Wright is up for Best Actor for his leading role as Thelonious \u2018Monk\u2019 Ellison in Cord Jefferson\u2019s entertaining satire American Fiction, and when he\u00a0speaks exclusively to RadioTimes.com<\/a> just over a week after the nominations are announced, he is understandably still delighted.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, it\u2019s wonderful, because in the case of the Academy Award nominations, it comes from our peers,\u201d he smiles. \u201cHow could it not be gratifying when your peers say to you well done? It\u2019s wonderful!\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s especially pleasing about the film\u2019s success is that the budget and resources American Fiction had at its disposal were a far cry from many of its big-hitter competitors like Barbie<\/a> and Oppenheimer<\/a>.<\/p>\n The awards attention has therefore been vital in helping divert more eyes to the film, giving it a boost that the blockbuster films in the category don\u2019t need so much.<\/p>\n \u201cOur budget is probably equivalent to the catering budget on the last James Bond movie I did,\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe shot our film in 26 days. But we think that we\u2019re telling a big story that is timely, and that is well drawn and reasonably smart. And one that audiences will find a place inside.\u201d<\/p>\n American Fiction is loosely based on Percival Everett\u2019s 2001 novel Erasure<\/a>, but as Wright explains, Jefferson has \u201cdeviated in pretty significant ways\u201d from the source material, \u201crewriting it in his own image in many ways\u201d and changing various things that suited the \u201ccinematic needs better\u201d.<\/p>\n For example, while the book is set in Washington, DC \u2013 Wright\u2019s own hometown \u2013 the film flits between Los Angeles and Boston. Meanwhile, an incident involving Monk\u2019s sister also plays out very differently on the screen than on the page.<\/p>\n Wright was not yet familiar with the novel when he first got his hands on Jefferson\u2019s script, but was instantly hooked upon reading it, noting that it had \u201cenormous potential\u201d with \u201crelevance and a deep emotional core to it\u201d.<\/p>\n But it wasn\u2019t until he got to set that he truly realised they might be on to something big.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get that sense, primarily from the reaction of the crew who in some ways serve as the first audience,\u201d he adds. \u201cIt happens on sets from time to time \u2013 not always, but it does happen.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it is an indicator that you\u2019re onto something where the crew begins to work with a bit of extra pride in what they do, and where the quiet on set gets degrees quieter \u2013 and I sensed that on this one.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the things that especially appealed to Wright about the film \u2013 and which he believes is a part of the reason it appears to be resonating so deeply with audiences \u2013 is that in addition to serving as an astute satire on the limiting expectations placed on Black artists and writers, it also functions as an affecting family portrait.<\/p>\n Read more Big RT Interviews:<\/strong><\/p>\n And while the satirical element of the film is perhaps the headline-grabber, the thing that has featured most prominently in the trailers and other promotional material, Wright says the more grounded domestic drama sections are every bit as important, not least because he could emphasise a great deal with what Monk was going through.<\/p>\n \u201cI understood the circumstances where the pressures of family are being exerted on him suddenly, and where he is required to be the adult in the room,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cI was appreciative of the sacrifices that one is asked to make in those circumstances relative to one\u2019s personal life and professional life, because I had been experiencing those circumstances myself after my mum passed.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was the absolute centre of our family, and she passed a little over a year before I got this script,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n \u201cI was raised by two women, my mother and her eldest sister \u2013 my aunt \u2013 who\u2019s now 94 and who came to live with us. So I turned caretaker to her, just as the character in this film is asked to be caretaker to his mother, and so that resonated with me very deeply.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s an experience that many have had and many will have in the course of their lives. And so it resonated with people who will see the film saying, \u2018Wow, I felt seen, I understand that.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cIt provides this emotional tether to our story that balances out the absurdity of the satirical side in a way that I think creates a really satisfying experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, while it might have been this more personal side of the drama that appealed to Wright, he naturally found lots worthwhile in the satirical side as well, and explains that the central idea of \u201ca person being seen for who they are\u201d is one that has a certain universality to it<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just [something] that Black people desire or artists desire \u2013 we all want to be seen and appreciated for our authentic selves,\u201d he says. \u201cSo there\u2019s a window for people across backgrounds, I think, to empathise with that aspect of the film as well.\u201d<\/p>\n As for how much he can personally empathise with the frustrations Monk deals with in the film and the idea of being pigeon-holed as an artist, Wright says it\u2019s complicated.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, I understand the pressures that are exerted from the outside in within our industry, and I understand that there are limitations that at times want to be imposed upon us, but I\u2019ve had a really satisfying career,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve worked across genres and super interesting projects of various types and played a range of characters that, for the most part, I think were interesting or telling interesting stories.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, I\u2019ve tried to be a couple of steps ahead of whatever limitations were attempted to be imposed on me. I\u2019ve felt at times satisfied with my creative freedom, and at other times I worked because the kids refused to stop eating multiple times a day! You know, there are other more pragmatic decisions.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that said, I do understand those pressures that frustrate Monk at the beginning of our film, so there was an alignment of understanding. But I don\u2019t think I\u2019m quite as frustrated by it all as he is, at least personally.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of from an observational side, yeah, it\u2019s all a bit absurd and tragic. But as I said, I think I\u2019ve managed to stay a couple of steps ahead, at least to this point.\u201d<\/p> A quick glance at Wright\u2019s filmography is all it takes to confirm that he has indeed been successful when it comes to avoiding being pigeon-holed.<\/p>\n He\u2019s worked with a huge range of directors including Michael Mann, Jonathan Demme, M Night Shyamalan, George Clooney, Jim Jarmusch and Steven Soderbergh, and had major roles in franchises such as James Bond (as Felix Leiter) and The Hunger Games<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, in recent years he\u2019s also emerged as the latest addition to Wes Anderson\u2019s regular troupe of acting collaborators, with memorable roles in the acclaimed director\u2019s last two features The French Dispatch and Asteroid City \u2013 an experience he has thoroughly enjoyed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe process of working on one of his films is unlike any other,\u201d he enthuses. \u201cSingle, long takes almost working with the frame as a diorama in which to perform a mini-play. I love that.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s challenging. But it\u2019s a joy to play, and I just dig him and his sense of irony and his whimsy.<\/p>\n \u201cAs you might have heard, we all live together in the same hotel. We eat meals together. Everything happens in that hotel from hair and makeup to costume. You\u2019re basically living at base camp!<\/p>\n \u201cSo it creates community, but it\u2019s also very smart. Because it keeps everyone close and it creates greater efficiency when we work. He\u2019s such good fun to work with and to have a meal with and a glass of wine.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, another recent credit on Wright\u2019s CV is the role of Jim Gordon in Matt Reeves\u2019s The Batman<\/a>, which saw Robert Pattinson debut as the Caped Crusader.<\/p>\n The film was released in 2022, and despite false reports to the contrary, a sequel<\/a> is currently in the works, with Wright set to return as the Gotham City Police Department mainstay \u2013 who had not yet reached his famous rank of commissioner in the first film.<\/p>\n Wright can\u2019t reveal much about the follow-up at this point, but he is \u201clooking forward to returning to Gotham\u201d, especially given they will no longer be hamstrung by the COVID restrictions which dominated production on the first film.<\/p>\n \u201cI was a massive fan [of Batman], and it was an unexpected gift to be asked to be a part of that,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we made a good film, I like Matt Reeves\u2019s handle on the franchise. I love the groundedness of the aesthetic. I love that there\u2019s a grittiness to it and harkening back to kind of \u201970s filmmaking in America.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to getting back to it also because when we made the first one we were working in the teeth of the pandemic here in London, and it was tricky. So it\u2019ll be nice to be back on set without that external strangeness. It\u2019ll be nice just to be able to come over and focus more on the work itself.\u201d<\/p>\n But one character who Wright won\u2019t be returning to play any time soon is Felix Leiter, who was famously killed off in a memorable scene during Daniel Craig\u2019s 007 swan song No Time to Die<\/a>.<\/p>\n Of course, with the whole franchise set for a reset in the wake of Craig\u2019s departure, it\u2019s entirely possible a new actor could take on the long-running role in subsequent movies, and this is something Wright himself would like to see<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, sure,\u201d he responded when asked about the possibility. \u201cI mean, I was just the latest in a long wonderful line of actors who played Felix, sure.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, I had a nice run with Daniel, and yeah, on to the next \u2013 if there\u2019s a next. I will absolutely be tuning in.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Jeffrey](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/Jeffrey-Wright-as-Thelonious-Ellison-in-American-Fiction-adda2f8.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Jeffrey")
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![\"A](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/02\/American-Fiction-cb39970.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"American")
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