Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson‘s knack for casting is one of his (many) strong suits as a creator. From recognizing the dramatic brilliance of someone like Adam Sandler, consistently finding new dimensions of repeat stars like Julianne Moore and John C. Reilly, and discovering brand-new stars like Alana Haim, PTA has one hell of an eye for star power (and all credit to his long-running partnership with casting director Cassandra Kulukundis, who has cast nine of 10 ten films).
For his latest, “One Battle After Another,” PTA again assembles an enviable cast: Oscar winners Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio del Toro, and continuing collaborator Sean Penn, plus Teyana Taylor and Regina Hall making their PTA debut, and breakout star Chase Infiniti. The film is Infiniti’s first — TV fans have already been treated to her work in “Presumed Innocent,” and she will next lead the “Handmaid’s Tale” spin-off series “The Testaments” — and it’s a hell of a debut for the actress.
As IndieWire’s own David Ehrlich noted in his glowing review of the film, Infiniti is “magnetically self-possessed” and an “instant movie star.” (Having seen the film yesterday: when he’s right, he’s right.)
After a special screening of the film in VistaVision held in New York City on Sunday afternoon, DiCaprio, Taylor, Infiniti, del Toro, Hall, and Penn stuck around to chat about the feature in a wide-ranging Q&A. In the film, Infiniti plays the daughter of DiCaprio (as the bomber Ghetto Pat, who eventually goes undercover as “Bob Ferguson”) and Taylor (as the revolutionary leader Perfidia Beverly Hills). DiCaprio shares plenty of screen time with the young star and was eager to talk about her performance, both on and off the screen.
“It was beautiful to watch Chase come into an ecosystem like this, because I remember my first feature-length film and trusting so much in the director, the director is literally everything to you, and that bond started immediately with the two of them,” DiCaprio said.
DiCaprio’s first role was — and this is true! — in the direct-to-video sequel “Critters 3,” but he quickly followed that up with roles in two still-signature films for him: “This Boy’s Life” (directed by Michael Caton-Jones) and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” (directed by Lasse Hallström). And it seems that the actor still keenly remembers what it was like on those early sets.
“Benicio likes to say it was like watching a great boxer with the boxing coach, and they gave each other small signals and nods, and yeses and nos,” DiCaprio continued. “And they continued on. They had this sort of unspoken relationship that was beautiful to witness. It reminded me of when I was younger and my first film.”
Asked about her experience, Infiniti was quick to note the support she received from everyone, which engendered a level of trust that seems common on a PTA set.
“I think that the strongest thing that I felt was just love from everybody,” she said. “From Leo and Teyana and Sean and Regina and Benicio, not to mention Paul, I was just surrounded by so much love and support from day one. … Having that, and an overall understanding of trust, and knowing that Paul trusts me, I trust Paul, and then I trust every single one of my scene partners, I think that the love and the trust more than anything made me feel confident to play and thrive in the environment. It was a bit scary walking into, but in the end, it was the best experience.”
Warner Bros. will release “One Battle After Another” in theaters on Friday, September 26.
