Oscar Isaac and Teyana Taylor are having a moment, and not just because they’re both starring in two of this year’s most talked-about films.
What makes their conversation so captivating is how they’ve gotten here: through radically different paths that somehow led to the same destination.
Isaac brings decades of experience to his unhinged portrayal of Victor Frankenstein in Guillermo del Toro’s gothic reimagining, while Taylor — fresh off retiring from music — delivers a breakout performance as the enigmatic revolutionary Perfidia Beverly Hills in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another.”
Their recent conversation reveals something rare in Hollywood: two artists at different career stages finding common ground in complexity, chaos, and the courage to embrace morally ambiguous characters.
Taking Leaps When Nobody Believed
Taylor’s journey to dramatic acting wasn’t just unconventional — it was terrifying. After retiring from music, she faced a wall of skepticism.
I had just retired music and was like, ‘I want to pour into everything else that I love. I don’t want to be stuck in one box.’ Everybody [said], ‘We don’t think that’s smart.’
Less than a month after closing that door, her breakthrough role in “A Thousand and One” landed on her desk. Isaac was among those completely blown away by her performance.
When I first saw ‘A Thousand and One,’ I was so blown away. I was like, ‘Where did this person come from?’ It was such a well of emotion — it felt like, ‘I don’t even think she knows there’s cameras on.’
That raw authenticity didn’t come from traditional acting training. Taylor’s education came from childhood obsession with movies, watching actors emote when she probably should’ve been playing outside.
Color-Coordinating Chaos: Taylor’s Unique Method
Throughout their conversation, Taylor kept returning to one phrase: color-coordination of layers. When Isaac finally asked what she meant, her explanation revealed a remarkably sophisticated approach to character work.
She described a pivotal scene where Perfidia looks at her baby, then at Bob, then walks away — all within five seconds.
When I’m looking at baby Willa, this is the color of ‘She is my soft space.’ So I’m pink. But then when I roll my eyes up, I’m instantly red. And when I walk out and this is the new consciousness, I’m blue.
These colors emerge in real time. Taylor doesn’t plan them beforehand — she discovers them under pressure, in the moment.
This approach served her especially well working with Paul Thomas Anderson, whose scripts famously include the phrase “chaos TBD” — chaos to be determined. When they arrived on set, Anderson would simply say “Go,” and Taylor would find Perfidia’s layers through improvisation.
Playing Monsters Without Becoming Them
Isaac’s Victor Frankenstein represents something he’d never fully explored before: pure, unhinged vitalist energy. Someone living without moral judgment or restraint.
There was something about playing somebody so unhinged, with no regard for moral judgment, that it’s this vitalist energy that was really exciting and pleasurable to play. Leaving that was really hard.
So hard, in fact, that Victor followed him into his next project. Isaac only realized he was “stuck” when he had to consciously bring Victor back for a moment — and discovered the character was angry about being trapped in Isaac’s “tiny little sad man” next role.
This experience taught him something crucial about protecting his nervous system between characters.
Isaac’s Morning and Evening Rituals
To prevent characters from bleeding into his life, Isaac developed specific practices:
- Morning ritual: Thanking ancestors and opening himself to the character’s energy
- Evening ritual: Thanking his body and consciously releasing the character
- Clear boundaries: “I’ve got kids and stuff to do, so I don’t need your help anymore”
The physical demands of Victor were extraordinary — three weeks filming the creature’s creation sequence in rain, wearing high-heeled boots, constantly running up and down steps.
When Characters Force Uncomfortable Self-Reflection
Both actors found themselves confronting difficult truths through their morally complicated characters. For Isaac, Victor’s cruelty toward his creature became a mirror for parenting.
When Taylor pressed him — half-joking, half-serious — about why Victor would beat and chain up his creation, Isaac’s answer cut deep.
This is a very extreme version of ‘How can an adult treat a child that way?’ I’ve had to catch myself with it, too, treating your children as extensions of yourself, as objects of pride or shame.
Victor never thought past creation. All he wanted was the achievement; he couldn’t handle the responsibility of what he’d brought into the world.
Taylor recognized similar patterns in Perfidia, who abandons her baby for revolutionary work. That scene nearly broke her.
Walking away from my baby, it was hard. It was a hard scene because I wanted to cry. Perfidia, don’t cry.
Chemistry Without Rehearsal
Perhaps most remarkable is what both actors accomplished without traditional preparation. Isaac met Jacob Elordi (who plays the creature) only once before filming — and the first scene they shot together was the emotionally complex final forgiveness scene.
Isaac described it as “chemistry in action” rather than chemistry-building. They played Victor and the creature as two halves of one person: pure ego meeting pure awareness.
Taylor’s experience mirrored this approach. Her first scene with Sean Penn (who plays a character locked in a “toxic” power struggle with Perfidia) was an intimate bathroom scene. They’d never met before that moment.
When they yelled cut, he was like, ‘I love you. I’m such a big fan.’
Working with longtime friend Leonardo DiCaprio presented different challenges. Taylor deliberately maintained professional distance, refusing to let their friendship interfere.
Learning From Masters While Becoming One
Taylor considers herself “still just a student” despite her acclaimed performances. She described Anderson’s direction as “super master class” — then revealed she’s literally in culinary school while building her acting and directing career.
Yes, culinary school. With business classes. Doing homework on her iPad on the way to movie premieres.
Culinary school and working with PTA really geared me up. I feel like I’m going to be a great director. It might sound weird, like, ‘All this from learning how to make a steak?’
Isaac’s response captured what makes Taylor so compelling: “I think you’re the coolest person I’ve ever met in my life.”
Embracing Fate Instead of Fighting It
Both actors have learned to appreciate timing, even when it feels frustratingly slow. Taylor’s philosophy reflects hard-won wisdom.
I always say, the wait is not punishment; it’s preparation for what was already written for you. If everything went my way, I wouldn’t have been the same Perfidia in ‘One Battle After Another.’ I had to feel some shit to know how to channel these emotions.
Isaac connected this to a concept that’s been guiding him: amor fati, loving your fate. Instead of resenting missed opportunities, recognizing you’re exactly where you need to be.
For Taylor, this means thriving in complex roles because of everything she’s accumulated — not despite it. Every layer she’s lived becomes another color she can coordinate into her characters.
What emerges from their conversation is a portrait of two artists who’ve learned that the most compelling performances come from embracing complexity — in characters, in process, and in themselves.