Oscar Isaac, bless him, will be answering questions about Star Wars for the rest of his life. It’s not a bad gig—but the actor doesn’t seem to harbor any dreams of returning to the franchise to reprise his role as Poe Dameron, the headstrong pilot caught in a forever fanfic with John Boyega’s Finn. In an interview with Deadline, Isaac quipped that he might return to the galactic franchise—“if I need another house or something.”
The actor was sitting for a Zoom interview with writer-director Paul Schrader, promoting their upcoming movie, The Card Counter. During the chat, Isaac—who rose to fame after the Coen brothers’ folksy Inside Llewyn Davis—said while he enjoyed the process of filming Star Wars, the galactic fantasies are not exactly the kinds of movies he wants to make.
“I enjoyed the challenge of those films and working with a very large group of incredible artists and actors, prop makers, and set designers, and all that. It was really fun,” Isaac said. “But it’s not really what I set out to do. What I set out to do was to make handmade movies and to work with people that inspire me.”
To be clear, he hasn’t sworn off franchises forever. (Hello, Dune!) But Isaac sounds more interested in working with directors like Schrader. “Paul [Schrader]’s movies, the things that he’s made, it’s in my DNA…as far as I’m concerned, it has nothing to do with the finished product. It’s process, and the process of doing this.”
When asked explicitly if this reduces the chances of Poe returning to the big screen, Isaac said, “Probably, but who knows”—then made his little house joke. Isaac’s bluntness calls to mind other actors who have stated openly that they’ll take a job in exchange for a house-size salary. While discussing 2007’s Alvin and the Chipmunks, for instance, David Cross admitted he made the children’s movie just so he could get some new digs: “I used my Alvin and the Chipmunks money to pay for the down payment [for a house],” he said at the time. “Seriously, I totally did.”
Michael Caine made a similar confession some years ago when asked why an actor of his caliber would star in the legendarily bad threequel Jaws: The Revenge in 1987. The Oscar-winner offered a very simple explanation: “I have never seen the film, but by all accounts it was terrible,” he said. “However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.”
Who among us would say no to such an opportunity? A few noble crumbs of artistic dignity in exchange for luxurious shelter? A fair trade in our capitalist society! Anyway, hope those guys enjoy their houses.
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