Oscar Isaac discusses his complex role in “Moon Knight”

By Carolina Cerda Maira, MWN

You might think that if Marvel invites someone to star in a new series for Disney+, the answer is an immediate “yes.” But that wasn’t the case for Óscar Isaac. Because the actor, who rose to fame in the latest “Star Wars” trilogy, was hesitant to become Steven Grant in “Moon Knight.”

“It was very difficult to think about what it was going to be like. I see there’s an opportunity to do something, but, I was thinking, ‘if it doesn’t work out, how am I going to feel,'” he told Metro about his apprehensions about the series.

Isaac added: “But as I’m talking to the press now, I feel that the series is what I thought it could be: there was an opportunity to do something interesting and different, comical, but adventurous, and also to put my identity as an artist in this series and that’s what I see. I feel that people are liking it and connecting with the story!”

The actor’s doubts were based on the fact that Steven Grant, the store clerk he plays, suffers from a dissociative identity disorder. And, in fiction, that means he shares a body with the brutal mercenary Marc Spector. Of course, the Guatemalan-born Isaac sought to be respectful of those who live with this disorder beyond the screen.

“When I found out that was part of the story, I said, ‘It can’t just be part of the story, it has to be the whole story. Everything has to do with this disorder and everything we see has to be connected to this challenge that this person has within him,'” the actor commented.

Isaac also explained that in order to develop the role, he spoke with psychiatrists, and with teachers, as well as other professionals linked to mental health.

“I found a book called ‘A Fractured Mind: My Life with Multiple Personality Disorder’ by Robert Oxnam, which for me was like the bible,” he said while pointing out that his character discovers that he suffered abuse as a child that fractured his mind in order to survive.

“That’s a form of superpower that humans have,” Isaacs added, highlighting that in the series this disorder is shown in a world linked to dreams, where it is not always clear what is or is not reality.

With “Moon Knight”, Isaacs adds a new franchise to a career that, in addition to “Star Wars”, includes “Dune.”

“If there’s room to create something unique and interesting, the fact that it’s a franchise is a secondary thing,” he concluded.