The Actor (2025 film)

Film by Duke Johnson

The Actor

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Duke Johnson
Screenplay by|

* Stephen Cooney
* Duke Johnson

Based on| Memory
by Donald E. Westlake
Produced by|

* Abigail Spencer
* Duke Johnson
* Paul Young
* Ken Kao

Starring|

* André Holland
* Gemma Chan
* May Calamawy
* Asim Chaudhry
* Joe Cole
* Fabien Frankel
* Olwen Fouéré
* Edward Hogg
* Toby Jones
* Youssef Kerkour
* Simon McBurney
* Tanya Reynolds
* Tracey Ullman
* Scott Alexander Young

Cinematography| Joe Passarelli
Edited by| Garret Elkins
Music by| Richard Reed Parry

Production
companies

* Innerlight Films
* Underscore Films
* Waypoint Entertainment

Distributed by| Neon

Release date

* March 14, 2025 (2025-03-14)

Running time

| 98 minutes[1]
Country| United States
Language| English
Box office| $42,753[2]

The Actor is a 2025 American crime mystery film directed by Duke Johnson from a screenplay he co-wrote with Stephen Cooney, based on the 2010 novel Memory by Donald E. Westlake. The film marks Johnson's solo directorial debut and his first live-action film. The film follows a New York actor with amnesia in 1950s Ohio, who becomes stranded in a mysterious small town and struggles to get back home and reclaim his life and identity.[3] It stars André Holland and Gemma Chan in the lead roles. The supporting cast includes May Calamawy, Asim Chaudhry, Joe Cole, Fabien Frankel, Olwen Fouéré, Edward Hogg, Toby Jones, Youssef Kerkour, Simon McBurney, Tanya Reynolds, Tracey Ullman, and Scott Alexander Young.

## Cast

[edit]

* André Holland as Paul Cole[4]
* Gemma Chan[4] as Edna
* May Calamawy[5][6]
* Asim Chaudhry[5]
* Joe Cole as Nick[7]
* Fabien Frankel
* Olwen Fouéré as Old Lady Track[8]
* Edward Hogg as Make Up Artist[9]
* Toby Jones[10]
* Youssef Kerkour as Black Jack / Ed / Defense Attorney / Busdriver[11][5]
* Simon McBurney[5]
* Tanya Reynolds[5] playing multiple roles[12]
* Tracey Ullman[5] as Mrs. Malloy / Helen / Deerville Woman
* Scott Alexander Young
* Thomas Dominique as Phil[13]

## Production

[edit]

### Development

[edit]

In 2015, director Duke Johnson and producer Abigail Spencer optioned the 2010 novel Memory by Donald E. Westlake.[4] In 2019, actor Ryan Gosling received the script and then him and Johnson started developing the script together through the COVID-19 pandemic.[14] On February 24, 2021, Deadline reported that Gosling had committed to star in The Actor, with Johnson directing a screenplay he co-wrote with Stephen Cooney, marking Johnson's solo directorial debut and his first live-action film following the 2015 stop-motion film Anomalisa.[3] Gosling was set to produce the film with Waypoint Entertainment's Ken Kao, Johnson and Abigail Spencer's Innerlight Films, and Paul Young's Make Good company, with CAA Media Finance and Endeavor Content co-repping the film's U.S. rights, and Endeavor Content handling international sales.[3] Collider reported that before Gosling signed on to star in the film, Aaron Taylor-Johnson was previously circling the project.[15] The Actor was a top seller at Berlin's 2021 European Film Market.[16]

On April 12, 2021, it was reported that Neon had acquired North American distribution rights to the film and that Charlie Kaufman–who co-directed the 2015 film Anomalisa with Johnson–had joined the project as executive producer.[17] The same day, Neon stated on their Twitter account that the film was set to be released in 2022.[18]

On October 18, 2022, producer Abigail Spencer said in an interview with the website The Retaility that the film was in pre-production in Budapest and that André Holland and Gemma Chan were the leads.[4] On October 29, 2022, FilmBook announced that actress Olwen Fouéré had joined the cast, which also included Tracey Ullman, May Calamawy, Tanya Reynolds, Simon McBurney, Edward Hogg, Asim Chaudhry, and Youssef Kerkour.[5] FilmBook reported that each of the supporting actors will play several different characters, and that Fouéré played seven characters in the film.[5]

In an interview with the YouTube channel PIVOT DXB on March 13, 2023, Calamawy said that she played five different characters in the film.[19]

On April 4, 2023, Neon announced that Ryan Gosling–who was originally attached to star as Paul Cole before being replaced by Holland[20]–remained part of the film as an executive producer.[21] Johnson later said that Gosling dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.[14]

### Filming

[edit]

Principal photography was originally scheduled to start in Los Angeles on September 6, 2021,[22] but was pushed back to mid-January 2022.[23]

Filming began in Budapest, Hungary[24] in November 2022,[25][6][26] and wrapped in April 2023.[21]

## Music

[edit]

The film score is composed by Richard Reed Parry.[27]

## Release

[edit]

Donald E. Westlake's novel Memory was republished with the same title of the film, The Actor, on January 28, 2025.[28] The film was released theatrically by Neon on March 14, 2025.[17][2] It made $20,941 from 23 theaters in its first weekend.[29]

## Reception

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 78% of 27 critics' reviews are positive.[30] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 62 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[31]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Swen, Ryan (March 11, 2025). "'The Actor' Review: 'Anomalisa' Co-Director's Muddled Donald E. Westlake Adaptation Loses the Plot". Variety. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
2. ^ a b "The Actor (2025)". Retrieved March 28, 2025.
3. ^ a b c Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 24, 2021). "Ryan Gosling To Star In 'The Actor' With Duke Johnson To Direct Adaptation Of Donald E. Westlake Novel 'Memory:' Hot EFM Package". Deadline. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
4. ^ a b c d Scharf, Lindzi (October 18, 2022). "Abigail Spencer". The Retaility. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023. "It's called 'The Actor' and Neon is releasing it. André Holland and Gemma Chan are our leads."
5. ^ a b c d e f g h McDonald, David (October 29, 2022). "THE ACTOR: Olwen Fouéré Joins Cast of Crime Thriller". FilmBook. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
6. ^ a b Azar, Nicolas (December 15, 2022). ""كانت رحلتي بأكملها عبارة عن بحث مستمر واكتشاف لهويّتي": May Calamawy" [May Calamawy: "My entire journey has been a constant search and discovery of my identity"]. Marie Claire Arabia (in Persian). Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023. "I'm about to head to Budapest for a month with an amazing cast to work on a movie called The Actor directed by the talented Duke Johnson. I'm so excited about this, I couldn't have wished for a better end to the year!"
7. ^ "Joe Cole - B-Side Management". B-Side Management. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
8. ^ "Olwen Fouéré | United Agents". United Agents. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
9. ^ "Edward Hogg - Hamilton Hodell". Hamilton Hodell. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
10. ^ "Toby Jones | ARG Talent". ARG Talent. March 23, 2015. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
11. ^ "Youssef Kerkour". Spotlight.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
12. ^ Carson, Diane (April 21, 2025). "The Acror review". Alliance of Women Film Journalists.
13. ^ "Thomas Dominique". Jonathan Arun Group. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
14. ^ a b Perez, Rodrigo (March 11, 2015). "Director Duke Johnson Talks 'The Actor,' Learning From Charlie Kaufman & André Holland As Collaborator For Life [Exclusive]". The Playlist.
15. ^ Sneider, Jeff (February 24, 2021). "Ryan Gosling to Star in 'The Actor' Based on Donald E. Westlake's Noir-Soaked Novel 'Memory'". Collider. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
16. ^ Barraclough, Leo (March 1, 2021). "Berlin Buzz Titles: A Selection of Top Films at the European Film Market". Variety. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
17. ^ a b Wiseman, Andreas (April 12, 2021). "Neon Wins Rights To Ryan Gosling Film Noir 'The Actor', Charlie Kaufman Joins As Exec Producer". Deadline. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
18. ^ Neon (April 12, 2021). "THE ACTOR. Starring Ryan Gosling, directed by Duke Johnson. See you in 2022". Twitter. Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
19. ^ "May Calamawy's PIVOT". YouTube. March 13, 2023.
20. ^ Grobar, Matt (April 4, 2023). "André Holland & Gemma Chan To Topline 'Anomalisa' Helmer Duke Johnson's Neon Pic 'The Actor'". Deadline. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
21. ^ a b Neon (April 4, 2023). "That's a wrap on THE ACTOR..." Twitter. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
22. ^ "The Actor - Production List". Film & Television Industry Alliance. August 16, 2021. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
23. ^ Production Weekly [@prodweek] (September 8, 2021). "Production Weekly - Issue 1263 - Thursday, September 9, 2021 / 147 Listings - 33 Pages - Production Weekly" (Tweet). Archived from the original on September 9, 2021 - via Twitter.
24. ^ "Shooting of "The Actor" Moving to Budapest This Quarter". Budapest Reporter. November 16, 2022. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
25. ^ Ruimy, Jordan (November 18, 2022). "Duke Johnson's 'The Actor' Starts Production in Budapest". World of Reel. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
26. ^ Kerkour, Youssef (November 13, 2022). "Good times in Budapest shooting "The Actor". As you can see, I was checking I.D.s." Instagram. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023.
27. ^ "Arcade Fire's Richard Reed Parry Scoring Duke Johnson's 'The Actor'". Film Music Reporter. December 4, 2024.
28. ^ "The Actor | Originally published as MEMORY By Donald E. Westlake". Titan Books. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
29. ^ "Domestic 2025 Weekend 11". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
30. ^ "The Actor". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
31. ^ "The Actor". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved March 22, 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* The Actor at IMDb

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