Actors have a tricky job. Because while it's challenging enough to become immersed in filming and transform into a character, there are usually quite a few obstacles in their way. From hitting your mark to fight choreography, performers usually have to split their focus between their physical presence and emotional journey. And this process can be even more challenging when actors are put out of their comfort zone or physically interrupted in some way. Case in point: Dan DeHaan in Gore Verbinski's A Cure For Wellness. As the protagonist, DeHaan found himself in some precarious positions while filming, including having to wear a cast on his leg for around half of the film's runtime.
I recently got to speak with Dane DeHaan about his work on A Cure for Wellness. Among other subjects, I asked him how working with that bulky cast for so long was. Surprisingly, he actually enjoyed lugging the clunker around set during filming. He said,
I really grew fond of the cast. It was just another obstacle in my way, so in that way it almost made my job easier. When you have to run up a staircase, it's more compelling if you have to do it in a cast. In the tank it was floating up and they'd have to stuff weights in it. I'm not saying I loved being in it every day, but I grew fond of it for sure.
Well that's what I call turning lemons into lemonade (hey Beyonce).
While it might seem crazy to grow fond of a heavy cast that restricts your movement, Dane DeHaan makes a pretty excellent point. During the film we see how DeHaan's character Lockhart attempt to procure his company's CEO, only to get into a car accident that breaks his leg. This physical limitation functions two fold; it allows both the audience and the the character to accept that he's going to have a hard time leaving the wellness center. Otherwise, the suspension of disbelief would have been far too much considering the craziness that A Cure for Wellness entails. And as an actor, DeHaan was given physical asset to help him live within Lockhart's psyche.
You can check out more from my conversation with Dane DeHaan below, also known as his ode to the cast.
Lockhart's broken leg was just one of many moments in A Cure for Wellness that has the potential to make the audience extremely uncomfortable. Anyone who has ever seen The Ring knows that Gore Verbinski has a way of inducing anxiety and fear from audiences.
A Cure for Wellness will debut in theaters on February 17th, 2017.
