In writer/director Alex Scharfman’s Death Of A Unicorn, the titular fantastical creatures don’t behave quite as they are typically portrayed, as it turns out the horns on their head are quite useful when it comes to eviscerating humans when properly provoked… but it’s not all darkness and violence. They are also shown to be beings of wonder, and it was a common activity on set for the stars of the film to pet the practical creations that were made for the production.
Earlier this month, I had the chance to do a virtual interview with Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, and Richard E. Grant to discuss their work on the new A24 movie, and one of the questions that I asked the trio concerned their interaction with unicorns on the set. Poulter acknowledged that there was great contributions from visual effects artists in the making of the film, but having life-like puppets on set was an asset for his performance. Said the actor,
Some amazing puppeteers and like some incredible CGI in the film as well. And the two are integrated really well, but amazing for us as actors to have that point of reference to see the puppets, see them actually move.
Following up, Richard E. Grant noted that the actors never had to deal with what could be dubbed the industry’s worst scene partner: the dreaded “tennis ball on a stick.” He had something real to react to – and he opened up the conversation about the puppets being pet-able:
Yeah. We never saw a tennis ball on a stick and then had to pretend that it was a unicorn. So that that was a real help. You could stroke them.
In Death Of A Unicorn, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, and Richard E. Grant all play members of the wealthy Leopold family, and they are the kind of evil that only sees the opportunity to make money when something magical is discovered. They learn about the existence of unicorns when an employee (Paul Rudd) and his daughter (Jenna Ortega) hit one while on their way to the Leopold estate and drive on with it in their car’s trunk, and the incident spurs all kinds of horror.
While the Leopolds are a plague on unicorn life on screen, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, and Richard E. Grant as real people adored the fake creations on set, as did their co-stars. Leoni even recounted a time finding Jenna Ortega petting one and just being in her own world:
Richard E. Grant: Oh, fondling unicorns between setups was my go-to. We loved it.
Téa Leoni: But remember the baby? The baby was so cute and like...
Will Poulter: Then you've gotta be Leopold about it. You gotta turn that off. That's money, that's profit right there.
Téa Leoni: But occasionally we would just like sit... I remember when they had the baby out there, and I caught Jenna just like spacing out and petting it.
Will Poulter: Like you would with a puppy. Yeah.
Téa Leoni: Because I mean, it was so cute. It was right there in the middle of the floor.
We should all be so lucky to have the opportunity to work with unicorns – fake or not.
Also starring the scene-stealing Anthony Carrigan and Jessica Hynes, Death Of A Unicorn is now playing in theaters everywhere.
