The “seminal” director Joseph Quinn was raised on: “These films utterly transport you”
As soon as Joseph Quinn starred in Stranger Things as the long-haired Eddie Munson, there was no going back. The British actor was quickly thrust into the spotlight, with countless fans dressing up as his Metallica-loving character, mourning his death as though he’d been in the show since season one.
Quinn obviously made an impression, and he did so by transforming into a character completely unrecognisable from himself. In fact, many people were shocked to discover Quinn was a well-spoken Londoner, not some greasy-haired American – proof of his versatile talents as a performer.
Following the success of Stranger Things, Quinn had job offers flying at him, and he has taken on a diverse range of roles already, like his portrayal of a troubled former-foster kid in Luna Carmoon’s Hoard, a subversive tale of a twisted trauma-bond, which was fantastic, and showed his lack of fear towards roles that swayed further on the side of controversy. Quinn’s choice of roles is unpredictable, he doesn’t want you to know what avenue he’ll take next.
It does seem like he is set on the big leagues, though, as cemented by his recent performance in Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps (a role he is set to reprise in Avengers: Doomsday) and his casting as George Harrison in the upcoming Beatles biopics, and he really got a taste for what it’s like to work in the upper echelons of big-budget filmmaking when he appeared in Gladiator II, however, realising what a privilege it is to work with a legendary director who can fully transport you to another world, whether you’re watching the film or actually starring in it.
His role as Geta saw him star alongside some big names, like Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, and Paul Mescal, but it was Ridley Scott who really left a major impression on Quinn, since it was an honour for him to be directed by Scott, because he’d grown up watching his movies, which shaped his love of cinema – a full circle moment, then, for him to be cast in the sequel to one of the most iconic movies of the 21st century.
Talking to Men’s Health, the actor revealed, “He is a world builder. He creates these films that utterly transport you, and that is a very rare thing to be able to do. I, like you, was a massive fan of his films: I remember watching Blade Runner as a kind of rite-of-passage with my Dad when I was younger; Gladiator was a really seminal film for me; Thelma and Louise, American Gangster, Alien, obviously. There are so many, and there’s such a variety in that body of work that indicates the calibre of director that he is, and the kind of creativity that he’s able to harness and weaponise.”
Having memories of watching these movies and then getting to work alongside the very man who made them must have been a surreal experience, and Quinn admits that Scott was every bit the dream to work with, which is not something everyone has said about the director.
“He conducts himself with such a vigour, and thirst, for life and also filmmaking, still – he just loves it, and that is very infectious. Working with him… I was never expecting to do that, obviously, and so I was incredibly grateful,” he continued.
Concluding, “I just tried, like we all did, to be as present as we could, and to understand that this was a very rare thing. Outside of making the film itself, it was a very rare experience as a human being to bear witness to ancient Rome. He built ancient Rome! Not a lot of people can do that – Ridley Scott can.”
