Do you remember the first time you saw Bill in full costume and prosthetics? Was it terrifying?

We did the first test at Shepperton Studios – not a camera test, but mainly for Robert, David and me. Then we did a camera test in Prague quite early on. That was amazing. It was like: Right, this is actually going to work. And then obviously when I saw him on set when we were shooting the outside greeting and he was in that dim light in the distance with the castle behind him and he’s got the cape and the whole nine meters on, I just thought, ” Wow!” That is fabulous.

One of the standout aspects of the film for me was the extremely cohesive world building. From the production design to the costumes to the cinematography, everything comes together so beautifully and elegantly. Having worked with Robert and the same team for a number of films, do you find that there’s a kind of unspoken language between all of you that helps you achieve this?

Absolutely, and it started pretty quickly. I would say that during The lighthouse, Since this was the first film we had all worked on together, we had already started finishing each other’s sentences. Then The Northman, with COVID and filming in Northern Ireland and horizontal rain and wind, it was just a crazy personal experience for everyone. This certainly encouraged the ability to collaborate. But Robert is actually the mediator. I talk to Craig, Craig talks to me, we talk to Jarin, the production people, hair and makeup. But Robert is always there for a chat. If I don’t find a reference and say, “It could be this, and it could be this, and it could be this,” he’ll say, “The is what I think.” It’s not often that a director has so much on his mind. It’s this constant back and forth of information and images, and it’s always so clearly articulated. This is very rare.