Tony Gilroy says he's never written a character like Pedro Pascal's in Behemoth!

Pascal described his character as a “passenger in his life,” but Gilroy was quick to clarify that while Alex may be a “passenger,” he’s not “passive.” Throughout the course of Behemoth!, we learn about the character’s career and upbringing in non-chronological order. Even in the present day, characters come and go from Alex’s life with little notice. Gilroy described himself as a “freak” for the Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni. “I’ve always been fascinated by how Marcello Mastroianni manages to be a passenger in the movie but never passive,” he told the audience, specifically highlighting the 1977 movie A Special Day. “That’s the trick to this, to put him on the train and not have him run over by it. That became possible when [Pascal] came on. Alex was sort of sitting there, waiting, but he wasn’t there until he came along.” (For what it’s worth, Oscar Isaac was once reported to be involved with the role, but dropped out due to scheduling.) 

As Pascal said, reading the script for the first time “felt like a puzzle that I was asked to put together.” After reading the script, the two men had what Gilroy described as a “come to Jesus meeting” where he bluntly asked Pascal whether he thought he could learn the cello well enough in the very limited time they had to prepare. Pascal admitted he wasn’t sure, which Gilroy called the “right answer.” Said Pascal, “I understand the assignment and I’m gonna jump right the hell in, but I can’t tell you if I’m going to get an A.” He said later, “The cello was the main character of my life for several weeks leading up to shooting. I took it with me everywhere.” Ultimately, Gilroy approved. 

Behemoth! has its world premiere tonight and opens in theaters on December 4.