Anna Daniels
Stranger Things has suspended production on Season 4 during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. So it is going to be a while before you see Robin again. However, Maya Hawke filmed the movie Human Capital right after Season 3, like immediately after. The movie was always scheduled for day and date releases but is now forgoing any theatrical release and will be available exclusively on VOD.
Human Capital director Marc Meyers spoke with Showbiz Cheat Sheet by phone about his film. Hawke plays Shannon, a teenager who puts her family (Liev Schreiber, Marisa Tomei) in a compromising position because of her relationship with Ian (Alex Wolff). Human Capital is now available on digital VOD platforms.
Marc Meyers cast Maya Hawk for ‘Human Capital’ while she was filming ‘Stranger Things’
Hawke only had two credits before Stranger Things came out. Meyers met her online when he was casting Human Capital and wanted her for the film immediately.
“When I first met her was via Skype. She was in Atlanta filming that season. She’s been around the business for a while so I think when you’re looking for an actress of that age and of that flavor, let’s say, a suggestion is suggested and then you start to investigate more about who she is. She’s spectacularly talented and had some experience behind her before we met. I love working with young actors so we just hit it off. From there on I felt she would be great for the role.”
Marc Meyers, interview with Showbiz Cheat Sheet, 3/12/2020
Maya Hawke made it work with ‘Stranger Things’
The schedules of Stranger Things overlapped, but the Netflix show wrapped before Human Capital did. Meyers was able to schedule Hawke after she completed the show, and she crammed the movie into her schedule.
“Then the biggest concern more for me was her schedule for Stranger Things, if that’s going to end in time for her to be available for our film,” Meyers said. “It was literally back to back. She finished filming that season of Stranger Things on a Saturday night and she was filming the first scene of the movie scheduled on Monday first thing in the morning, right as the sun rose. She barely took a breath between those two jobs I suppose.”
Why Maya Hawke related to ‘Human Capital’
Human Capital tells several converging stories. Shannon’s father loses his savings in an investment with hedge fund manager Quint Manning (Peter Sarsgaard). Her mother already wants out and Manning’s daughter (Betty Gabriel) has a story too. Shannon falls for Ian and no amount of parental disapproval can pull her away.
“There’s a quality to her,” Meyers said. “She jumps off the screen. She’s got this amazing face and these wonderful instincts as an actor. I loved how she really felt that there was something that she personally related to in this character, and getting entangled in a love that you can’t untangle from. These are things that meant a lot to her to explore, that she understood as a young woman. It was that kind of enthusiasm I locked into.”
Shannon and Ian have a complicated relationship
Throughout their relationship, Ian keeps telling Shannon, “I don’t love you.” If it seems obvious that he’s deflecting his true feelings, that’s because he is.
“That’s basically that. It’s afraid of connection or being hurt so you try to push someone away that you really can’t push away because you’re so drawn to her at the same time. I also am reminded when we were filming and also the edit room, just that they connect almost like they connect over a dark sense of humor too. That kind of darkness that’s coming from him is something that she’s drawn to. Not just because he’s a bad boy because Alex Wolf is other things, but I don’t think he looks like too much of a bad boy. I think it’s just that they’re mentally connected through this dark way in which they like to communicate.”
Marc Meyers, interview with Showbiz Cheat Sheet, 3/12/2020
How Marc Meyers directed Maya Hawke
Meyers said each of his actors required a different method. Schrieber prepares in detail. Sarsgaard likes to experiment with the scene. Wolff is rather method, which made scenes with Hawke interesting.
“Maya really looks at it like jazz and she wants to feel it out in the moment and not overprepare for stuff,” Meyers said. “She has some ideas but it’s really in the moment and on the day and in the scene that she’s going to allow the scene to take her or for her to guide it in certain ways and inhabit the character but not too much premeditation to it.”
Written by: Cheat
