Where did David Mamet fall on that spectrum of controlling vs. loose with the actors?
CE: Well, he was very involved in the character, so he—I wouldn’t say he was controlling, but he was very much part and parcel in every decision made regarding the character. It was sort of necessary, because the script—it needed to unravel so people could understand the character, so he could sort of sail smoothly through the story and an audience could go with him. I was aware that I needed to have David there in order to work through the details. It’s the sort of film that if David wasn’t the writer, we would have needed the writer on set as much as possible, because it was very complicated. AVC: He’s known for writing very mannered dialogue, and wanting it performed in one very precise way. And this film mostly moves away from that—it isn’t the first film that doesn’t have that speaking pattern, but it’s on the far end of his signature style. Is he still very precise about how he wants you to read a specific line in a specific moment? CE: No, he was quite free with the script, I th
