The actor also talked about his experience filming 'Star Wars' and other iconic roles.
In the latest video of GQ's series that explores actors' most iconic roles, Oscar Isaac sat down with the publication to discuss some of his greatest hits, including Drive, Inside Llewyn Davis (which he says changed everything for him), A Most Violent Year, Ex Machina, Star Wars, Annihilation, and X-Men: Apocalypse. (You can check out Eddie Redmayne explaining his weird Jupiter Ascending voice as part of that same series here).
When it comes to Bryan Singer's film, Isaac said, “Apocalypse … That was excruciating." He went on to describe:
"I didn’t know when I said yes that that was what was going to be happening, that I was going to be encased in glue and latex, and then a 40 pound suit that I had to wear a cooling mechanism in at all times. I couldn’t really move my head ever …
Image via 20th Century Fox
I was like, ‘Oh I get to work with all of these actors I like so much!’ but I couldn’t even see them because I couldn’t move my head. I had to like sit on a specially designed saddle, because that’s the only thing I could really sit on, and I would be rolled into a cooling tank in between takes, so I just wouldn’t ever talk to anybody. I couldn’t really move, I was just kinda sitting and sweating inside the mask and the helmet.
And then I was also in high heels inside of a boot, so that was very difficult to move at all, and every time I moved it was like rubber and plastic squeaking, so everything I said had to be dubbed later as well. And then getting it off was the worst part, because they had to kinda scrape it off for hours and hours. So … that was X-Men: Apocalypse!”
As for Star Wars, Isaac tells a story about how he got the role of Poe Dameron, and how J.J. Abrams' set for Force Awakens had "a very intense energy," because "every single thing was so thought-out and so orchestrated." When director Rian Johnson came onboard for The Last Jedi, though, things were much more calm. Isaac described Johnson as “very laid-back […] He’s like West-coast jazz musician, just very cool, quiet, soft-spoken and humble, and has a child-like wonder about the whole thing.”
