Wagner Moura, who you may not have immediately recognized in Mr. and Mrs. Smith (he’s that damn good in the show), famously portrayed Pablo Escobar in two seasons of Netflix’s Narcos. The series did, yes, frequently cast him as a sad clown and Robin Hood figure, but Escobar was also ruthless in his drug-lording escapades. As well, his rooftop death scene was surely harrowing to shoot, but somehow Wagner Moura had an even more difficult time while appearing in Alex Garland’s upcoming Civil War.
The A24 film has been described as very disturbing and realistic-seeming even though Texas and California are on the same side. Moura portrays a Reuters journalist who is confronted and challenged by Jesse Plemons’ machine gun-wielding character, and he described (while speaking with Hollywood Reporter) how that scene took two days to film, “and afterward I just laid down in the grass and cried” as described in an interview. Moura then elaborated about how Narcos and Civil War compared as acting experiences:
“Please don’t feel this is some actor bullsh*t, because it’s totally true for me. When I did Narcos, which was heavy sh*t, I would do scenes where I’m killing or doing horrible things, I would end the scene, and my mind would move on. I’d think, “I’m going to have a beer or I have to call my son or I have to pay that bill.” But my body doesn’t know that I’ve moved on. I’d go to grab a Coors, and the glass in my hand is shaking like crazy. That doesn’t go away, and it takes a toll.
When asked how long it took to feel “normal” again after wrapping the film, Moura responded, “I don’t know. Somehow, it’s still there.” Kirsten Dunst, who portrays a photojournalist in the film, has also revealed that she acquired PTSD symptoms from the gunfire-heavy production.
As for Garland, the Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Devs filmmaker has also spoken to Hollywood Reporter at length, and when quizzed about the film’s seemingly ambiguous red-blue divides, he countered, “I personally think questions are answered.”
Audiences will find out more when Civil War arrives in theaters on April 12.
(Via Hollywood Reporter)