Following the critical flop of his 2002 adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, Guy Pearce had a new perspective on his career.
The 2x Golden Globe nominee explained why working on the big-budget DreamWorks/Warner Bros. feature made him feel like his “intuition doesn’t mean anything,” putting him off from working with big studios in the future.
“I think the process of it felt way too big for me,” he explained to GQ. “I can’t make [sense of] this idea of studio films where you just get told what to do by people afraid to lose their jobs. I remember there were discussions at the beginning about how I was going to look. A couple of the executives say, ‘No, he’ll just cut his hair and he’ll just do this and he’ll do that.’ And I’m in the room going, Hello? I’m immediately feeling like my intuition doesn’t mean anything here. That’s a killer for me.”
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Pearce added, “It was the first time I really felt that there was not just a disconnect, but a kind of greater power up there that you couldn’t even really talk to.”
The actor previously speculated that one Warner Bros. exec “just didn’t believe in me as an actor” as he revealed the unnamed suit blocked him from working with Christopher Nolan after their team-up on the psychological thriller Memento (2000).
“He spoke to me about roles a few times over the years,” Pearce told Vanity Fair of Nolan. “The first Batman and The Prestige. But there was an executive at Warner Bros. who quite openly said to my agent, ‘I don’t get Guy Pearce. I’m never going to get Guy Pearce. I’m never going to employ Guy Pearce.’ So, in a way, that’s good to know. I mean, fair enough; there are some actors I don’t get. But it meant I could never work with Chris.”
Pearce is currently nominated for Best Supporting Actor — Motion Picture at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards for his performance in The Brutalist.
If The Time Machine soured him on big budget studio movies then why was he so interested in playing the villain in a Batman movie and constantly whining ever since why Warner Bros wouldn’t let him be cast in Christopher Nolan’s big budget studio movies? The truth is Warner Bros soured on him because of his behavior on the set of The Time Machine which was so egregious that he was banned from the studio and he’s just trying to save face by claiming that he never wanted to be be at the parties he’s not even invited to. If someone offered him a big budget studio movie today, he’d break a hip to get to the set.
We love you guy ! Would love to see him cast as the Lead in the Dark tower!
I totally understand his perspective and might I say that out of all the actors I have met as a producer/director (and I have met many), he is the most respectful/probably dedicated male actor I have ever met. Not only is he talented but he understand the concept of collaboration and respect for everyone else in the team. Unwavering in making this a better industry. As far as I am concerned, anyone who doesn’t hire or consider Mr. Pearce is losing; not him. So much respect for you. Go Guy Pearce! Continue to see your vision, respect your craft and those of everyone else in team. #respectforacting #actors #artists #talented #guypearce
Fascinating and a favorite actor for years.
I love his intelligence, his relentless pursuit of this work in the face of such executive stupidity — MANY ACTORS KNOW IT. MANY ARE CASUALTIES OF IT.
Go “GET” it, Guy Pearce.
PS. Where was Nolan’s influence to say, “I WANT HIM”…??
Nolan wasn’t that powerful until after The Dark Knight did a billion: The Prestige (a Warner/Disney co-production because neither studio had enough confidence in it to 100% it) and Batman Begins were both before he became the one director no-one says no to du jour.
My guess is it was during Nolan’s early years at Warner. Now he can cast whoever he wants, so hopefully they’ll reunite on something soon.