Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones are reuniting in Brady Corbet's epic historical drama, Pearce and Jones topped the bill in Breathe In (2013). In the time since they last worked together, the two have put years on their respective careers, with Pearce adding titles like Iron Man 3 and Mary Queen of Scots to his filmography, while Jones put in career performances in The Theory of Everything and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

The Brutalist follows Hungarian-Jewish architect László Tóth (Adrien Brody) as he emigrates to America and attempts to make a life for himself and his wife, Erzsébet (Jones), who remains stuck in Budapest in the midst of World War II. After years of searching for stable work, László encounters Harrison Lee Van Buren (Pearce), a wealthy industrialist who gives László a long-term project that will keep him working for years.

Ahead of The Brutalist's theatrical release on December 20, ScreenRant spoke with Pearce and Jones to discuss the meaning behind the film's fatherly themes, reveal how the third act's one-shot was filmed, and look back on their time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Star Wars galaxy in the form of Iron Man 3 and Rogue One, respectively.

Guy Pearce's Harrison Has a "Complex" Father-Son Relationship

"I think the son feels the pressure to help his father uphold that..."

ScreenRant: Harrison has a lot of flaws, you could say, as a father, yet his son, Harry, seems to emulate his behaviors and also starts to kind of take him on physically as the movie progresses, evident by his mustache. Why do you think that is? Do you think he sees through these flaws or do you think he has those rose-tinted glasses because he's interacting with his father?

Guy Pearce: It's a good question. I think it's complex. I think he looks up to his father on some sort of heroic level. I think there's probably some subconscious recognition from Joe's point of view, from the son's point of view, that the father needs to be seen in a particular light, and wants to be seen in that particular light. I think the son feels the pressure to help his father uphold that in a way. So I would suggest that the son is feeling pretty torn, but loves his father, but I think is a very complex relationship, particularly because Van Buren is someone who tries to exude such power that, often I think, with people like that, the people around them feel that they need to sort of be a good audience to them.

The Brutalist's One-Shot Was The First Take

"The stakes were so high..."

Erzsébet has this monumental scene where she has a big confrontation, if you will, and it's a one-shot if I'm not mistaken. I would love to just get your memory of that day on set, what it was like to shoot that scene, and if it took many takes or if you just did that all in one go.

Felicity Jones: No, I seem to , unless I'm ing it with really rose-tinted glasses, that it was the first tape that we did and that was the tape that is in the film. And as you say, the stakes were so high because the shot starts with my character entering, and then we have the confrontation, and then it goes on to when Joe's character runs up the stairs. So it was kind of, 'No pressure, guys. You've got to nail this in one.'

Guy Pearce: That's right. It was a long shot. We did a few takes. I think we probably did about five takes, but maybe it is the first one [that was used].

Felicity Jones: It was the one because it was the one when the shoe came off, which we could never have designed. That was just movie magic really, that she in that moment is reduced. She's had this moment of heroism and confrontation and defiance, and then even within that moment she gets reduced to being shoeless an animal basically.

Guy, to come back to you for that scene in particular. Your character kind of resorts back to the building that was being built by László and we don't really know what goes on from there. Why do you think he makes a decision like that, to go to that place?

Guy Pearce: I think he is someone who is, I think, constantly faced with the reality of the world but is trying to push that out. And I think this particular confrontation that occurs when Felicity comes to me to confront me is just too much to bear. There's no turning back now. Something has been exposed and it's not something I can just [move past]. We don't really know where Van Buren goes, and I love the fact that it is kind of mysterious, but I think that he has to take himself away to really figure out what next because this is not something he can just paint over.

Felicity Jones: Everything's falling apart at that moment.

Felicity Jones Entertains Star Wars Return

"We'll never say goodbye to her..."

Felicity, I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you about Star Wars. I absolutely loved your work in Rogue One. That corner of the galaxy was revisited in Andor... Do you think we've fully said goodbye to Jyn Erso?

Felicity Jones: We'll never say goodbye to her. She will live on, she'll live on. I mean, never say never. She's a pretty badass character. She could come back as a hologram or something, which is completely possible in the Star Wars universe.

Guy Pearce Declares Iron Man 3 is A Christmas Movie

Pearce Starred As Tony Stark's Antagonist In The 2013 Film

Guy, it's Christmas season. Would you agree that Iron Man 3 is a Christmas movie?

Guy Pearce: Yeah, I could see that (laughs). Absolutely.

Felicity Jones: Any movie with Guy in it is a Christmas movie.

Guy Pearce: Yeah. LA Confidential is set around Christmas-

Felicity Jones: The top 10 Christmas movies: Memento-

Guy Pearce: (laughs) We should do that.

About The Brutalist

Escaping post-war Europe, visionary architect László Toth arrives in America to rebuild his life, his work, and his marriage to his wife Erzsébet after being forced apart during wartime by shifting borders and regimes. On his own in a strange new country, László settles in Pennsylvania, where the wealthy and prominent industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren recognizes his talent for building. But power and legacy come at a heavy cost...

Check out our other The Brutalist interview with:

• Adrien Brody

The Brutalist arrives in theaters on December 20.

Source: ScreenRant Plus