Ezra Miller Won’t Be Cut from ‘DalÃland,’ Says Director: ‘Nothing Bad Happened During Our Filming’
Ezra Miller had no issues on the set of TIFF closing night premiere “Dalíland,” as the persistence of memory goes to show.
Director Mary Harron (“American Psycho”) had Miller, who stars as a younger version of Salvador Dalí in the movie, in mind for over a decade to star in the biopic. “At that point, the producers and everyone were saying, ‘Well, you can’t cast them because they’re not a big enough star,'” Harron told Vanity Fair. “And then a year later they were too big a star and had to drop out because they got ‘Fantastic Beasts,’ and then later got ‘The Flash.'”
Harron added, “They stayed very loyal to the project for years, even when other people dropped out right and left because of schedule changes and the pandemic.”
Rumors of Miller being cut from the film arose after their name was not included in the cast list for the official TIFF announcement. Since wrapping “Dalíland,” Miller was arrested multiple times and accused of abuse. Miller later released a statement that they were seeking treatment for “complex mental health issues.”
Yet director Harron maintained that the “Justice League” actor “turned in a completely realized performance” and had no issues on set.
“They were very professional and nice to everybody,” Harron stated. “There was no trouble or a sign of trouble on set. So it was very upsetting and terrible to read what happened later. Reading this stuff was very sad — very sad for everybody involved. Hopefully they are getting help for what sounds like a very, very serious break.”
Harron added that the film was “completely finished and wrapped” by the time Miller’s behavior became public, so the role could not be edited out.
“It might have been different, especially if we were shooting, if there had been bad behavior during that,” Harron said. “But this all happened after the film was not only filmed, but edited and mixed and done. I also felt like everybody shot all those things in good faith. Nothing bad happened during our filming, and the film is the film.”
The director added, “I’m not condoning anything they’ve done wrong. I think it doesn’t matter how talented someone is, if they’ve done anything wrong, they have to face it. I also think that clearly this is not just a young star acting out. This is much more serious. This seems like something that needs a serious intervention, which I hope has happened.”
