Nicholas Hoult said he is looking forward to reuniting with Tom Ford on the director’s Cry To Heaven, which will start shooting in January next year.
“I’m really looking forward to being back on set with Tom, he’s a wonderful director to work with,” said Hoult in his In Conversation session at Red Sea International Film Festival.
“His attention to detail, his understanding of the emotions of the characters, and he’s written a really beautiful script. And it’s a wonderful cast.”
Cry To Heaven is an adaptation of Anne Rice’s 1982 novel, set in the 18th century world of the ‘castrati’ – male singers who were castrated to preserve their high voices.
Hoult will appear alongside Colin Firth, with whom he starred in Ford’s 2009 A Single Man; as well as Hoult’s Nosferatu co-star Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Adolescence star Owen Cooper, Paul Bettany – and a debut film role for music superstar Adele.
Following pre-production this year in the UK and Italy, the film will shoot in January, with a view to a release in autumn 2026.
In the 40-minute conversation session, Hoult discussed his role as Hank McCoy and Beast in four X-Men films, and the enduring attention the role receives from comic book fans.
“The comic fans are really supportive and caring,” said Hoult. “And they’re passionate about the stories they want to tell, the arcs of those characters.
“They really appreciate when you put in the research, and do the work to try and elevate the material.”
Hoult has worked with directors including George Miller, Yorgos Lanthimos, James Gunn, Matthew Vaughn and Gore Verbinski.
The actor said two of his most distinct experiences arrived in films that came out last year, when working with Clint Eastwood, on Juror #2; and with Robert Eggers on vampire horror Nosferatu.
“With Robert, everything had to be long, single takes, so everything had to be right,” said Hoult. “You end up doing sometimes 30 takes to make sure the shot is completely right.”
“I went from that – which I love, because I think Robert’s one of the greatest directors alive – to working with Clint Eastwood.
Hoult then offered a brief impression of Eastwood, to the delight of the Saudi audience. “He just says, ‘Whenever you’re ready’, then ‘…stop’,” said Hoult. “Everyone on his team he’s worked with for 30 years, they’re like, ‘When Clint’s happy, you move on.’”
“He’s a jazz musician as well; there’s something about how he creates this wonderful world, he’s just letting the story play out and the moments be real. He’s not forcing anything upon the audience or trying to provoke anything.”
Despite his impressive roll call of collaborators, Hoult said there are several directors with whom he would still like to work, including Anora director Sean Baker, Quentin Tarantino, and Christopher Nolan.
Hoult played super-intelligent supervillain Lex Luthor in James Gunn’s Superman this summer. The film made $616.6m worldwide, including $354.2m in North America.
The UK actor first came to prominence with his role as awkward child Marcus opposite Hugh Grant in Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz’s UK comedy About A Boy.
Hoult then played the popular, Machiavellian Freddie Stonem in the first two seasons of E4 series Skins.
His film credits have included the title role in 2013’s Jack The Giant Slayer; zombie romantic comedy Warm Bodies; Miller’s Mad Max Fury Road; and Lanthimos’s The Favourite.
The Red Sea In Conversation series continues tomorrow (Tuesday 9) with Darren Aronofsky and Riz Ahmed.
Red Sea International Film Festival runs until Saturday, December 13.
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