Joel Edgerton has explained why he felt "less pressure" on new film The Boys in the Boat than with some other roles.
The Star Wars actor stars in director George Clooney's new historical drama as a rowing coach at the University of Washington where he leads a team thrust into the international sporting spotlight.
This group of young rowers were selected to represent the US at the 1936 Olympics, which was being held under the dark shadow of the rise of Nazism.
Speaking to Digital Spy ahead of The Boys in the Boat's UK release, Joel explained that aspects of this real-life story were different than many Hollywood biopics, when asked whether his approach to playing real people is different from portraying fictional characters.
"There's real-life characters that are so identifiable," he told us. "Every time I hear about an actor taking on a job like Will [Smith] with Ali and Rami [Malek] with Freddie, they're people we think we know. We've seen so many images of them. With this, I felt less pressure.
"It was more about working within the mechanics of the story and finding that coach who looks like he's on the verge of a heart attack, more that he doesn't look like he's really enjoying himself. Those are the coaches, I think, that care most. They look like they're having a terrible time because it really matters to them.
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"It was finding the balance between that and enough warmth. Coaches to me are like dads, particularly in this story."
Director George Clooney and his producing partner Grant Heslov have tackled notable biopics and historical dramas in the past.
They dramatised the US Army's search for art stolen by the Nazis in The Monuments Men and the issue of the Hollywood Blacklist and McCarthyism in Good Night, and Good Luck.
"The main thing is you can't get the big facts wrong," George said about these kinds of films. "When we did Good Night, and Good Luck, it was really important to get Edward R Murrow's act straight because they all wrote books and they were all journalists, so you had to make sure you got it right.
"This one, you couldn't get the big facts wrong. The big facts are that he was abandoned when he was 13 years old and all the races, so there's a little bit of responsibility."
Grant added: "Some of these people are either living or their families are still around so you want to make sure you're honouring the story. At the same time, we are telling a story so there are things you have to change and heighten and cut. This one was easier than most, except that there are a lot of races in the book.
"There's only so many races you can film and keep the audience engaged. That was the trickiest part, narrowing down the races we'll see.
"We did this film called Argo and it's a big story, but it's a story that nobody knew because the bigger story was the actual hostage crisis. In a way, this is similar to that."
The Boys in the Boat is released in UK cinemas on January 12.
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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
