Beau is Afraid is the latest film from critically-acclaimed director Ari Aster, who previously worked on Hereditary and Midsommar. Joaquin Phoenix plays the titular Beau alongside other noteworthy stars like Nathan Lane, Parker Posey, and Amy Ryan. Beau is Afraid follows the paranoid protagonist as he journeys back home to see his mother, with many strange occurrences along the way.
Nathan Lane, whose past work encompasses a myriad of films across his long-spanning career like The Producers and The Birdcage, and Amy Ryan, known for roles like Sylvia in Birdman and Holly in The Office, play married couple Roger and Grace in Beau is Afraid. The two take Beau into their home temporarily following an unfortunate accident, much to the chagrin of their daughter. Their scenes blend drama and comedy in weird and interesting ways in what some are calling Aster’s most unhinged movie yet.
Related: Why Joaquin Phoenix Couldn’t Look His Beau Is Afraid Costar In The Eye
Screen Rant sat down with Lane and Ryan to discuss their work on Beau is Afraid, standout moments during filming, and what it was like collaborating with Ari Aster.
Nathan Lane & Amy Ryan on Beau is Afraid
Screen Rant: Amy, can you talk about what it was like filming the paint scene? I feel like that must have been one of the most intense and also quite messy.
Amy Ryan: Yes, you’re right in both. There’s a little bit of a – and maybe I put this on myself – like, “Oh, this is one you want to get right in one take, maybe two,” because it’s a lot to clean up and reset the scene. And I don’t know about giving too much away, but walking into that room which, for Grace, that is a sanctuary; that is her dead son’s room, no one is to mess with it. So the horror upon horror of what she finds when she bursts through that door. We have a really talented special effects team, and it felt very real to me, so I feel like not much acting need apply here.
And there’s a lot of levity and humor in the film, and in-between one take when they were resetting that set, Joaquin and I were out in the yard covered in paint, and we just started laughing. We’re like, “This is our job. This is our chosen profession.” [Laughs] And with that, be it that scene or any of the others in our chapter with Nathan, there was such trust because there was so much humor, there was so much pressure taken off the severity of the situation. But it was still intense to film.
What was it like working with Ari Aster? Do you feel like having a familiarity with his past films prepared you in any way for what acting in this would entail?
Amy Ryan: It would be very hard if you only knew his films and you had never met him or heard him speak or seen an interview. The two don’t quite match up like what you would imagine someone who could create these films would be like.
Nathan Lane: He looks like a Jewish youth pastor. [Laughs] I don’t know what I’m saying – I’ve been here a long time. He’s adorable, what else can you say? You just want to put them on a Ritz and eat him. He’s hilarious, and smart, and kind, and compassionate, and does not seem like the twisted individual who would have written anything like this. And he’s a master filmmaker, so it’s an exciting and joyous thing to get to work with somebody like that.
Nathan, what was it like working with Joaquin? I know he couldn’t look directly at you during filming.
Nathan Lane: Ah, you watched The Tonight Show. After we broke the ice with one another, yes, he found me amusing. And so at a certain point, and because my character is-
Amy Ryan: Amusing. [Laughs]
Nathan Lane: Perhaps duplicitous, he’s perhaps pretending certain things. And so he would say to me, “I can’t look you in the eye, or I’ll start to laugh.” Which I considered high praise coming from serious artist like Mr. Joaquin Phoenix. We did have a great time together, all of us. We laughed a lot because of the absurdity of the situation. And he’s not only a great artist, but a total mensch.
About Beau is Afraid
A paranoid man embarks on an epic odyssey to get home to his mother in this bold and ingeniously depraved new film from writer-director Ari Aster.
Check out our other Beau is Afraid interview with Parker Posey.
Beau Is Afraid arrives in theaters on April 21.
