The actor Wes Anderson compared to a Norman Rockwell painting: “A scoutmaster”
In terms of directors who like to work with the same actors over and over again, you could argue there is no bigger offender than Wes Anderson. ‘The King of Quirk’ has built up a large yet regular roster of collaborators over the years. Early favourites like Bill Murray and Owen Wilson still crop up, while he’s recently added the likes of Bryan Cranston, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Scarlett Johansson to his ranks.
Like any good parent, Anderson has been careful never to reveal his favourite, but that hasn’t stopped him from heaping praise on his co-workers. When speaking to NPR in 2013 about his film Moonrise Kingdom, the director outlined how much he enjoyed working alongside one actor who had been on his radar for a while.
“Edward Norton was someone who I corresponded with over the years, and he was somebody who I thought of as a scoutmaster,” said Anderson, referring to Norton’s role as Scoutmaster Randy Ward. Anderson remarked that Norton “looks like he has been painted by Norman Rockwell,” a popular American artist and illustrator. Rockwell had a long-standing association with the Boy Scouts of America, producing calendars and book covers for the organisation. His 1956 work ‘The Scoutmaster’ is possibly what Anderson was referring to.
Moonrise Kingdom marked Edward Norton’s debut collaboration with Anderson. The film follows young orphan Sam Shakusy, who escapes from his scout camp to reunite with his pen pal and love interest, Suzy. Norton plays Scoutmaster Ward, who joins an eclectic search party that includes Police Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis), Suzy’s eccentric parents (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand), and the ominously named Social Services (Tilda Swinton). This project initiated a fruitful creative partnership between Norton and Anderson, with the actor appearing in the director’s next four films, starting with 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.
In that movie, widely considered Anderson’s masterpiece, he plays the role of Albert Henckels, a police officer charged with investigating the murder of Swinton’s Madame D Next came a voice role in Anderson’s stop-motion adventure Isle of Dogs. Norton plays Rex, a German Shepherd and member of a gang of dogs abandoned on Trash Island after they were outlawed by a corrupt mayor.
Role number three came in Anderson’s anthology piece and ode to the travel magazine, The French Dispatch, in which he played kidnapper Joe Lefèvre in the segment ‘The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner’. Finally, Norton appeared as Conrad Earp, the playwright who created the “play within a play” in Asteroid City. Since he is currently not scheduled to appear in Anderson’s next outing, The Phoenician Scheme, it seems as if Norton’s streak will end at five in a row.
Speaking on the topic of Norman Rockwell, Anderson revealed that he had been an influence on how Moonrise Kingdom looked. “I have a way of filming things and staging them and designing sets,” he said of his highly idiosyncratic approach to filmmaking. “There were times when I thought I should change my approach, but in fact, this is what I like to do. It’s sort of like my handwriting as a movie director. And somewhere along the way, I think I’ve made the decision: I’m going to write in my own handwriting. That’s just sort of my way.”
Even over a decade after its release, Moonrise Kingdom remains a firm favourite amongst Anderson fans. The script was nominated for ‘Best Original Screenplay’ at the Academy Awards and remains one of the director’s most loved releases.
