“Everyone loves her”: The actor Wes Anderson views as an avant-garde performance artist
When it comes to modern-day auteurs, Wes Anderson is the cream of the crop. The Texas-born filmmaker has honed one of the most distinctive styles in contemporary cinema, showing a particular love for pastel colour palettes, symmetry, and dry dialogue. Along the way, he’s picked up a trusted group of on-screen collaborators who seem to share his passion for quirky and quaint cinema.
Like many great directors, Anderson has honed these relationships over time, casting and re-casting actors that work within the cinematic universes he creates. Bill Murray is perhaps the most notable name on this list. Anderson first cast the star in his second film, Rushmore, back in 1998. Since then, Murray has appeared in almost every feature he has produced with the exception of Asteroid City last year.
But Murray isn’t the only actor that Anderson has kept coming back to. Jason Schwartzman, who also starred in Rushmore, has become a go-to casting for the director, and he has also honed a long-standing relationship with Owen Wilson since the pair worked together on his debut. Tilda Swinton is another name that often crops up in his cast lists, and she is an actor for whom Anderson seems to harbour a particular admiration.
The pair first collaborated in 2012 on Anderson’s quirky coming-of-age flick Moonrise Kingdom. They seemed to quickly find creative harmony as, just two years later, they reconvened for The Grand Budapest Hotel. Since then, they haven’t gone more than a few years without collaborating, with Isle of Dogs arriving in 2018, The French Dispatch in 2021, and Asteroid City marking their most recent project together, hitting cinemas last year.
“Everyone loves her,” Anderson gushed during an interview with Roger Ebert, before suggesting that he sees Swinton as more than just an actor. He went on to describe her as “this sort of performance artist avant garde something or other.” Swinton certainly does go above and beyond for her roles, entirely embodying the strange and surreal characters she takes on.
She transformed into twins in Bong Joon-ho’s Okja, became the terrifying Madame Blanc in Luca Guadagnino’s remake of Suspiria, and always embodies whatever quirky character Anderson throws her way. In each role, she seems to transcend scripts and sets, turning her performance into something more artsy and avant-garde.
This makes her the perfect pairing with Anderson, who is so often focused on amplifying those elements of his filmmaking. However, the director also admires Swinton for not allowing her talents to go to her head.
“She’s very very bright and very very funny,” he enthused, “and has a humility for someone who has such an aura.”
It makes sense, then, that Anderson keeps returning to Swinton while casting his movies. She has the right avant-garde approach to fit alongside his unique and artsy filmmaking style, but she is also a genuine actor who is likely a pleasure to have on set. Given how well their artistic interests align, it seems likely that the duo will continue to work together.
Unfortunately, for those hoping to see Swinton on-screen under Anderson’s direction any time soon, it seems that she might not appear in his next offering, The Phoenician Scheme. The cast for the flick includes some familiar collaborators, including Murray and Willem Dafoe, but Swinton has not been announced as part of the ensemble.
