Joe Alwyn Says It Was 'Impossible' to Get into the Mind of Kinds of Kindness Director While Filming

Joe Alwyn is promoting his latest film.

During a press conference at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, May 18, the 33-year-old actor, who is in the south of France for the film’s premiere Kinds of kindnesshe spoke openly about the collaboration with director Yorgos Lanthimos.

When asked how to enter Lanthimos’ state of mind, Alwyn frankly admitted, “It’s impossible.”

“I just trust him,” he continued. “Reading the script, it’s bizarre and weird and crazy and special, sure, but if you tried to unpack it too much, I think you’d just get stuck in your head.”

“One of the reasons I love his film is that you feel it first, and you don’t try to unpack it intellectually,” Alwyn added. “So I kind of trust the world he’s building and follow the directions he gives, and I feel lucky to be there.”

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Joe Alwyn.

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Alwyn’s comments, and his appearance at the 77th annual film event, come a month after his ex Taylor Swift went public Department for tortured poetswhich the singer said is a breakup album where she explores the five stages of heartbreak: denial, anger, negotiation, depression and acceptance.

Since its debut on April 19, listeners have spotted subtle references to Harriet star and their largely private relationship on various songs, including “So Long, London,” “But Daddy I Love Him” ​​and “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart.”

From left: Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Willem Dafoe, Emma Stone, Yorgos Lanthimos, Jesse Plemons, Margaret Qualley, Mamoudou Athie, Hunter Schafer, Ed Guiney, Kasia Malipan and Andrew Lowe at the Cannes Film Festival.

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Emma Stone, Joe Alwyn and Kinds of kindness The actors pose together on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival

While Swift, 34, has since gone on to be in a high-profile relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and headlined the ongoing Eras Tour, Alwyn has largely stayed out of the public eye over the past year.

A source recently told PEOPLE that he’s “not comfortable in the spotlight,” adding that Alwyn is “focused on work” (his IMDb profile lists two additional upcoming projects, Brutalist and Hamletcurrently in post-production) and “gets out and is happy”.

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Alwyn has “moved on” with Swift and is “definitely not talking bad about her,” a source told PEOPLE. – He was in love with her, but it just didn’t work out.

But with the upcoming release Kinds of kindnesswhich is set to open in US theaters on June 21, Alwyn is back in the spotlight and turned heads as he walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday (May 16).

Joe Alwyn at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival on May 17.

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Joe Alwyn arrives in France for the Cannes Film Festival a month after his ex Taylor Swift’s film TTPD Album drop

The film, co-written and directed by Lanthimos, is described by Searchlight Pictures as a “triptych fairy tale”.

The film follows “a man with no choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is worried because his wife who disappeared at sea has returned as a different person; and a woman determined to find a certain person with a special ability, who is destined to become an extraordinary spiritual leader .”

“It’s three different stories and there’s a core of seven actors,” Lanthimos previously told PEOPLE about the project, adding that the cast “all play three different characters.”

Alwyn, whose multiple roles are billed as “collectors who rate Man 1, Jerry and Joseph,” appears alongside an A-list ensemble including Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Jesse Plemons, Hong Chau, Mamoudou Athie and Hunter Schafer.

Kinds of kindness it also reunites him with co-star (and Swift’s friend) Emma Stone, who leads the film as “Rita, Liz and Emily.” The two previously appeared together on screen in Lanthimos’ 2018 comedy. Favorite.

In a press release for the film, Stone, 35, praised her co-star and expressed gratitude for getting to work with him, noting Kinds of kindness‘ a challenging topic. I love Joe, said the 35-year-old Stone. “We had to do some pretty dark stuff on this one, so it was extremely enjoyable to be with him because he’s one of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet.”

Kinds of kindness will be published on June 21.

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Source: HIS Education