You may recall many moons ago, “Anomalisa” animator and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Duke Johnson—he co-directed the film with writer/director Charlie Kaufman—had a new live-action film in the works called “The Actor.” The film was to star Ryan Gosling, who was also producing; it was a big screen take on Donald E. Westlake’s novel “Memory.”
Gosling was to play the role of Paul Cole, a man who must deal with his damaged memory as he struggles to rebuild his life after being left for dead and hospitalized in 1950s Ohio. Cole follows a thrilling journey to find a home, love, and, ultimately himself. Well, cut to a few years later, and things have drastically changed.
Not only did “The Actor” undergo a major facelift and recasting of Gosling with another actor, well it quietly finished production already. The film now stars André Holland (“Moonlight,” “The Knick”) and Gemma Chan (“Crazy Rich Asians”) and will be distributed by Neon.
Principal photography recently wrapped on the film. The ensemble cast includes Tracey Ullman (“Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Mrs. Americana”), Toby Jones (“Empire of Light,” “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”), Simon McBurney (“Wolfwalkers,” “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”), and Joe Cole (“Peaky Blinders”). “The Actor” is based on the best-selling novel “Memory” by Donald E. Westlake and a script by Johnson and Stephen Cooney.
Here’s the official synopsis, not unlike the original story.
Stranded in 1950s Ohio after a brutal attack, actor Paul Cole (Holland), suffering from severe memory loss, struggles to find his way back to his life in New York and reclaim what he has lost. The Actor follows a thrilling journey we must all make to find a home, to find love, and ultimately to find ourselves.
Ryan Gosling was previously attached to star, but with scheduling conflicts, he stayed on to executive produce the feature. Duke Johnson and Abigail Spencer produced under their Innerlight Films production banner alongside Paul Young under the MAKE GOOD production banner. Waypoint Entertainment’s Ken Kao is also producing, with Charlie Kaufman executive producing. Gosling and Kao are also in partnership on recent project announcements of Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s Project Hail Mary at MGM and Leigh Whannell’s Wolfman at Universal.
No release date has been set, but a first look has been released, and maybe, if we’re lucky, we’ll get it at one of the fall film festivals before the end of 2023. Either that or it could be a great bet for the film festival circuits next year, Sundance, Cannes, or otherwise.
