Ahead of its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival, Mary Harron’s Daliland has revealed the first look at Ben Kingsley and Ezra Miller as the surrealist painter Salvador Dalí. The new images released by Vanity Fair see Kingsley as Dali in the 70s, standing hand in hand wife Gala, played by Barbara Sukowa. Other images see a portrait of Kingsley as Dali standing next to Andreja Pejic as Amanda Lear. On the other hand, Miller is seen alone in another image as a younger iteration of the renowned painter.
Speaking of his portrayal of an older iteration of Dali, Kingsley revealed that it was his chance to not be a “careful actor” but rather to “take risks.” He explained, “My leap had to be one that stepped away from the years of study of Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter, of classical acting, of the precision of performing as Itzhak Stern in Schindler’s List and other characters.” The Royal Shakespeare Company alum looks regal as the Spanish artist and certainly has a very rich experience of portraying historical figures as well as larger-than-life characters.
The actor has been acclaimed for portrayal of complex characters but for him playing Dali doesn’t come from an academic or historical starting point, rather Kingsley finds the character’s starting point “based on his language; his behavior; his taste in love, life, food, wine, and everything; and also his daring to break so many rules.” The actor explains,
I think of the trapeze artist swinging from one trapeze to the other, and that triple somersault in midair is what the audience needs to watch. We do not need to watch the trapeze artists swinging and holding on to the trapeze.
Told through the eyes of James, a young gallery assistant, Daliland, shines light on later years of Dali’s life and his marriage to his muse and wife, Gala. The movie will see their rather unshakable marriage starting to show its cracks. Miller plays a younger version of the Spanish artist and does share scenes with Kingsley.
The movie also stars Rupert Graves as Dalí’s righthand man Captain Moore, Suki Waterhouse as Ginesta, Mark McKenna as Alice Cooper among others. Harron directs from a screenplay written by John C. Walsh.
Daliland will premiere as the closing-night movie of TIFF and in theaters on September 17. Meanwhile, check out the synopsis and our chat with Kingsley below:
In 1973, a young gallery assistant goes on a wild adventure behind the scenes as he helps the aging genius Salvador Dali prepare for a big show in New York.
