Emily Blunt has solidified her acting career in Hollywood all thanks to the different roles that she impeccably portrayed. One such role was playing the role of FBI Special Agent, Kate Macer in 2015’s Denis Villeneuve’s directorial, Sicario.
Benicio del Toro’s Thoughts After Director Removed His Favorite Scene from Sicario
In a recent appearance on TeamDeakins [podcast run by renowned cinematographer Roger Deakins and James Deakins], the 56-year-old actor, Benicio del Toro talked about his experience working in Emily Blunt‘s Sicario.
During a segment, the actor talked about a scene that he shot for the film that was unable to feature in the final cut of the film. He explained that he and Roger Deakins, who was the director of cinematography, for that project loved the shot.
The cinematographer explained,
“It was Roger who laid out the scene, though it’s still a bit nebulous about what it was about. [Remember that scene] in ‘Sicario,’ there was that wonderful scene we shot on down on a beach in Mexico with you in the water with this general, and it was really beautiful, and then it wasn’t in the film.”
The Oscar-winning actor was concerned when the scene couldn’t make it to the final cut.
“Yeah, I remember swallowing very hard when the film first started, and thinking, ‘Maybe [‘Denis Villeneuve] is going to use it in a dream.”
However, he eventually moved on from that since he understood that chopping the scene off helped the film mystify his character.
“But halfway through the film, I didn’t care about it, and kudos to Denis and the editor because [cutting it], I [eventually] thought it helped the movie so much because it helped kept my character [shrouded] in mystery; we [just] don’t know him.”
He was able to understand that “showing or telling less” would make the film stronger which eventually happened. Had they added his favorite scene, it would have been unable to match the intensity the now final cut holds. Not just him, but his co-star, Emily Blunt also shares core sentiments with the film as she considers it one of her favorite roles to date.
Emily Blunt Reflected on Her Sicario Role
In an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast to discuss her new film, The Oppenheimer star shared her insight on working as an FBI secret agent in the 2015 film.
She talked about how she was initially unaware to recognize the intense surroundings during the filming.
“I don’t know if, during it, I saw the full scope of what [director] was doing. I think when I saw it, and was so gripped by the throat by it, I didn’t realize how much you would feel like her as an audience member.”
However, that intense environment eventually would make the audience feel like her.
“I didn’t realize she would bring you into it in the way that she does, and she is as in the dark as the audience are. It is an incoherent world where someone is in way over their head, and the panic that instills in audiences watching it was so cool, and how taut and muscular the whole thing felt when watching it.”
She also applauded the cinematographer for bringing the best visuals which aligned with the intensity needed on-screen. The movie eventually ended up grossing $85 million worldwide with a sequel, Sicario: Day of the Soldado already released in 2018. Meanwhile, a third film, Sicario: Capos is currently in the works.
Sicario and its sequel is available to watch on Hulu.
Source: TeamDeakins
