The Actor (upcoming film)

The Actor is an upcoming American film directed by Duke Johnson, from a screenplay by Johnson and Stephen Cooney, based on the 2010 novel Memory by Donald E. Westlake. The film marks Johnson's solo directorial debut and stars André Holland as Paul Cole, a New York actor who lost his memory after being beaten up and left for dead in 1950s Ohio. Stranded in a mysterious small town, Paul struggles to get back home and reclaim his life and identity.[1] The ensemble cast includes Gemma Chan, May Calamawy, Toby Jones, Tracey Ullman, Olwen Fouéré, Joe Cole, Tanya Reynolds, Asim Chaudhry, Youssef Kerkour, Simon McBurney and Edward Hogg.

The Actor
Directed byDuke Johnson
Screenplay by
  • Duke Johnson
  • Stephen Cooney
Based onMemory
by Donald E. Westlake[1]
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJoe Passarelli
Edited byGarret Elkins
Music byPerfume Genius[2]
Production
companies
  • Innerlight Films
  • Make Good Content
Distributed byNeon
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Cast

Production

Development

On February 24, 2021, Deadline reported that Ryan Gosling had committed to star in The Actor, with Duke Johnson directing a screenplay he wrote with Stephen Cooney, based on Donald E. Westlake's 2010 novel Memory.[1] Gosling was set to produce the film with Waypoint Entertainment's Ken Kao, Johnson and Abigail Spencer's Innerlight Films, and Paul Young's Make Good company, with CAA Media Finance and Endeavor Content co-repping the film's U.S. rights, and Endeavor Content handling international sales.[1] Collider reported that before Gosling signed on to star in the film, Aaron Taylor-Johnson was previously circling the project.[12] The Actor was a top seller at Berlin's 2021 European Film Market.[13]

On April 12, 2021, it was reported that Neon had acquired North American distribution rights to the film and that Charlie Kaufman–who co-directed the 2015 film Anomalisa with Johnson–had joined the project as executive producer.[14] The same day, Neon shared on their Twitter account that the film would be released in 2022.[15]

On October 18, 2022, producer Abigail Spencer said in an interview with the website The Retaility that the film was in pre-production in Budapest and that André Holland and Gemma Chan were the leads.[3] On October 29, 2022, FilmBook announced that actress Olwen Fouéré had joined the cast, which also included Tracey Ullman, May Calamawy, Tanya Reynolds, Simon McBurney, Edward Hogg, Asim Chaudhry, and Youssef Kerkour.[4]

On April 4, 2023, Neon announced that Ryan Gosling–who was originally attached to star as Paul Cole before being replaced by Holland[16]–remained in the film as an executive producer.[17]

Filming

Principal photography was originally scheduled to start in Los Angeles on September 6, 2021,[18] but was pushed back to mid-January 2022.[19]

Filming began in Budapest, Hungary[20] in November 2022,[21][5][22] and wrapped in April 2023.[17]

References
  1. Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 24, 2021). "Ryan Gosling To Star In 'The Actor' With Duke Johnson To Direct Adaptation Of Donald E. Westlake Novel 'Memory:' Hot EFM Package". Deadline. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  2. L. Malin, Sean (January 27, 2023). "@perfumegenius is writing his first film score for Duke Johnson's solo directorial debut, THE ACTOR. In post from @neonrated now". Twitter. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023.
  3. Scharf, Lindzi (October 18, 2022). "Abigail Spencer". The Retaility. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023. It's called 'The Actor' and Neon is releasing it. André Holland and Gemma Chan are our leads.
  4. McDonald, David (October 29, 2022). "THE ACTOR: Olwen Fouéré Joins Cast of Crime Thriller". FilmBook. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  5. Azar, Nicolas (December 15, 2022). ""كانت رحلتي بأكملها عبارة عن بحث مستمر واكتشاف لهويّتي": May Calamawy" [May Calamawy: "My entire journey has been a constant search and discovery of my identity"]. Marie Claire Arabia (in Persian). Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023. I'm about to head to Budapest for a month with an amazing cast to work on a movie called The Actor directed by the talented Duke Johnson. I'm so excited about this, I couldn't have wished for a better end to the year!
  6. "Olwen Fouéré | United Agents". United Agents. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  7. "Toby Jones | ARG Talent". ARG Talent. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  8. "Joe Cole - B-Side Management". B-Side Management. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  9. "Youssef Kerkour". Spotlight.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  10. "Edward Hogg - Hamilton Hodell". Hamilton Hodell. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  11. "Thomas Dominique". Jonathan Arun Group. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  12. Sneider, Jeff (February 24, 2021). "Ryan Gosling to Star in 'The Actor' Based on Donald E. Westlake's Noir-Soaked Novel 'Memory'". Collider. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  13. Barraclough, Leo (March 1, 2021). "Berlin Buzz Titles: A Selection of Top Films at the European Film Market". Variety. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  14. Wiseman, Andreas (April 12, 2021). "Neon Wins Rights To Ryan Gosling Film Noir 'The Actor', Charlie Kaufman Joins As Exec Producer". Deadline. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  15. Neon (April 12, 2021). "THE ACTOR. Starring Ryan Gosling, directed by Duke Johnson. See you in 2022". Twitter. Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  16. Grobar, Matt (April 4, 2023). "André Holland & Gemma Chan To Topline 'Anomalisa' Helmer Duke Johnson's Neon Pic 'The Actor'". Deadline. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  17. Neon (April 4, 2023). "That's a wrap on THE ACTOR..." Twitter. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  18. "The Actor - Production List". Film & Television Industry Alliance. August 16, 2021. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  19. Production Weekly [@prodweek] (September 8, 2021). "Production Weekly - Issue 1263 - Thursday, September 9, 2021 / 147 Listings - 33 Pages - Production Weekly" (Tweet). Archived from the original on September 9, 2021 – via Twitter.
  20. "Shooting of "The Actor" Moving to Budapest This Quarter". Budapest Reporter. November 16, 2022. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  21. Ruimy, Jordan (November 18, 2022). "Duke Johnson's 'The Actor' Starts Production in Budapest". World of Reel. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  22. Kerkour, Youssef (November 13, 2022). "Good times in Budapest shooting "The Actor". As you can see, I was checking I.D.s." Instagram. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023.
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