The Big Picture

Collider’s Steve Weintraub talks with
Kinds of Kindness
costars Margaret Qualley and Mamoudou Athie.
Qualley and Athie discuss the themes explored in the movie, working with the cast, and the scenes they were most looking forward to filming.
They also share their favorite Stanley Kubrick movie and tease whether we’ll be seeing more of Athie in Yorgos Lanthimos’ films.

One only has to look back on Yorgos Lanthimos’ previous films — Dogtooth, The Favourite, Poor Things — to understand there’s a fascination with the themes of control, “submission and power.” While she may be gleefully trolling her costar Mamoudou Athie (Jurassic World Dominion), Kinds of Kindness actress Margaret Qualley (Drive-Away Dolls) does make a great point when she teases, “A director obsessed with control?”

Kinds of Kindness is an anthology of three stories about a different cast of characters, told by Lanthimos’ ensemble: Poor Things’ Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe, Cannes’ Best Actor Jesse Plemons (Civil War), Hong Chau (Asteroid City), Joe Alwyn (The Favourite), and briefly, Hunter Schafer (Euphoria). The three tales — a toxic working relationship, a partner lost at sea returning home changed, and a cult obsessed with life and death — are told with the filmmaker’s signature “unbridled freedom” and his curiosity about humans and how we connect. They expose the intimate lives of different characters in outlandish situations, presented with the mundaneness of everyday life.

In this interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, Qualley and Mamoudou sit down to examine the method to their writer-director’s madness, so to speak. They discuss “the famous Yorgos rehearsals,” their favorite Stanley Kubrick movie, which scenes they were most looking forward to shooting, and whether Athie has officially joined the Lanthimos troupe.

You can watch the full conversation in the video above or you can read the transcript below.

Kinds of Kindness (2024) A man seeks to break free from his predetermined path, a cop questions his wife’s demeanor after her return from a supposed drowning and a woman’s quest to locate an extraordinary individual prophesied to become a renowned spiritual guide.Release Date June 21, 2024 Main Genre Comedy Writers Yorgos Lanthimos Efthimis Filippou Studio(s) Film4 , Element Pictures , TSG Entertainment Distributor(s) Searchlight Pictures Expand

Yorgos Lanthimos’ Rehearsals Invite Actors to “Strip Egos and Play”

COLLIDER: I’m a huge fan of Yorgos, and I’ve heard that he does these interesting rehearsal processes. What is it like getting ready to step on a set to make a film like this?

MAMOUDOU ATHIE: I think you should do this for every movie, but strip your ego and play. I think Yorgos creates a great environment to do that. We started off with some theater games.

MARGARET QUALLEY: I wasn’t there.

ATHIE: You were there in spirit.

QUALLEY: I missed rehearsal. I’m sorry. I have not been to the famous Yorgos rehearsals yet, but maybe one day.

‘Kinds of Kindness’ Is About Obsession With Control

I really appreciate how he will take situations you have seen in a million movies, but find innovative ways to explore the same stuff seen with his camera work, with the performances, and with the script. Can you talk about how unique he is as a filmmaker and the way he tells his stories?

ATHIE: He just has this unbridled freedom, but also the specificity with which he wants to examine, I wouldn’t say the human condition, but he’s interested in people, he’s interested in the world. There’s something about this movie that I just keep on saying, but it seems like there’s an obsession with control in this.

QUALLEY: A director obsessed with control?

ATHIE: [Laughs] Strange, I know. It’s unusual.

QUALLEY: With submission and power? What?

Would you like to add anything?

QUALLEY: No. I just wanna troll.

I’m wearing one of my favorite filmmakers, Mr. Kubrick, and I’m just curious: do you guys have a favorite Kubrick film?

ATHIE: The Shining is the first thing that came to my mind.

QUALLEY: Oh, that’s a good one.

ATHIE: It’s pretty good.

QUALLEY: I mean, Jack Nicholson, like, invented a style of performing in The Shining with him. That’s a really solid answer. I’ll just jump on his. The Shining. Done. I’ve seen it! At least I’ve seen it. I proved it. [Laughs] I named an actor in it. I named something he did. I seen that movie.

Image via Warner Bros

When you saw the shooting schedule for Kinds of Kindness, what was the day you had circled in terms of, “I cannot wait to film this,” and was there a day you had circled in terms of, “How are we gonna film this?”

ATHIE: Actually, I’m curious about that for you. The day I was most excited to film was the confrontation that Jesse has with Joe’s character in part two. I was really looking forward to seeing what happened that day.

QUALLEY: I was excited for all of it. I was excited to be able to work with all the different actors. I love all the actors in this movie.

ATHIE: I guess I’m an asshole.

QUALLEY: No!

ATHIE: I’m joking. [Laughs]

QUALLEY: I just mean that. It’s a great group of people. I was excited to just be around and participate and watch. I really loved doing all of Ruth’s scenes because I really love Ruth. Those ones were really special and kind of hopeful for me. But the whole thing was a real pleasure.

Also, you had a lot more than in Poor Things.

QUALLEY: I did. Thank god.

Image via Searchlight Pictures

Yorgos tends to work with a lot of the same people. Do you feel like you’ve entered into where he will invite you back?

ATHIE: [Crosses fingers] It’s up to him, but I’m down.

Kinds of Kindness releases in select theaters in the US beginning June 21. Click the link below for showtimes.

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