Andrew Scott names his favourite movies of all time
Cinema in 2023 was full of excellent double-acts, from Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon to Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore in Todd Haynes’ May December. No doubt, the aforementioned foursome will receive a scattering of Oscar nods, but if the Academy have any sense, Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott of Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers will also receive plaudits for their remarkable achievement in the haunting love story.
Adapted from Taichi Yamada’s novel Strangers, Haigh’s awards hopeful sees Scott take the role of Adam, a screenwriter trying to reconnect with memories of his deceased parents who encounter their ghosts when revisiting his old family home. Meanwhile, Mescal’s Harry searches for companionship in Adam, his only neighbour in a tower block devoid of other inhabitants.
Thanks to his role in Haigh’s film, as well as celebrated appearances in the James Bond movie Spectre and the BBC drama Fleabag, Scott has gathered a loyal following, recently sitting down with Letterboxd to discuss his favourite movies of all time.
First on his list is another movie from Haigh, 2015’s 45 Years. A modern classic that delves into themes of love, loss and regret, 45 Years tells the story of a couple soon to celebrate a major wedding anniversary who hear the news that the body of one of their former lovers has been discovered encased in ice following a historic skiing accident. Though sounding rather absurd, 45 Years is a truly phenomenal drama.
Elsewhere, Scott names the spoof movie Airplane! as another of his favourites. Popularly known as one of the best comedies of all time, Airplane! inspired similar copycat films in the late 20th century, including the Scary Movie franchise, largely thanks to its offbeat humour that refused to let up, with almost each and every line being a one-liner delivered by some of the era’s greatest actors, including the iconic Leslie Nielsen.
No list of favourite movies is complete without a classic from Steven Spielberg, with Scott praising the “first film I ever saw”, 1982’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. “It still does something to me,” the actor said of the celebrated film that tells the story of a young boy who becomes best friends with an alien who crash-lands on Earth, only for the pair to be pursued by the authorities.
The final film to grace his list is the 1993 Richard Attenborough movie Shadowlands, starring Anthony Hopkins, who gives an “extraordinary performance” according to Scott. Certainly one of Hopkins’ most underrated films, Shadowlands is a biography of C.S. Lewis, the writer of the 1950’s novel The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, whose life was changed after he met the poet Joy Gresham.
Andrew Scott’s favourite movies:
- 45 Years (Andrew Haigh, 2015)
- Airplane! (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker, 1980)
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982)
- Shadowlands (Richard Attenborough, 1993)
