In this week’s episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo uncovers a new monster in “Cuckoo.” The film follows a 17-year-old girl forced to move with her family to a European resort where things are not what they seem. The Tilman Singer (“Luz”) film stars Hunter Shafer, Marton Csokas, Dan Stevens, Jessica Henwick and more.
READ MORE: ‘Cuckoo’ Review: Hunter Schafer Thriller That’s For The Birds
Dan Stevens joins the podcast to discuss his role as the sinister Herr König, the owner of the mysterious resort. During the interview, Stevens discussed jumping on board Singer’s second feature after being impressed with “Luz,” the director’s first low-budget hit, for a lesser thought reason.
“‘Luz’ was one of those films whispered around the horror nerd corridors for a while. It was clearly a very singular voice and had been made for no money but was just a brilliantly inventive bit of filmmaking, especially regarding the sound design,” Stevens explained. “And I’m a real sucker for cool sound design. I think it’s really underappreciated. And I think it really stands out when it gets you, and often, you can transcend the limitations of your budget and your setting by devoting some energy to that. So that film really excited me. And then I get this opportunity to [meet him], and they were looking for Herr König, so I got to chat with him, and we very quickly found a shared sense of humor.”
“And I could tell that the mind that had made ‘Luz,’ when applied to this strange sort of fairy tale world that he created in ‘Cuckoo,’ would be a very cool thing,” he continued. “I love it when I feel in very good, safe hands with a filmmaker and just can take some swings and leave it to them to assemble their weird assembly of this world they want to create. And I really felt that with Tilman. I immediately trusted that he was going to make something cool.”
‘Cuckoo’ also features Hunter Shafer in her first lead performance after standing out with her portrayal of Jules Vaughn on the hit series, “Euphoria.” Stevens was instantly impressed by Shafer and the command she had on set.
“It was her first film, period—which is remarkable,” Stevens said. “You know, she’s done ‘Euphoria’ before, but I think the order in which things have come out is different now. But just an incredible energy, appetite, and attitude to the work. It was wonderful to be around. Hunter has a great attitude on and off-set and really united the cast in terms of hanging out in between shooting. We were on location in Dusseldorf, Cologne, and Southern Germany for a little while, so that’s very important, I think. And that’s something you can’t necessarily teach, you know? And I think she has an incredible sort of innate ability. And it’s really exciting to get to work with someone at the dawn of a very exciting career.”
Stevens also impressed earlier this year with his performance as the delightfully over-the-top hero Trapper in “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.” Director Adam Wingard, a longtime friend and collaborator of Stevens, recently announced his departure from the film series, with director Grant Sputore (“I Am Mother”) jumping on to helm the next sequel. So, does Wingard’s departure mean Trapper won’t return? Not according to Stevens.
“I think there’s plenty more adventures to be had with Trapper, and I think Grant [Sputore] is a great choice,” Stevens said. “I think he’s a lovely filmmaker, and we’ll see. I think they’re currently at the ideation stage of this next installment, so we’ll see. The lead is always either Kong or Godzilla. I’m under no illusions there. The highest you could get would be number three, but yeah, just a great, great, fun character. I had a fantastic time making that movie.”
Stevens’ career has been filled with fan-favorite performances, but for a long time, the actor was rumored to be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the villain, Kro, in “Eternals,” which ended up going to Bill Skarsgård. This confused fans as Stevens was even teasing an appearance in interviews. Was he cast? Was he not? Stevens finally gave a straight answer on the subject.
“What happened was, I was in London shooting ‘Eurovision’ when my good friends, Brian Tyree Henry and Kumail Nanjiani, were in London shooting ‘Eternals,’ and we went for a curry,” Stevens detailed. “And as sometimes happens when you’re hanging out with actor friends, everyone’s like, ‘let’s take a selfie,’ and someone posted it. And in the way that only the internet can, it was like, ‘He must be playing [Kro]!’ And I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ And so we just had fun teasing fans for a while. But it did get kind of out of hand where I would sit in junkets like this with something completely unconnected, and people would say, ‘So, you know, what’s it like working with Chloe Zhao?’ And I’d be like, ‘Oh, listen, let me stop you right there. This has gotten way out of hand.’ But, yeah, all that happened is we went for a friendly curry in London.”
Speaking of Stevens teasing fans, the actor and his friend, director Adam Wingard, have been torturing fans of their cult hit, “The Guest,” for years with sequel rumors and even a fully commissioned soundtrack for a potential continuation of the story. Stevens didn’t confirm a sequel but discussed some of the elements around it.
“[Wingard] and Simon [Barrett] really fleshed it out [the story outline] and sent it to all these incredible synth musicians, some of whom had played on the previous soundtrack, some of whom were Adam’s friends or people that he just admired, and they’ve made a really awesome soundtrack, and it’s a great listen. And you look at the album cover and listen to the soundtrack, you can [see it],” he explained. “So much it was as much a throwback to how old movies would tee up that sort of sequel cliffhanger thing, whether there’s going to be a sequel or not. It’s just kind of a fun element to sort of drop in there.”
Stevens can be seen in the upcoming series, “Zero Day,” from director Lesli Linka Glatter (“Homeland,” “The Morning Show,” “Love & Death”) and, perhaps most notably, is the first series that legendary actor Robert DeNiro has signed on to star. Stevens couldn’t tease much about the thrilling series; however, he did get to live any actor’s dream, starring opposite DeNiro.
“Yeah, it was [surreal],” Stevens said. “And it was exactly the kind of scene that you would want to have with De Niro as well. I wouldn’t give too much away, but it was like, ‘Oh yeah, this is great!”
The Playlist Presents – Dan Stevens’ Film/TV Recommendation Playlist:
1.) “The Work” (2017) – Directed By Jarius McLeary & Gethin Aldous
2.) “Crossing” (2024) – Directed By Levan Akin
3.) “Withnail & I” (1987) – Directed By Bruce Robinson
“Cuckoo” is in theaters now via Neon. You can listen to the full interview below: