With Robin Hood freshly launched into cinemas and the hotly anticipated Captain Marvel following in February, Ben Mendelsohn is very much in demand. He discusses his recent slate of films with The Hollywood Reporter, which includes Ready Player One and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, a film that is clearly very close to his heart.
Of his bigger-budget roles, Mendelsohn is most proud of Rogue One.
“Playing Orson Krennic in Rogue One and being able to say that I built the Death Star, who else can say that? You can’t top it,” he says.
Rogue One also saw behind-the-scenes drama, with veteran screenwriter and director Tony Gilroy coming on board for extensive reshoots on the Gareth Edwards-directed film. Gilroy himself has said the production was in “terrible trouble” when he boarded.
I ask Mendelsohn if he felt nervous or relieved when with the addition of another creative late in the process.
“I wasn’t either of those, it was just a case, from my point of view, that they were going to be working multiple units. Gareth was writing and then he would come and film some things and Tony was shooting his material,” says Mendelsohn. “To me it’s a collaborative business, and this was just business as usual, and I’m so proud of that one.”
