Nicholas Hoult "didn't know" what sort of movie 'The Favourite' was meant to be.

Nicholas Hoult

Nicholas Hoult

The 28-year-old actor stars alongside Emma Stone, Olivia Colman and Rachel Weisz in director Yorgos Lanthimos dark period comedy but he admitted he and his co-stars took some time to "figure out" the pitch of the film because of the filmmaker's "unconventional" approach.

He said: "I remember one moment when Emma and I were doing a scene, and Yorgos walked up afterward and he goes, 'What kind of movie do you think this is?' And we both said, 'We don't know! We're figuring it out!'

"Because the script is funny but it's also very emotional and it's unconventional in terms of a period drama.

"And Yorgos's approach to create the environment that you work in and the characters is very unconventional as well. But he also manages to be very comfortable with the fact that you're unaware of what's happening--which is the trick to it, I think. It's just a wonderful environment."

Nicholas wore an elaborate white wig for many of his scenes and he admitted it was very distracting for his co-stars.

He said: "It was very difficult to be in scenes with [the actresses] because quite frequently they wouldn't be able to look at me without laughing. So they would laugh and then that would make me laugh.

"Obviously they're incredibly talented actresses and cover up and carry on... Where I'm useless and would just giggle."

The movie is already being tipped for Oscars success but the former 'Skins' star is trying not to pay attention to the hype, though he's glad 'The Favourite' has been well received.

He told Vanity Fair: "I try not to, to be honest with you. I don't think you can ever . . . the work you do, the results of it can never be what spurs you to do things, either positive or negative.

"It's obviously lovely when people react well to things. Or even if it's 10 years down the road, someone comes up to you and goes 'Hey, I saw this and it really touched me': that can mean more than any of this."

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