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The Cut Director Sean Ellis on Orlando Bloom, John Turturro & More

Director Sean Ellis (Metro Manila) spoke to us about his sports psychological thriller in The Cut, Orlando Bloom, John Turturro & more.

When it comes to most sports dramas, the journey is often clear for the protagonist when it comes to the inherent struggle and overcoming that to succeed, but Paramount/Republic Pictures' The Cut isn't what you might consider conventional. Director Sean Ellis, who's best known for works like the crime drama Metro Manila (2013) and the period drama Anthropoid (2016), worked with screenwriters Justin Bull and Mark Lane that follows the story of a former champion boxer (Orlando Bloom), who's desperate for one last shot at a title and redemption, but can only compete if he makes his appropriate weight. He finds himself working with an unscrupulous trainer (John Turturro), who's looking to get to achieve his goal no matter the cost. Ellis spoke to Bleeding Cool about working with Bull and Mark's script, how Bloom went above and beyond for his role, and what Turturro's presence meant on set.

The Cut Director Sean Ellis on How Orlando Bloom and John Turturro Led the Boxing Psychological Thriller

What intrigued you about 'The Cut and what do you like about Justin and Mark's script?
I was looking for a boxing movie, but I wasn't sure what that was, and then Mark Lane sent me the script over the Christmas period. I read it, and it was an interesting take on the psyche of boxers and what they're prepared to do to do the thing they love doing so they can get into the arena. I thought it was an interesting take, and I hadn't read anything like that before, and I thought it was a boxing movie; there was not much boxing.

What sold you on Orlando was how he carried himself physically and mentally? How much prep work did he have to do in the role to get in that mindset?

We spoke together over the Christmas period, and then we met in May. In five months, he prepared for the role, boxing, dieting, and then he came to us at his lightest. His body fat was about three percent or something crazy, and he lost a lot of weight, was very gaunt, and had little energy, so we shot the last scenes of the movie first and worked backwards. He was able to start eating again, and that's when his mind came back to life again, because he was out of it often when you've got so few calories coming into your system, and your brain. The brain fog and everything are so crazy.

Was he playing method throughout filming as his character, or was it just playing to the scenes?

No, for most of it, he was definitely in character, like method. I would call him at night, and he would speak with an Irish accent, so he stayed in that the whole time. Even when we wrapped, he returned to his normal accent but recognized his voice. It was quite funny.

Can you talk about some of the supporting cast, what they brought to production with Caitríona Balfe, John Turturro, and Mohamed Mansaray, and how they carried themselves on set?

Everybody gelled, and everybody was very supportive of one another. John was obviously the most seasoned actor there, and we were all huge fans of his. When he was on set, we were very quiet, listening a lot, and taking advantage of being on set with somebody who's done so much and has so much insight into the craft. That was a pleasure, and then even youngsters like Mohammed went toe-to-toe with John. I was proud of him as a young, up-and-coming actor. Even John was like, "That kid's really good."

Having John around made Mohammed's year. He was like, "That's John Tuturro!" It was inspiring for them to work with John and a nice working environment. Everybody got on, and I wish to say we had a bit more time to be social with one another, but we were destroyed at the end of the day, so we would be there every morning, drink coffee together, and then plow through the day's work.

The Cut is now available on digital.

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