Finn Bennett talks about working with Jodie Foster and starring in Alex Garland’s Warfare – HERO

BP: So True Detective It became a huge HBO show. How do you suddenly face press and publicity and that level of visibility?
FB: You do this and you suck. The thing is, you have to really trust the people around you. I’ve always had the privilege of working with the best people, some of the names I mentioned, but especially Issa, I owe everything to that woman. He gave me this career, this success I’m in. He was tough on me but I trusted him and I hope I made him proud. This is how you deal with pressure, listen to the people around you. I remember working with Jodie (Foster) the first day and I turned to her and asked: “What should I do? What do you do when you get home?” And he said, “Just go dancing! Go enjoy it. Show up, do the work, and be serious about it, but don’t take yourself too seriously. Remember, we can always go again.

BP: Your upcoming projects are big. You’re in Alex Garland’s new movie. Waralong with all the other young male actors currently in demand. The project looks crazy. What can you tell me about this?
FB: Thirteen of us (actors in the cast) stayed at Pendley Manor, a hotel in Tring. We were filming at Bovingdon Airport Studios. I was really nervous, I work mostly with women, I had just come off a show with Keira Knightley and before that I was working with Jodie, Kali (Reis) and Fiona (Shaw) and that’s where I feel most comfortable. I thought it would be very alpha, thirteen guys and co-directors Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza. But within a few hours — I’m not kidding — suddenly we were like little kids running around the gym, eating every meal together, spending every second together. It was really beautiful. We were actually like thirteen siblings. The shots were amazing; Alex Garland is one of the smartest and most intense men I have ever met. Very authoritarian but very kind. He got the best from us.

BP: And your next project, which I think needs to be more abstract in some way. about, Knight of the Seven Kingdomsnew game of Thrones spin-off series. Can you say anything about this?
FB: All I can tell you is that I had a really good time and I think it’s going to be really great. We’re shooting in Belfast and we’ve got a great cast, a great director, Owen Harris, and I’m really happy.

BP: You’re back in Belfast, that must be amazing.
FB: Yes, on a personal level it’s really nice, my dad puts me in touch with old friends and family.

BP: It’s a homecoming.
FB: Absolutely.

The interview was first published on Heroine 21.