Oscar Isaac Compares 'Star Wars' Directors, Calls 'X-Men: Apocalypse' Experience 'Excruciating'
Oscar Isaac has had a very eventful few years, ever since he broke out in a major way in "Drive." Now, he's a leading man who stars in tentpole franchises like "X-Men" and "Star Wars." But every role is a different experience.
As part of GQ's video series exploring actors' most iconic roles, Isaac opens up about the life-changing "Inside Llewyn Davis," "Ex Machina," "X-Men: Apocalypse," and both "Star Wars" movies.
Though the latter both take place in the same galaxy far, far away, they were very different experiences, the actor notes.
"Every single thing was so thought-out and so orchestrated," Isaac says of J.J. Abrams' set on "The Force Awakens."
Whereas "The Last Jedi" atmosphere was "very laid-back," the actor notes, comparing director Rian Johnson to a "West Coast jazz musician, just very cool, quiet, soft-spoken and humble, and has a child-like wonder about the whole thing."
In contrast, the experience of filming "X-Men: Apocalypse" was "excruciating."
“I didn’t know when I said yes that that was what was going to be happening, that I was going to be encased in glue and latex, and then a 40 pound suit that I had to wear a cooling mechanism in at all times. I couldn’t really move my head ever," Isaac explains.
"I was like, ‘Oh I get to work with all of these actors I like so much!’ but I couldn’t even see them because I couldn’t move my head."
He continues, "Every time I moved it was like rubber and plastic squeaking, so everything I said had to be dubbed later as well. And then getting it off was the worst part, because they had to kinda scrape it off for hours and hours. So … that was 'X-Men: Apocalypse'!”