Vincent Gallo is reportedly set to portray a Taliban member in Jerzy Skolimowski’s upcoming political thriller “The Essence Of Killing.”
According to Haaretz (via /Film), the film centers on Gallo’s Taliban member protagonist as he kills three American soldiers in Afghanistan, is taken captive by the Americans, transferred to Europe for interrogation only to escape from his captors on a continent he does not know. Sounds like a perfect role for the controversial actor.
Shooting is first taking place in Israel’s Dead Sea before heading to Norway and Poland. Co-starring in the film will be “two Israeli actors, Zach Cohen and Yiftach Ofir” with a third Israeli actor currently being sought.
After a semi-retirement/hiatus from acting, Gallo returned this year starring as the titular character in Francis Ford Coppola’s “Tetro” and lent his voice to Frederik Edin’s “Metropia.” He also has a 16mm black and white film which he wrote and directed in the works for 2010 called “Promises Written In The Water” and four screenplays waiting on the sideline.
Interestingly, Skolimowski is also on the comeback trail after ending a 17 year directing hiatus with 2008’s “Four Nights With Anna,” but it has yet to see U.S. distribution. The film did screen at the New York Film Festival in the fall ’08, but unfortunately we missed it. The director is also an actor and is probably known to today’s audiences for playing the surly Russian father in David Cronenberg’s “Eastern Promises.” [editor’s note: Coincidentally enough, when we saw “Tetro” in Cannes last year, Skolimowski himself was in attendance. Maybe he liked what he saw in Gallo’s tremendous performance].