was certain someone had made a mistake.
wanted to talk to him about starring his new film, a slow burn legal thriller about a normal guy faced with an extraordinary moral dilemma. Surely Eastwood meant someone else, he thought. But soon enough they were chatting on the phone about opening in theaters Friday.
鈥淚 was so nervous,鈥� the British actor said. 鈥淚 remember saying to him, 鈥淚 really like the script.鈥� I was so eager to please.鈥�
For Eastwood鈥檚 comeback, Hoult slipped into a pitch-perfect impersonation of his gravelly voice: 鈥淚f you like it so much, I guess I鈥檒l have to read it.鈥�
Suddenly Hoult was laughing. The tension was broken.
鈥淚 was like, wow this guy鈥檚 cool,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 got a great sense of humor and we鈥檙e going to get along.鈥�
Though there may be a healthy amount of English self-deprecation in the story, the spirit of it isn鈥檛 unique to Hoult. Eastwood, 94, is the kind of living legend that has even the most seasoned veterans a little starstruck. 鈥淛uror #2,鈥� his 42nd film behind the camera, is getting strong reviews for being a smart, original courtroom thriller about an impossible conundrum.
In the original script by Jonathan Abrams, Hoult鈥檚 character, a recovering alcoholic with his first child about to be born, gets selected for jury duty on a murder case. But when the facts start to emerge, so do his memories and he鈥檚 forced to confront the possibility that he might have been unknowingly responsible.
鈥淎fter the first read it had me,鈥� Eastwood wrote in an email. 鈥淚t made me think about what would you do if you were put in this situation? What is right? What is wrong? Who would you protect? A true moral dilemma. That鈥檚 something I鈥檇 want to watch.鈥�
And he started rounding out his cast, led by Hoult who he called a true 鈥渕ovie star,鈥� with supporting turns from Toni Collette as the ambitious prosecutor, Chris Messina as the public defender, J.K. Simmons as a fellow juror as well as Zoey Deutch and Kiefer Sutherland, who wrote a letter asking if there might be a role for him.
Sutherland had long imagined he鈥檇 cross paths with Eastwood. A lifelong Western fan, Sutherland鈥檚 late father had even worked with Eastwood a few times (鈥淜elly鈥檚 Heroes,鈥� 鈥淪pace Cowboys鈥�). But when he read about the plans for 鈥淛uror #2鈥� he felt a new sense of urgency.
鈥淚 always thought one day I would arrive at Mr. Eastwood鈥檚 doorstep. Then I realized that that time was maybe kind of going away,鈥� said Sutherland. 鈥淚 just said, 鈥業鈥檝e always dreamed of working with you and if there is a part, any part, I would just like to be able to have the experience of watching you direct.鈥�
He was ultimately cast to play a lawyer and an AA sponsor to Hoult鈥檚 character. The screentime was relatively small, but the experience exactly what he hoped: A masterclass in the truest sense.
鈥淚鈥檝e worked with people that shout and get angry and they鈥檙e very demonstrative,鈥� Sutherland said. 鈥淗e was so amazingly quiet and calm and soft spoken. That鈥檚 someone who has power, when they can be that and get everything they need.鈥�
On one of his first days, an assistant director was explaining to Sutherland how to navigate a doorway in a scene. Eastwood stepped in to stop the tutorial, telling the AD, 鈥淗e knows what he鈥檚 doing.鈥� Despite his 40-plus years in the business, Sutherland said he walked a little taller that day.
鈥淚t made my life,鈥� Sutherland said. 鈥淚鈥檓 very glad I didn鈥檛 work with him when I was 18 years old, because I would have tied myself in knots.鈥�
Collette similarly said she鈥檚 never felt so trusted.
鈥淗e鈥檚 so confident as a director, but not in a negative way. He鈥檚 just so present and allows it all to unfold,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e never worked with anyone who鈥檚 so easygoing, to be honest.鈥�
The film would also be the first time she and Hoult would share the screen since they played mother and son in 鈥淎bout a Boy鈥� 23 years ago, when he was only 11. They鈥檇 texted a bit prior, but Collette was not prepared for the swell of emotion seeing Hoult, now 34, again. Then came their first scene together and it wasn鈥檛 going to be an easy one: In fact, fact, it鈥檚 the last shot of the film.
But that鈥檚 the Eastwood way. His efficiency on set is the stuff of legend. Sometimes you get two takes, but three is almost unheard of. Hoult said he and the actors on the jury even rehearsed in secret to make sure they would nail the lengthier scenes. No one wanted to be the squeaky wheel.
鈥淗e鈥檚 not efficient for the sake of being efficient,鈥� Sutherland said. 鈥淚 think Sydney Pollack, for instance, was really efficient and kind of when he became known for being efficient, started trying to show off his efficiency. 鈥� I think Mr. Eastwood just kind of looks at a set and looks at a scene and just finds the straightest way to shoot it.鈥�
Much has been made about whether 鈥淛uror #2鈥� is going to be Eastwood鈥檚 last film. But he鈥檚 not saying that, publicly or privately. In fact, when production went on hiatus during the he didn鈥檛 even use that time as a break.
鈥淚 remember when we did come back from the strike, I was like, 鈥橶hat did you do? And he was like, 鈥榃ell, I was looking for new material,鈥欌�� Collette said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nobody鈥檚 position to say this is his last movie.鈥�
Sutherland added: 鈥淗is parking spot at the Warner Bros. lot isn鈥檛 going anywhere.鈥�
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
