon Knight” story reveals, Spector has had dissociative identity disorder, or DID, since childhood, and Grant is an alternate identity he created to protect himself from trauma and abuse.
“Moon Knight” was also a risk for Isaac, even though his résumé included some of the greatest fantasy series Hollywood has ever produced. While he’s had a career full of smaller projects by many orders of magnitude – performance “Hamlet” and “Romeo and Juliet” She has starred for the Public Theater and in intimate dramas such as “Card Counter” and “Scenes from a Marriage” He has also appeared in movie serials such as “Star wars” and “X-Men.” These blockbuster movies have elevated Isaac to higher levels of recognition, but the grueling work they require and the lack of input they often allow made him hesitate when Marvel called him for “Moon Knight.”
As 43-year-old Isaac explained in a video interview last week, the zest for “Moon Knight” was starting to explore the title character in a way that felt right to him, even though his approach didn’t always fit the Marvel mold.
“It doesn’t matter much,” said Isaac, whether Moon Knight will move on to his own movie or to a super team like the Avengers, which he and his writer-director wife Elvira Lind are operating from the production company’s offices in Brooklyn.
“It’s a new character we’re taking a chance on,” he said. “The nature of the story is this investigation, this slowly revealing mystery.”
“If it goes elsewhere, that’s great,” he added. “I’m glad this isn’t just a synergy ad.”
Before the “Moon Knight” finale on Wednesday, Isaac talked about the production of the series, of which he is executive producer. He also talked about the unexpected fluctuations in his career and working for Disney as the company was hit by a political storm. These are edited excerpts from that speech.
Do you get two paychecks for playing two roles in “Moon Knight”?
I have to, man. It’s funny because that’s what I was worried about: I didn’t want it to feel like this masturbation thing. When I started I was so adamant that I didn’t want to cheat, some of Jekyll and Hyde were swapping back and forth. I really broke up Marc and Steven, even asking if we could shoot them on different days. Just think about it and don’t ask me to wear a different hat.
Some actors say they immediately accepted when Marvel arrived, but you didn’t. Why?
At that point, I wasn’t too keen on getting into a big production. I wanted to fall in love with acting again. I was a little tired. I have two young children and was ready to take a step back and make smaller movies that weren’t that big of a commitment. When this came, my first feeling was, uh, it was bad timing.
As a comic book fan, have you ever felt compelled by a B- or C-list character?
Yep, they’re pretty much messed up. Even though people say that about Iron Man – then it changes cinema forever, and what an amazing performance that was. Part of its charm, to be honest, was its ambiguity.
What inspired you to play Steven Grant?
Like an homage to the things I love, Peter Sellers and British “Office” and “The State Allows Apartments” and Karl Pilkington. I was watching too “Love on the Spectrum” — These people go on these dates, who are autistic, who feel what we all would feel, but they didn’t develop these masks to hide it all. Everything is out there. There was something about it that I found very moving. I started making the character at home and my kids always asked me to do it.
You mentioned feeling burnt out on big-budget projects. When did you start experiencing this?
It’s mid to late in the “Star Wars” series. The time commitment was very long and the availability windows were very specific. I’m starting to get hungry for those character studies and working with those great directors.
You worked professionally as an actor for several years and had some important theatrical roles. But have you seen big-budget movies offer you some groundbreaking opportunities?
There were a few supporting performances that gave me the opportunity to do really different characters on these big stages. “Robin Hood” and “Sucker Punch.” The fun thing was that no one knew who I was. I played the King of England in “Robin Hood,” and nobody had a problem with that. Now that I’m better known, can he suddenly play English? Should Does he play English? We know all about everyone in this age and of course people have a problem of suspending disbelief.
well a juilliard graduate and a seasoned Shakespearean actor, didn’t you think that such films were somehow under you?
No, I didn’t feel that way. I wanted to earn my living as an actor. I did not have the luxury of ethics; I didn’t have the luxury of honesty. [Laughs.] I felt like I could bring my perspective to everything that came my way. At first, I was like, “If I had one chance, I could prove it…” and then I’d have a chance, it would come and go and I would realize, Oh! I think I need another shot now. After a while, it became clear that the only thing you can control is your craft and staying curious, and use that craft in whatever way you think is good, whatever your path.
starred in “Inside Llewyn Davis” Do you feel like one of these opportunities for you?
It was completely life-changing in every way. This was my first lead role. It was a Coen brothers movie. I played music I still can’t believe this happened. I wanted it like this badly and just worked my ass beforehand. It was consolation the moment I did what I had planned to do, and Coens took a risk for someone relatively unknown.
Was it weird that it led to more fantasy franchise roles? Is that how they think about me?
I’ve been doing this long enough to know there’s no such thing as ‘they’ – just people trying to make movies, whether large or small. JJ [Abrams] wanted to meet me [for “The Force Awakens”] while I’m still shooting “A Most Violent Year.” I remember because Albert Brooks [his co-star on “A Most Violent Year”] Before he went to meet JJ, he left me a really funny message pretending to be JJ. And of course, if I hadn’t done that, perhaps I would have been available for something else to come my way. But nobody knows.
With “X-Men: Apocalypse,” you’ve had a shot at comic book adaptations before. It wasn’t well received, but I think it got a bad rap. Is this a role you turned down?
No, I do not refuse. I know exactly what I want to do there and why. There were some great actors that I really wanted to work with. [James] McAvoy and [Michael] Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence. While I was collecting X-Men growing up and I loved Apocalypse, I found him a very weird, weird character. Then you get there and you say, “Oh my God, I’m wearing all these prosthetics.” I’m wearing a suit. I can not move. I can’t see anyone. All these actors I want to work with – I can’t even see who they are. I still think fondly of those times. I wish it was a better movie and had a better look at the character but those are the risks.
Can you count the time to do “Dune” with Denis Villeneuve as one of your typical franchise movie experiences?
Denis was the reason he did it. When he came to me, he actually didn’t have a role in mind for me yet. I’m doing ‘Dune’, are you interested? Which role is interesting to you?” We decided it was Leto. It was difficult to be a very special voice in a large symphony.
And going in, did you know that this is a character with a limited lifespan?
Yes, that was part of the charm.
Was “Star Wars” your closest frame of reference when Marvel called you for “Moon Knight”? Is that what made you careful?
These are huge, huge movies. It’s as fun as you can get, you expend a lot of energy and then you go and you’re just tired. It was part of the fear. I hadn’t anticipated how much creative flexibility there would be – how much energy it gave me back.
How so?
Once upon a time Mohammed [Diab, a director on “Moon Knight”] and I started talking about what could happen if we could put our lens on it, it was much more important that we stick to DID than some kind of comic book story. When you do research on what causes DID, it’s not like one thing. No, you watched something terrible happen and you suddenly turned into all these different personalities. It stems from constant trauma and abuse over time. It’s a survival mechanism that clicks into place for anyone who’s been through it. It’s a little surprising that they can break their minds to survive.
For most of the series, Marc and Steven would interact in secret ways, such as talking to each other in the reflection of a mirror. How did you handle the sequences we saw in last week’s episode, where the duo often stand side by side?
I had a brother, Michael [the actor Michael Benjamin Hernandez]who is a great actor and shares my DNA, take place as my alter. Other times, it was technically a challenge, as sometimes, especially in wide shots, I had to act with anyone and remember the blocking I did as the other character and respond to lines fed to me in a headset. I wore.
Was DID something you knew before making “Moon Knight”?
I didn’t. I just did “The Card Counter,” which is all about living with trauma and PTSD, I was doing some research on that, and there was something about seeing what was on the other end of the spectrum that felt organic.
Does “Moon Knight” explain why stories about alternative identities and multiverses are becoming increasingly popular?
We live in a post-reality world. Everything felt so much clearer, and now they aren’t. Nothing can be real or authentic anymore, and I think that’s reflected in much of our popular culture.
You are once a prominent ambassador of the Disney brand. The company is experiencing a conservative backlash and political revenge for his opposition To Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” law, which critics call “Don’t Say Gay”. Is this something you feel personally invested in and does this reaction affect you as an individual?
No, I’m not experiencing this. I’m not on social media, so luckily, if this works for me, I’m unaware. But everything has a political undercurrent right now. Disney had to take a stand, and I’m glad they took the right stance out there. Sometimes silence or neutrality doesn’t work. It’s amazing to watch an arrogant politician try to own libraries. I grew up in Florida and am aware of how dysfunctional the state is. But it’s an interesting time when everything is settled, and if Disney is to have so many of the entertainment industry, they must expect to face some tough decisions.
Are these kinds of thoughts you need to do now when you work in a large studio?
I prefer not to. [Laughs.] This will require me to do a lot of research beforehand, which I would prefer not to do. I’d rather spend that time on finding a good character.
It takes some conscientiousness about it, but at the same time you’re trying to make a living and you’re trying to live in the world. I just want to do good things and I hope I try to do it responsibly.
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