While Tom Hanks’ turn as the titular hero in Paul Greengrass’ Captain Phillips has generated the most buzz for the film, it’s not the only terrific performance to be found in the movie. Newcomer Barkhad Abdi stars as the film’s central villain, Muse, and manages to find an impressive balance between threatening and empathetic, both adding a terrific tension to the film and depth to the character. So how did Greengrass go about casting the role of Muse and selecting Abdi for the part? At a recent press junket for the film in Los Angeles I had the chance to ask the director and the star exactly that.
Sitting down with Greengrass and Abdi for an on-camera interview last week, I not only had the chance to ask about how the Somali pirates were cast, what the director was looking for during the auditions, Abdi’s approach to the character, and what they hope that audiences will take away from watching the film. Check out the video below!
Greengrass’ first film since 2010’s Green Zone and based on a screenplay written by Billy Ray (The Hunger Games), Captain Phillips recounts the thrilling true story from April 2009 when a band of Somali pirates, led by a man named Muse (Abdi), attempted to hijack the container ship MV Maersk Alabama. Armed with nothing but quick thinking and incredible bravery, the titular Captain (Hanks) made every move he could to protect the members of his crew, even when it meant putting himself in harm’s way.
Already in select theaters, the movie will be released nationwide tomorrow, October 11th. You can watch a trailer for the film below and head over to our Blend Film Database for more.
