Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile Directors Will Speck & Josh Gordon on Unusual Way Javier Bardem Works on Set
15With Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile now playing in theaters, I recently got so speak with directors Will Speck and Josh Gordon about helming the adaptation of the popular children's books of the same name by author Bernard Waber. During the wide-ranging conversation, they talked about why they wanted Shawn Mendes as the titular crocodile who loves singing and baths, what it’s like test screening a movie with a theater filled with kids, how making a musical means you’re making the movie well in advance of your shoot, and future projects like Distant with Anthony Ramos and Naomi Scott and how they’re making a movie musical about the classic video game The Oregon Trail with Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
However, one of the things I found really interesting, is the way they talked about Javier Bardem and how he works on set. If you’re not aware, normally when an actor finishes a scene, they will go back to their trailer, but that’s not the case with Bardem. Gordon explained how not only does he not leave set, he’ll do anything he can to help the production:
“I think the other amazing thing with Javier was he is such an actor first before a celebrity, whatever he is, that he doesn't leave set. Literally, he would not go back to his trailer. He would sit in a chair and read through a script to the point where sometimes the crew would be like, "It's freaking me out. I can't set my shot." He would often jump up and be like, "Oh, I'll stand in." He did almost everything but carry the equipment. It was incredible.”
He went on to talk about how much he prepared for the role and wanting to do all the musical numbers without a double:
“He rehearsed for almost five months and demanded when he showed up on set to do the numbers from start to finish because he was so proud that he had worked as hard as he had. He really did not want us to ever bring on a double or to have any other part of his work not be him. So, I think you would look at it and go, oh, that's Javier Bardem, there's no way he did all of that. He really did all of it. It was incredible.”
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile also stars Winslow Fegley, Constance Wu, Scoot McNairy, and Brett Gelman.
Watch what Will Speck and Josh Gordon had to say in the player above.
#LyleLyleCrocodile #WillSpeck #JoshGordon
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