Jesse Eisenberg spent years making movies while privately carrying a fairly harsh opinion of the profession that made him famous. He thought actors were overpaid, vain and received too much credit for work that involved hundreds of other people.
His perspective changed after he became a director and watched Julianne Moore prepare for a scene in When You Finish Saving the World.
“I used to have this negative opinion about acting because I was an actor,” Eisenberg said while promoting his new film, The Debut, at the San Sebastián Film Festival. He remembered thinking the job was “ridiculous,” with performers wanting to look good, stay in the nicest accommodations and avoid physical work while still receiving much of the attention.
Moore forced him to reconsider that view. As Eisenberg sat behind the monitor eating a doughnut and joking around, he watched her put herself through an intense emotional process before the next scene, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Watching Moore From Behind the Monitor Changed His Perspective
Eisenberg was directing Moore in his 2022 feature debut, When You Finish Saving the World, when he found himself observing acting from a position he had never occupied before.
From behind the monitor, he could see the concentration Moore needed to reach the emotional state required for the scene. “Oh, wait a second, that’s really hard,” he remembered thinking.
Eisenberg contrasted her preparation with what was happening around her. He and other crew members could eat and joke between takes while Moore had to remain focused on what the scene demanded from her.
Seeing the process from the director’s chair gave Eisenberg a different appreciation for work he had previously judged primarily through his own experience as a performer.
His Skepticism Developed After Acting Gave Him a Place to Belong
Eisenberg’s relationship with acting began very differently. He joined community theater at age 7 while struggling with shyness and loneliness, an experience that eventually became part of the autobiographical foundation for The Debut.
At San Sebastián, he recalled entering an environment where people suddenly welcomed him and complimented both his personality and his appearance. The festival’s official account describes The Debut as his third directorial feature following When You Finish Saving the World and A Real Pain.
As Eisenberg’s professional career developed, however, so did his cynicism about the profession. He came to see actors as people who were paid too much, wanted favorable treatment and received disproportionate credit when films succeeded.
Directing eventually placed him in the position of watching performers work without having to prepare for a performance himself. Moore’s process challenged the assumptions he had built up over years of being on the other side of the camera.
He Wrote ‘The Debut’ With Moore in Mind
Eisenberg and Moore have now reunited for The Debut, with Moore playing Mona Friedman, a shy housewife who lands a small role in a community theater production and becomes increasingly consumed by acting.
The A24 synopsis describes Mona as becoming a zealous method actor willing to do almost anything to protect the artistic integrity of her part. Paul Giamatti, Halle Bailey, Cara Buono, Craig Bierko and Bernadette Peters are among the ensemble cast. The film opens December 11.
Eisenberg developed Mona specifically for Moore. He recalled that while making When You Finish Saving the World, she began using a distinctive voice that reminded him simultaneously of a 1950s housewife and a baby. The impression stayed with him for two years and eventually helped inspire the character.
The Hollywood Reporter reported from San Sebastián that Eisenberg described Moore and Giamatti as two of his favorite actors. He also credited them with protecting his screenplay rather than pushing to reshape their characters around themselves.
‘The Debut’ Draws From Eisenberg’s Own Community Theater Years
Although Eisenberg wrote Mona as an older woman, the story grew partly from his childhood experiences performing in community theater in New Jersey.
He told the festival that he had carried the basic story with him since childhood. At 7, he had few friends and found a different kind of social environment once he began performing. Theater became a place where the shy child suddenly received encouragement and attention.
The finished film turns that experience into a much more extreme story. Mona initially finds confidence through performing, but her commitment to the role escalates into an obsession that puts her at odds with the production’s director, played by Giamatti.
Eisenberg told El País that he wanted the movie to honor acting and the sense of community that can develop around performance. Decades after entering that world as a shy child and later becoming cynical about the profession, directing Moore gave him another way to see the work involved.