Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, left, and German-Irish actor Michael Fassbender pose during a photocall for the film “Hope” at the 79th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, Monday. AFP-Yonhap
Asked why he joined director Na Hong-jin’s sci-fi thriller “Hope,” actor Michael Fassbender had a simple answer:
“Alicia told me to do it.”
The Hollywood star’s joke drew laughs at a Monday press conference during the 79th Cannes Film Festival, where Fassbender, his wife Alicia Vikander and co-star Taylor Russell joined Na and the Korean cast — Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung and Jung Ho-yeon — at the Palais des Festivals.
When asked why three established Hollywood actors chose to play aliens, Fassbender pointed to the unpredictability of Na’s direction.
“I think what’s kind of interesting about the filmmaking of director Na as well is you just don’t know what’s going to come next,” Fassbender said.
Contrasting Na’s work with predictable genres like Westerns, he added that the feeling of the unexpected can be quite rare in a cinematic experience. “I think he’s a master at that.”
German-Irish actor Michael Fassbender, left, and Swedish actress Alicia Vikander attend a press conference for the film “Hope” at the 79th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, Monday. AFP-Yonhap
Vikander said her interest in Asian cinema dates back to 2010.
“My first ever film festival that I went to internationally was Busan. I was about 21,” she said. “I stayed there for a few days and I just kind of fell in love with Asian cinema.”
She later watched Na’s “The Chaser,” “The Yellow Sea” and “The Wailing,” actively seeking an opportunity to collaborate.
Russell, known for the “Escape Room” franchise, echoed the sentiment.
“The dream is to be able to work in a different language and film structure,” she said, noting that Korean films often explore themes Hollywood struggles to imagine.
She said she doesn’t think that there are people in the West who think of the concepts that are coming out of Korea right now. “It’s too free for them to think of,” she added.
From left, German-Irish actor Michael Fassbender, Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, Korean actor Hwang Jung-Min, Korean director and screenwriter Na Hong-Jin, Korean actor Zo In-Sung, Korean actress Jung Ho-yeon and Canadian actress Taylor Russell attend a press conference for the film “Hope” at the 79th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, Monday. AFP-Yonhap
The Hollywood actors’ faces do not appear onscreen. Instead, they portray computer-generated aliens brought to life through motion and facial capture. The film conceals the aliens’ origins until the climax, finally revealing how they arrived on Earth through a conversation between two characters. The actors also deliver their dialogue entirely in an invented alien language.
“In the beginning of my career … learning how to work in a language that is not your mother tongue was one step,” Vikander said. “But when you get to do that, it also helps yourself to step away from yourself and find a character and let your imagination … become bigger.” She said the experience helped her find a different voice and become “something other.”
Fassbender said the production provided audio files to help them master the dialogue. “We were given recordings of the dialogue, you know, recorded slowly so you can get each sort of syllable and word right, and then the recording of it as it would naturally flow,” he said. However, the physical acting proved more challenging. “The tricky thing was then, you know, how do they move, getting the physicality,” Fassbender said.
After watching the completed film on Sunday, Fassbender praised his Korean co-stars. “Actually watching the film last night I was like, wow, we had it easy. These guys did all the heavy lifting,” he said.
“Hope” is scheduled for a summer release in Korea.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.
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