When Scott Ridley saw Joaquin Phoenix’s Academy Award ®- winning performance in Joker, the director was reminded of their collaboration on Gladiator, and he knew that Phoenix would be perfect for the nominal part in his new film Napoleon “ I saw him and it all came submerging back – how we worked on Gladiator, and what trip he went on with that character, and I allowed , ‘ God damn, there’s Napoleon. ’”
Phoenix admits that he didn’t know important about the iconic French emperor before joining the design, and was surprised at some angles of the character that he discovered. “ I set up him to be a much more complex person than I originally imagined, especially the dynamic between him and Josephine, ” says the actor who plays Napoleon. “ I set up him mysterious, and that riddle is commodity that’s always intriguing to explore. ”
Watch director Scott and actress Vanessa Kirby talk about the “Unique Genius of Joaquin Phoenix” in this vignette:
Phoenix’s understanding of Scott’s processes made it easier for him to come the character, says patron Mark Huffam. “ Ridley and Joaquin like to challenge each other on a regular base, but it’s always done with a smile, ” says Huffam. “ Joaquin had his enterprises about taking on the part, and I suppose anybody would about this character. But thanks to exchanges with Ridley, he got comfortable with it relatively snappily and he’s fantastic. ”
For Scott, reuniting with Phoenix for the first time since Gladiator was an immense pleasure. “ He’s the only actor where we talk for weeks beforehand, just drooling and arguing in an office over aspects of the character. At the end, we’re on the same runner, ” says the director. “ He’s good for me, because he keeps me honest, and I ’m good for him, because I keep him in line. Physically, he’s perfect for the part – some of his facial features are strikingly analogous to Napoleon’s. ”
Phoenix says that because Scott’s medication is so scrupulous, it allows his actors freedom to explore the part on set. “ What I like isn’t having it all figured out in my head beforehand – I like to have several possibilities to play with on the day, ” explains Phoenix. “ Ridley not only allows that process, he encourages it – he wants you to move as freely as the character would. ”
In the Scott Ridley- directed Napoleon, Academy Award ®- winning Phoenix plays the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, contrary Vanessa Kirby, who plays the emperor’s one true love, Josephine. Napoleon opens simply in playhouses November 29.
Napoleon is a spectacle– filled action epic that details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, played by Oscar ®- winner Joaquin Phoenix. Against a stunning background of large– scale moviemaking orchestrated by fabulous director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte’s grim trip to power through the prism of his addicting, unpredictable relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary service and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever mugged.
Directed by Ridley Scott, with screenplay by David Scarpa, the action epic is produced by Ridley Scott, Kevin J. Walsh, Mark Huffam and Joaquin Phoenix.
Starring Joaquin Phoenix as the titular character, and Vanessa Kirby.
