Joel Edgerton has revealed that it wasn't until after he had started writing The Gift that he considered directing the film.
Joel Edgerton
Edgerton is set to direct, write and star in The Gift, which hits the big screen at the end of the week, and will mark the actor's feature film directorial debut.
The actor has directed shorts Monkeys and The List as well as writing the script for Felony and working on the story for The Rover and now he is making the leap to the director's chair.
However, Edgerton admits that he was initially just concentrating on writing the script and taking on the role of Gordon. It wasn't until he was well into the writing process that he considered directing the film.
Speaking to Collider, Edgerton said: "The construction of the film is very much a triangle thriller, or stalker thriller. Our villain, Gordon, that I play, somewhat recedes into the shadows, at times. So, when it came to writing the film, it was really about me playing that character.
"It wasn't until I was deep into writing it that it also felt, for many reasons, like a good first project for me to sink my teeth into, as a director. It wasn't going to cost too much money. It was fairly contained, in terms of locations and characters. And I loved the story. But, the directing idea came after the idea of writing the character."
Edgerton will play the villain in The Gift and is joined on the cast list by Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, David Denman, and Busy Phillips.
2015 is set to be a busy year for the actor as we are set to see him star in Black Mass, Midnight Special, and Jane Got a Gun.
Black Mass sees him play FBI agent John Connolly in a movie about infamous gangster Whitey Bulger. Johnny Depp will take on the role of Bulger, while Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon, and Corey Stoll are just some of the other names on an exciting cast list.
Edgerton is currently filming his latest movie Loving, which sees him star alongside Ruth Negga, while Jeff Nichols is in the director's chair.
The Gift is released 7th August.
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