As Motherless Brooklyn continues to receive rave reviews ahead of its Nov. 1 opening, actor Olli Haaskivi spoke to HollywoodLife in an EXCLUSIVE interview about his role in the film and working with fellow actor and director Edward Norton. “On a film that is this giant, it’s not uncommon for the director to be yelling at you on a megaphone from four rooms away. I shot two scenes for the film and both of them were just me and Ed standing three feet away from one another,” Olli explained. “It was really excited because we were on this gigantic film set that’s made up to be like the ’50s, and it’s sprawling and beautiful, but we had what felt like a really small, intimate experience within that, and that was really exciting.”
The highly anticipated film is based on Jonathan Lethem‘s book by the same name. It follows private eye Lionel Essrog (Norton) who suffers from Tourette’s syndrome, but when his boss is murdered, he’s lead to the office of Moses Randolph (Alec Baldwin). The film captures a retro New York and the adventure of the unusual narrator. “It’s really fun to act with someone who is also one of the greatest actors alive, but then you do the scene, and he calls ‘Cut,’ and he’s right there to give direction,” Olli added about Norton. “The whole thing felt really seamless because I’m standing across from the director, who is also my scene partner.”
Olli continued, “He is as wise and supportive and wonderful a director as you could possibly want to have.” The New York native revealed that Norton has been one of his favorite actors, which is what drew him to the film in the first place. He added that Jonathan Lethem’s “thrilling mystery” was another element that made him want to be a part of the movie. Olli also revealed that his character is “a big obstacle” for Essrog, who “has to go down a lot of paths that maybe lead him nowhere.”
We can’t wait to see Motherless Brooklyn. Make sure to check it out in theaters on November 1, 2019!