You Were Never Really Here’s Joaquin Phoenix and Lynne Ramsay on shooting film in eight weeks and becoming soul mates
Set of thriller that won best screenplay award and best actor for Phoenix at last year’s Cannes was the craziest Ramsay has ever been on; Phoenix explains how they went out of their way to make it ‘the anti-James Bond’
Some actors and filmmakers were born to work together. Take Joaquin Phoenix and Lynne Ramsay, the star and writer-director, respectively, behind the radical new thriller You Were Never Really Here.
Phoenix is a three-time Oscar nominee known for his anguished, full-blooded performances in films like Gladiator, The Master and Walk The Line. Ramsay is the Scottish auteur behind the uncompromising Morvern Callar and We Need to Talk About Kevin.
Ramsay is unequivocal as to why she wanted Phoenix for the role of Joe, a damaged war veteran turned vigilante for hire. “He was on my computer from day one – I just thought he was the best person to play this, the most interesting. He’s the best actor in the world.”
Phoenix is more casual in his praise. “I just liked talking to her,” he says with a shrug. “Sometimes it’s just that you think you’ll get on with somebody.”
It almost never came to pass: Phoenix had three movies lined up for the second half of 2016, including the recent Mary Magdalene in which he played Jesus Christ. When one fell through, he called Ramsay, asking if she could get the production together in time for the gap in his schedule.
“I think she had eight weeks, which is f***ing crazy to try and put together a movie,” he says. “I was really surprised that she knew it that well and felt like she could get the production going.”