Although Mike Faist could also be blowing up screens currently with performances in “Challengers” and “The Bikeriders,” his large break in motion pictures got here by the hands of none apart from cinematic maestro himself, Steven Spielberg. Faist was requested to audition personally by the director for his remake of the Leonard Bernstein and Steven Sondheim musical “West Aspect Story” and wound up touchdown the a part of Riff, chief of the Jets and finest pal to principal character Tony, performed by Ansel Elgort. Recognized for his elaborate oners, Spielberg introduced all of his experience and extra to his first musical manufacturing (not counting the opening scene of “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”), pairing choreography and visuals seamlessly.
“The reality is that we had 4 months of rehearsals previous to day certainly one of taking pictures,” Faist mentioned in a current interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “So we had been all sort of residing in it, and what we had been rehearsing throughout that point was all of the music sequences and dance numbers. Steven was there to witness what we had been doing, and infrequently, he would pull out his iPhone and have somebody push him round in a pc chair or one thing like that. So I believe there have been issues that had been shot listed previous to [shooting] — in all probability these bigger sequences the place you must.”
Although Spielberg was principally ready, throughout manufacturing, Faist did catch him in a single second the place he appeared to be struggling for inspiration.
“I used to be chain-smoking on the time. And Steven, each time he’s on set, he carries round a cigar, however he by no means smokes it. He simply sort of holds it. It’s like a bizarre safety blanket or one thing like that. He simply all the time had it for some motive,” Faist mentioned to The Hollywood Reporter. “So I keep in mind we loosely blocked one of many scenes that we had been about to shoot that day, and I went out to have a cigarette. After which Steven got here as much as me and requested me to gentle his cigar. And I assumed, ‘OK, I’ll gentle your cigar.’ So I lit his cigar for him, and I used to be like, ‘Steven, I’ve by no means seen you smoke that factor. What’s occurring?’ And he mentioned, ‘Properly, I haven’t discovered how I’m going to shoot the scene but.’ (Laughs.) He was stressing out, and I caught him sweating.”
If he was, it actually didn’t present in the long run end result.