Brendan Gleeson has opened up on working with Ben Affleck and praised him as an “actor’s director.”
The actor stars in the Irish-American thriller Live By Night and plays Ben’s police captain father Thomas Coughlin.
“I didn’t know what to expect but he’s completely professional,” he said.
Professional: Brendan opened up on working with Ben | WARNER BROS PICTURES
The Dubliner gushed about Ben’s work ethic and how he uses his experience as an actor to prepare as a director.
“He’s really on top of it;Â he’s very, very assured. And it’s kind of a relief because there’s no wasting time,” he told RTE Entertainment.
“At the same time, he’s an actor’s director, in that he’ll allow you time to go and explore whatever you need to do.
“So if something’s not happening, he’s not pressured by time because he’s so well prepared –Â because he understands the nature of what he’s trying to do with the scene.
“You can go and talk it through so you don’t waste time filming stuff that isn’t going to work. I really, really enjoyed working with him.”
Old style: The Dubliner thinks Ben suits films like Live By Night | WARNER BROS PICTURES
Brendan also gushed about the “old style actor” and how he fits so well into the film.
“He absolutely sits in that hat, doesn’t he? It sits on him, I should say,” he laughed, referring to Ben in the film’s poster.
“He just sits well in these films. And it’s not to say he can’t do other stuff.
“But he just does have a particular throwback sort of a charm and a kind of ‘granite jaw heroism’ that’s very interesting in the modern set-up where that’s compromised.
“You can imagine him as the superhero, and then you look for the flaws and you’re going to find them and it’s really, really fascinating.”
