Salma Hayek of Khalil Gibran's 'The Prophet'
Hayek produced the animated film about poetry, in addition to voicing a character. “When you’re acting, you’re doing it exactly the same,” she says of filming an animated role. "My body is moving as if I was doing the scene.”
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FELICITY JONES AND EDDIE REDMAYNE OF ‘THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING’
Jones plays the wife of Professor Stephen Hawking in the film, which follows the couple’s relationship as they face the physicist’s diagnosis of motor neuron disease. “Jane had about a hundred costume changes throughout the film, and it shows the changes in her character,” Jones says. “She’s someone who very much cares about her appearance-especially when going through something very difficult.”
Jake Gyllenhaal of 'Nightcrawler'
“I thought about animals that hunt for food and decided that the character is really hungry-both figuratively and literally,” Gyllenhaal says of the inspiration behind his physical transformation for his role in the drama as a shady crime news journalist.
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Rene Russo of ‘Nightcrawler’
“I watched the local news, and it’s interesting because the women wear a lot of makeup and a lot of jewelry-they’re done up,” Russo says of preparing for her role as a news producer in the film. “I thought that was a cool look, so I sort of based my character on it.”
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Naomi Watts and Melissa McCarthy of 'St. Vincent'
“Every day to me is Bill Murray Day,” said Melissa McCarthy, who stars alongside Murray and Naomi Watts in the comedy about an unlikely mentorship between a retiree and his young neighbor.
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Chris Evans of 'Before We Go'
“There are certain songs you listen to that you just think belong in a movie,” Evans says of choosing the soundtrack for the romance about two strangers who spend a night together in New York-his favorite part about directing in addition to starring in the film.
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Jennifer Connelly, Paul Bettany, and Anthony Mackie of ‘Shelter’
“It’s unique, obviously, because of the amount of trust that we have with one another,” Connelly says of working with her husband, Bettany, who directed the film. “For me, that was invaluable. I felt completely safe to give him everything that I had and know that he had my back,” she adds.
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Anthony Mackie of 'Shelter’ and 'Black and White'
Mackie tried to step away from the heavy nature of Shelter, a story about homelessness in New York City, whenever possible. “I took every opportunity I could to just decompress,” he says. “I played more golf, which I love because it's a game that allows you to check back in with yourself.”
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Chloe Moretz of 'Laggies,' 'The Equalizer,' Clouds of Sils Maria,' and 'Tales of Princess Kaguya'
For her portrayal as a teenage prostitute in The Equalizer, Moretz wanted to be completely unrecognizable. “I gained 10 or 15 pounds for the role,” she says. “I ate a lot of pasta and a lot of cannoli-a lot of doughnuts, actually!”
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SAM ROCKWELL AND DIRECTOR LYNN SHELTON OF ‘LAGGIES’
It was surreal for Rockwell to play the father of Chloe Grace Moretz in the film. “I’m a young, awesome dude,” he says. “It’s weird to have a daughter that’s almost a grown woman.” As for his own teen years, “I was a big geek. We’re all geeky in high school-even if we think we’re cool.”
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KEIRA KNIGHTLEY OF ‘THE IMITATION GAME’ AND ‘LAGGIES’
“When I first heard that they were doing a film version of the Alan Turing story, I asked if there was any way I could get involved without even knowing what the part was,” says Knightley. She plays the mathematician’s co-worker on Britain’s team of German code-breakers during World War II, as well as his fiancee prior to the revelation of-and persecution for-his homosexuality.
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Allen Leech of ‘The Imitation Game’
Off-screen, Leech and co-star Matthew Goode bonded plenty. “He attempted to explain the machine that Alan Turing built almost every day to me, and he failed miserably every time,” Leech says. “We also did crossword puzzles together all the time.”
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BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH OF ‘THE IMITATION GAME’
When prepping for the lead role in the film, Cumberbatch spoke to one of Alan Turing’s nieces to learn more about his character. “She said that he was an exceptional person to be around as a child,” Cumberbatch says. “He did fun tricks to make them laugh, like playing chess with his back turned to the board.”
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ANNA KENDRICK OF ‘CAKE’ AND ‘THE LAST FIVE YEARS’
Filming ‘The Last Five Years’ alongside Broadway star Jeremy Jordan was a thrill for Kendrick. “Singing next to somebody of his caliber was intimidating,” she says. “It really kept me on my toes and working hard!”
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Jeremy Jordan of ‘The Last Five Years’
Jordan was thrilled to work alongside co-star Anna Kendrick. “She’s sarcastic as hell-a total firecracker and dork,” he says. “But then on set, she’s always present and it was great to learn from a seasoned film actress.”
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Kate Beckinsale of 'Face of an Angel'
“I was struck by the similarities of being ready to pack a bag and leave your family to run off for something that thrills you,” Beckinsale says of relating her acting career to her role as a journalist in the drama based on the story of Amanda Knox.
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Greta Gerwig of 'The Humbling' and 'Eden'
“We were in Paris, and I got to dress like it was 1992,” Gerwig says of shooting Eden, a film about the '90s French music scene. "I wore a lot of thick corduroys!"
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Michael Douglas of 'The Reach'
“It was very physically testing,” Douglas says of shooting the film about a hunting trip in the desert of New Mexico. “You literally crawled on all fours back to your hotel room at night to take a bath."
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Jeremy Irvine of 'The Reach'
To get into character, the British actor maintained his American accent off the set. “After a couple of weeks, if you’ve only spoken to someone as an American, suddenly they go, ‘What is that pretentious British accent?’” Irvine says. “It’s good fun.”
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KATE BOSWORTH OF ‘STILL ALICE’
“We immediately fell into a natural family dynamic,” Kate Bosworth says of her co-stars in the film about a woman’s struggle with early onset Alzheimer’s. She and co-star Kristen Stewart looked up to Julianne Moore and Alec Baldwin, who play the duo’s parents in the story, both on-screen and off while filming. “They were the leaders of the family, and they really set a standard,” she says.
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ROSE BYRNE OF ‘ADULT BEGINNERS’
Byrne explains that filming in Upstate New York had it’s perks—including a sleepover at co-star Nick Kroll’s family home. “He grew up not far from where we were shooting,” she says. “His mom put us up and was lovely-she made this gorgeous spread. The movie is about family and relationships, so it was really fitting that we did that.”
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BOBBY CANNAVALE OF ‘ADULT BEGINNERS’
In 'Adult Beginners,' Cannavale and his on-screen wife-played by Rose Byrne-allow the brother of Byrne's character to move in with them after his seemingly-perfect New York City life falls apart. Thanks to a broken swimming pool heater, the comedic cast took a laughter break when filming outdoors in the winter. “We look like we’re freezing because we’re freezing,” Cannavale says. “It was eight degrees outside. You couldn’t even act like it wasn’t cold.”
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Jon Stewart of ‘Rosewater’
“It’s nice to be behind the scenes, as opposed to in front,” Stewart says of his directorial debut. As for how the cast bonded, “We took peyote and went into a smoke tent. Two weeks later we came out,” Stewart jokes.
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GAEL GARCIA BERNAL OF ‘ROSEWATER’
Bernal stars in the Jon Stewart-produced film adaptation based on the true story of Maziar Bahari, an Iranian Canadian journalist who was imprisoned for five months in Iran after he appeared on Stewart’s show. “I love being in places of conflict,” he says of filming in Jordan. “Conflict is an open ground, a very personal ground for creativity.”
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JESSICA CHASTAIN OF ‘MISS JULIE’
The story of ‘Miss Julie’ takes place entirely in one evening, so Chastain's character wears the same outfit for the whole film. “As the night goes on, she becomes more and more unraveled,” Chastain says. To accommodate wear and tear both on-screen and off, there were two versions of the dress on set.
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JUSTIN LONG OF ‘TUSK’
Long was fully prepped for his role in the horror-comedy about a podcast host’s trip to Canada that quickly takes a turn for the strange. “It sounds silly, but I watched a lot of walrus footage on YouTube and a bunch of great nature shows,” he says. “I also listened to a lot of morning radio-mostly comedians known for meaner-spirited comedy.”
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Haley Joel Osment, Genesis Rodriguez, and Justin Long of ‘Tusk’
A fan of Homeland, Osment made an exciting discovery while shooting in North Carolina with the crew that works on the Showtime series. “We had the same prop department, and I got the holster for my gun and it said ‘Claire’s gun,’” Osment says. “I was like, is this Claire Danes’ gun from Homeland? This is the gun that fights terrorism!”
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Gemma Arterton of 'Gemma Bovary'
“I’m one of those annoying people that wherever I go, I sort of pick up the accent after a few weeks,” Arterton says about learning to speak French for this updated take on Madame Bovary.
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Adam Driver of ‘Hungry Hearts,’ ‘This is Where I Leave You,’ and ‘While We’re Young’
Driver’s biggest challenge while filming ‘Hungry Hearts,’ which tells the story of a couple’s conflicting views about raising their child, was a dark scene of domestic violence with co-star Alba Rohrwacher. “There was a scene where I had to slap Alba when she’s holding the baby,” he says. “It was the toughest scene, and I couldn’t have prepared for it.”
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Corey Stoll of ‘This is Where I Leave You’ and ‘The Good Lie’
Stoll learned a lot from his co-star Jane Fonda on the set of ‘This is Where I Leave You,’ which tells the story of a family brought together to mourn the death of a loved one. “Jane-this legend-couldn’t be more approachable and interested in everybody else,” he says. “She’s asking what my process is, and then I realized that I should be asking her about her incredibly inspiring life.”
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Kathryn Hahn, Ben Schwartz, Connie Britton, and Abigail Spencer of 'This is Where I Leave You'
“It felt like we were going to summer camp,” Hahn says of shooting the film. “We were all in one room together lounging around on this big bed showing YouTube videos to each other.”
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CONNIE BRITTON OF ‘THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU’
On her days off during filming, Britton enjoyed some family fun in the sun with co-stars Tina Fey and Kathryn Hahn. “It was summer time, so we discovered great parks with our kids together,” she says.
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MILES TELLER AND J.K. SIMMONS OF ‘WHIPLASH’
Already an avid drummer, Teller felt comfortable taking on the role of a musical prodigy who doesn’t get along with his instructor. “My character plays jazz, and that’s a completely different style from what I’ve played,” he says. “I felt like I was learning from scratch, because you even hold the stick differently.”
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ETHAN HAWKE OF ‘GOOD KILL’
Training to be an Air Force officer for his role in ‘Good Kill’ was a hands-on experience for Hawke, thanks to director Andrew Niccol. “He brought real drone pilots and GCS trailers that were built from actual blueprints,” Hawke says. “Then, pilots came in and showed us how to work everything while talking us through their experiences.”
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Jake Abel of 'Love & Mercy' and 'Good Kill'
To prep for his role as Mike Love of the Beach Boys in ‘Love amp Mercy,’ Abel took inspiration from a logical source. “I went on a road trip with my wife to Arizona, and about eighty-five percent of the trip both ways we listened to Beach Boys on repeat,” he says. “It’s about six hours there and six hours back.”
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Paul Dano, John Cusack, and Elizabeth Banks of 'Love & Mercy'
To prep for his role as Brian Wilson, Cusack spent time with the founder of the Beach Boys to learn about his life following the band’s initial success. “It was clear how he was burdened by the fact that he was doing all of these really great songs for the Beach Boys, but they still wanted him to make what he’d already made-another hit,” Cusack says.
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ELIZABETH BANKS OF ‘LOVE & MERCY’
For her role as Brian Wilson’s wife, Banks had the perfect inspiration on set: the founder of the Beach Boys’ real-life counterpart, Melinda Ledbetter. “I loved having her as a resource and just feeling that she and Brian were present,” Banks says. “They respected our process and knew that we were trying to get at the essence of what they had with each other.”
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NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU OF ‘A SECOND CHANCE’
Coster-Waldau was thrilled to head to his native Denmark and film the dark drama, which is about a cop’s fateful decision upon the arrival of a drugged-out couple and their neglected baby. “I got to be at home, close to my family,” he says. “Denmark is such a small country, so suddenly I’m working with friends that I’ve known for a long, long time.”
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DAX SHEPARD, VINCENT D’ONOFRIO, VERA FARMIGA, AND JEREMY STRONG OF ‘THE JUDGE’
“We had a big cast dinner at this amazing converted barn,” Shepard says of shooting in Shelburne Falls, Massachussetts. As for what he learned from co-star Robert Duvall, "I think I know every best restaurant in America now. He somehow knows the best of everything!”
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NOOMI RAPACE OF ‘THE DROP’
Rapace worked with the late James Gandolfini on what turned out to be one of his final projects, a crime drama set in Brooklyn. “He had this amazing ability to be both vulnerable and strong, and frightening and likable,” she says of his work on ‘The Drop.’ “It still feels like he’s with us somehow.”
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ANDREW GARFIELD, MICHAEL SHANNON, AND NOAH LOMAX OF ‘99 HOMES’
“It doesn’t feel like America,” Garfield says of New Orleans, where filming took place for the drama about sketchy and desperate foreclosure deals. “It feels like its own country-or like a city that a bunch of pirates found.”
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SIR BEN KINGSLEY OF ‘LEARNING TO DRIVE’
Kingsley was confident in his ability to portray a Sikh driving instructor who bonds with his new student, a writer who has just been left by her husband. “I didn’t do any preparation other than learn my lines, and I say that in all honesty” he explains. “But I am acquainted with some Sikhs for whom I have great respect.”
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MUNA OTARU, BRIT MARLING, AND HAILEE STEINFELD OF ‘THE KEEPING ROOM’
While filming the American Civil War drama in Romania, changing into their authentic-looking wardrobes got the cast right into character. “I remember seeing Hailee walk out of her trailer for the first time in costume, and in that landscape suddenly you traveled back to 1864,” Marling says.
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Sam Claflin of 'The Riot Club'
Claflin, who plays a privileged young English man in Oxford’s exclusive “Riot Club,” was thrilled that the on-screen sense of bromance continued when the cameras stopped. “We all get on like a house on fire,” he says. “We knew the chemistry was quite poignant to making this film work, and you feel like these guys have known each other for years."
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Holliday Grainger of ‘The Riot Club’
“It’s a small world in Britain, so if we didn’t already know each other, then we were best friends with someone’s best friend,” Grainger says of her relationships with her co-stars. On set, “the boys had their little boys club going on, which the girls weren’t really invited to!” she adds.
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DOUGLAS BOOTH OF ‘THE RIOT CLUB’
Research was key to Booth’s portrayal of an elite member of the posh “Riot Club” at Oxford. “I never had that upbringing, so it was very important to figure out where these guys came from,” he says. “We sat down and had a talk with an 18-year-old lord. He was lovely.”
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Max Irons of ‘The Riot Club’
“We all worked in our very different ways, and we had a director who was considerate and thoughtful,” Irons says of working with his co-stars and director Lone Scherfig. “She responded to us as actors in different ways, and really spoke our language.”
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MAIKA MONROE OF ‘IT FOLLOWS’
Starring as a teenager plagued by a sexually transmitted curse required plenty of stunt work for Monroe. “I wanted to do everything on my own,” she says. “It was probably the most intense five weeks of my life-not only physically demanding, but mentally.”
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SCOTT SPEEDMAN AND PATRICIA CLARKSON OF ‘OCTOBER GALE’
Speedman felt right at home on the set of ‘October Gale,’ which filmed just two hours north of his native Toronto. “I’ve spent so much time here that there’s an ease to it,” he says. Production wasn’t without its challenges, however. “The weather wasn’t cooperating with us. The lake was supposed to be melted, but it was frozen. It was hard to shoot.”
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Ben Schnetzer of ‘Pride’
“It was just like an acting master class. Every day you showed up to set, it was like being back in school-which was amazing,” Schnetzer says of learning from his co-stars on the set of the film about an alliance between Welsh coal miners and London’s LGBT community in 1984.
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THE CAST OF ‘PRIDE’
When the cameras stopped rolling, the co-stars took part in some quality behind-the-scenes bonding time. “We drank a lot of whiskey,” Dominic West says with a laugh. Funny moments were common both on-camera and off, the actor adds. “Really, you just have to stand around and tell jokes!"
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Gugu Mbatha-Raw of ‘Beyond the Lights’
Writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood had surprises in store for Mbatha-Raw and her co-star Nate Parker during pre-production for the film about a rising young RampB star. “Nate and I went to have an improv lunch date dressed in character, and Gina pranked us with fake paparazzi,” Mbatha-Raw says. “We played out the whole thing in character for two hours. It was amazing.”
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Nate Parker of ‘Beyond the Lights’
When it came to on-screen chemistry, Parker and co-star Gugu Mbatha-Raw nailed it. “It’s funny, because people ask if we’re in a real relationship,” Parker says. “We’re like, ‘No, we just had a great script, great rehearsal, and we liked each other!’”
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LUKE HEMSWORTH AND TERESA PALMER OF ‘KILL ME THREE TIMES’
After landing the role of a scheming wife in an Australian beach town, Palmer found out that she was pregnant. “We talked about whether or not they would write the pregnancy in, and they decided to hide it,” she says. “By the end of filming, I was six months pregnant. You can definitely see that there’s some bump going on!”
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JOSH CHARLES OF ‘BIRD PEOPLE’
Charles took French lessons to sound the part of an American businessman who makes radical life changes while in Paris, but his linguistic efforts paid off-unbelievably so. “I worked on the accent too well, and we had to have rehearsals to re-Americanize my French,” he says. “I was bummed, but also proud that I tricked them!”
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JANE LEVY OF ‘BANG BANG BABY’
For her role in ‘Bang Bang Baby,’ a sci-fi musical set in the 1960s, Levy put her dancing skills to the test. “My character would do these jerky and unattractive dance moves in the middle of something really sultry, and I loved that,” she says. “For one big musical number, they hired a choreographer to lift me in the air. I got to rip off my skirt-I had hot pants on underneath!”
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ASA BUTTERFIRLD OF ‘X+Y’
Butterfield met with a math consultant to prepare for his role as an autistic teen prodigy who excels in the realm of numbers. “I, myself, am not a math whiz,” Butterfield says. “But my character’s life pretty much revolves around math. It’s the only thing to him that seems logical and rational-everything else just seems insane.”
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SUYA CHANG OF ‘REVENGE OF THE GREEN DRAGONS’
Chang was totally fine with being the only female star on the set of ‘Revenge of the Green Dragons.’ “It was a learning experience for all of us,” Chang says of filming the Martin Scorsese-produced movie about the world of Chinese crime in 1980s New York. “I love being around boys-I was always a tomboy growing up, so I was very comfortable!”
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ALEX RUSSELL OF ‘CUT SNAKE’
Portraying a character with a secret criminal past in ‘Cut Snake’ was a challenge that Russell took on with a sense of caution. “I was terrified about playing someone who hardly spoke,” he says. For inspiration, he carefully watched Ryan Gosling’s performance in the 2011 thriller ‘Drive.’ “There’s a particular quality that he carried to be largely mute yet say so much,” Russell explains.
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XAVIER DOLAN OF ‘ELEPHANT SONG’ AND ‘MOMMY’
After writing and directing ‘Mommy,’ which follows the relationship between an unstable teenager and his mother, Dolan didn’t have much time before filming began on his next project, ‘Elephant Song.’ “I didn’t prep,” he says. “I was shooting Mommy three days before.”
