Nicholas Hoult Says He Was 'Shocked' to Be Cast in Clint Eastwood's New Movie: 'This Has to Be a Mistake' (Exclusive)

Nicholas Hoult’s call to star in Clint Eastwood’s new film came “out of the blue” — but it wasn’t the “mistake” he initially imagined.

Speaking with PEOPLE at the October 27 premiere of Eastwood’s latest directorial project Juror #2 at the AFI Film Festival, Hoult revealed he was “genuinely shocked” that the 94-year-old Oscar winner wanted him to star in the film.

“It came out when my agent called me and said, ‘Clint Eastwood wants you to do his next movie.’ I was really shocked,” says 34-year-old Hoult.

“I thought, ‘There must have been a mix-up. This must be a mistake. How does Clint Eastwood know who I am?’ And then they said, ‘No, no mistake, he knows who you are and wants you to be in the movie.'”

Morgan Freeman smiles with A million dollar baby Costar and ‘Real Musician’ Clint Eastwood at the Jazz Festival

Nicholas Hoult, Clint Eastwood.

Olivia Wong/Getty; Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

IN Juror #2Hoult stars as “family man” Justin Kemp, who serves as a juror in a “high-profile murder trial” before “finding himself grappling with a serious moral dilemma, with which he could influence the jury’s verdict and potentially convict — or free — an accused murderer “, according to the synopsis.

As Hoult recalls, he and Eastwood spoke on the phone during the development of the film, and he remembers being “absolutely blown away”. Eastwood also wasn’t shy when it came to cracking a few jokes during their early conversations.

“First of all, I was on the phone with Clint Eastwood and I said, ‘I like the script.’ And he said, ‘If you like it that much, I guess I’ll have to read it,’ and left laughing. From that moment on, I knew we were going to have a fantastic time,” adds Hoult. “He had a great sense of humor, he’s so kind. He creates a wonderful atmosphere. And he’s a true icon of cinema.”

“He is cinema in many ways, as an actor, the performances he gave, the films he directed,” he says. “It’s magic to be on the set with him and [to have] learned from him. So I feel very, very happy.”

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Hoult adds that the director “has such an ease with the way he creates and the trust he puts in people and the trust he puts in the audience.”

“And I think that’s really special and it’s something that I’ll always take from this experience,” he says.

When asked what he noticed about Eastwood on set, Hoult revealed that eventually his “lightness” came through. “Easy come, easy go,” he said. “His permission of things, his acceptance of the good and the bad. And also when I could hear him munching on Cheez-Its, right off the set.”

Nicholas Hoult attends AFI Fest 2024 on October 27, 2024.

Araya Doheny/FilmMagic

Clint Eastwood Juror #2 Trailer: Nicholas Hoult Hiding a Dark Secret in a Murder Trial (Exclusive)

Following the release of the trailer for the film earlier this month, Eastwood told PEOPLE in a statement that the film is a movie he “would like to see” that he thinks “a lot of people would enjoy.”

“It looks at the gray areas between black and white in everyday circumstances and makes you decide for yourself,” he said, adding that he started with a “good script” from Jonathan Abrams and “a solid story that I thought would make a good picture.”

“I’m really intrigued when a story puts a character in a moral dilemma, and this is one that we could all imagine or relate to in some way,” Eastwood said.

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Along with Hoult, the film’s cast includes Toni Collette, Zoey Deutch, Kiefer Sutherland, Gabriel Basso, Leslie Bibb, Chris Messina, JK Simmons and Francesca Eastwood. According to Eastwood, the cast and crew were “laughing” on set, his first directorial effort since 2021. Macho cries.

“We had a really great group of actors, led by Nicholas Hoult, who really impressed me – he’s what I think a movie star is,” Eastwood said. “Everyone was very professional, they came prepared and ready to work, but more than that they came and we laughed every day. Whether I’m directing or acting, I think it’s important to enjoy the work, and we did.”

Juror #2 will release in select theaters on November 1st.

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Source: HIS Education