Moon Knight's May Calamawy Confirms What We Suspected About Oscar Isaac's On-Set Behavior
Oscar Isaac is one of the most well-known and recognizable actors on the planet. In addition to his acclaimed work in dramas like "Inside Llewyn Davis," "A Most Violent Year," and "Ex Machina," the actor has starred in a number of major genre blockbusters, including three "Star Wars" films, "X-Men: Apocalypse," and "Dune." However, with "Moon Knight," Isaac is trying his hand at one of his most high-profile, ambitious, and riskiest roles to date.
Isaac stars in the Marvel Disney+ series as Marc Spector, a man with dissociative identity disorder who becomes the Earthly avatar for the Egyptian god known as Khonshu. Equipped with a supernatural suit and powers, the series follows Marc as he struggles to balance his superhero duties with his own personal mental health struggles. Early trailers for "Moon Knight" have shown Isaac's Marc speaking directly with his own alternate personalities, including a British version of himself named Steven Grant.
Fortunately, it doesn't seem like the complexity of his role in "Moon Knight" affected Isaac's behavior or methods on the show's set all that much. In fact, it sounds like working with Isaac on the series was a particularly fun and unique experience for May Calamawy, one of his "Moon Knight" co-stars.
Making Moon Knight with Oscar Isaac was easier than fans might think
During a recent "Moon Knight" press event that Looper attended, May Calamawy opened up about what it was like working on the Marvel series with Oscar Isaac, given that her co-star often had to juggle multiple different personalities at once. Calamawy plays Layla El-Faouly, a woman from Marc Spector's past, in "Moon Knight," which resulted in her being involved in scenes that exposed her to Marc's various personalities. At first, that might seem like the kind of thing that would make shooting certain scenes confusing not only for Isaac but also for Calamawy.
However, that wasn't actually the case. "Oscar did such a good job," Calamawy said when asked about Isaac's work on the "Moon Knight" set. "When he would be each character, it was really two separate people and I could feel the energy [shift]. I wouldn't even have to ask who he was [in each scene]. With Marc, I would find myself more guarded around [him]. With Steven, I'd feel more nurturing." The "Moon Knight" star went on to say that there was no "intellectual thought process" that needed to be done while she was working with Isaac because it was such a "visceral" experience.
Calamawy additionally noted that it was "so fun to work" with Isaac on the Disney+ series, making it explicitly clear what her experience was like during the making of "Moon Knight." Now, all that remains to be seen is if Isaac's personality shifts in "Moon Knight" are always as clear to those watching at home as they were to Calamawy when she was filming the series.