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In the making of Ridley Scott’s new film Napoleon, things got so intense between stars Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby that the former actually slapped the latter.
During a recent interview with Empire Magazine, Phoenix and Kirby detailed how their commitment to not making a routine biopic led to an unscripted slap during a climactic argument scene.
“We were using the real words from their divorce in the church,” Kirby said. “When that happens, you can faithfully go through an archival re-enactment of it and read out the lines and then go home. But we always wanted to surprise each other.”
“She said, ‘Look, whatever you feel, you can do.’ I said, ‘Same thing with you.’ She said, ‘You can slap me, you can grab me, you can pull me, you can kiss me, whatever it is,’” Phoenix said. “We encouraged each other, demanded of each other, to challenge ourselves to shock each other in moments. And that’s what came out of that, that moment.”
Both actors seem to be incredibly proud of the scene, as Kirby reiterated Phoenix’s sentiment, calling that type of creative expression “the greatest thing.”
“It’s the greatest thing when you have a creative partner and you say, ‘Right, everything’s safe. I’m with you. And we’re gonna go to the dark places together,’” she said.
In addition to Napoleon, 2023 has seen Phoenix star in Ari Aster’s controversial horror comedy Beau Is Afraid, while Kirby featured in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.
Alongside the Oscar-winning Phoenix as Napoleon Bonaparte and the Oscar-nominated Vanessa Kirby as Empress Josephine, Napoleon also stars Tahar Rahim, Ben Miles, Ludivine Sagnier, Matthew Needham, Youseff Kerkour, Phil Cornwell, Ian McNeice, Paul Rhys, Catherine Walker, and more.
Napoleon marks the first time that Scott and Phoenix have worked together since winning the Academy Award for Best Picture for their work on Gladiator.
The film will hit movie theaters in the United States on November 22 before streaming on AppleTV+ later in the year. You can check out the official trailer for the film below.