Nathan Lane revealed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that his Beau Is Afraid co-star couldn’t make direct eye contact with the actor while filming their upcoming project. While Lane insists that he and Joaquin Phoenix “really hit it off” on the set of the new Ari Aster-directed film, he explained they have “very different sensibilities”, going on to reveal that Phoenix was unable to look him in the eye for fear he would “break up” from laughter.
Explaining the pairs conflicting on-set presences, Lane joked that Phoenix is “very intense, and I’m just tense,” going on to speak of how his co-star “thought I was funny… so just know that in every close-up and in a scene with me, he’s looking directly at my nose” as to avoid breaking character mid-take. Lane had high praise for the star though, declaring him “brilliant” and “the finest actor working in films today.”
Speaking of the film, Lane joked that he likes to “call it the Jewish Everything Everywhere All at Once,” and “an epic tale of guilt and codependency—the story of my life.” He also described the film as “one man’s surreal, nightmarish odyssey to see his mother.” One would expect nothing less from Aster, whose past films such as Midsommar and Hereditary wear their chilling air of surrealism as a badge of honor. Phoenix is no stranger to taking unconventional roles, but his role in Beau could be his strangest yet, with Lane playfully going on to say he would describe the film as “Kafkaesque, but then I’d have to explain Kafka, and we’d be here all night;” though judging from the trailer, audiences can expect to see an unsettling yet comedic exploration into Beau’s psyche, in Phoenix’s first cinematic outing since 2021’s C’mon C’mon. Phoenix is currently filming Joker: Folie à Deux, as he and Lady Gaga star in what is set to be another surreal affair, as the sequel to his 2019 film Joker is reportedly a musical.
Who Else Stars in Beau is Afraid?
Though Beau Is Afraid is only Aster’s third feature-length directorial effort, the director has already carved a name for himself in the horror genre with his previous two A24 distributed films. Lane praised the new film, calling it “an unbelievable piece of work.” Set to star alongside Lane and Phoenix are Parker Posey, Amy Ryan, Zoe Lister-Jones, Richard Kind, Michael Gandolfini, Patty LuPone, Kylie Rogers, Hayley Squires, Julia Antonelli, Denis Ménochet, Joe Cobden and Armen Nahapetian.
Beau Is Afraid opens in theaters on April 21. You can watch the segment from The Tonight Show down below.
