How the Asteroid City cast contributed to Wes Anderson's most complex film yet

It takes a lot of people to make a movie — especially one as complex as Asteroid City. When EW spoke with director Wes Anderson about his latest film ahead of its Cannes premiere last month, he did not hold back from praising the Asteroid City actors as "one of the best casts I've ever had in any movie." The starry lineup includes longtime Anderson collaborators Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody alongside movie stars including Scarlett Johansson and Tom Hanks.

With such a stacked cast, this is a true ensemble of supporting performances. But Brody and Jeffrey Wright don't mind that they have smaller parts in Asteroid City than they did in The French Dispatch.

"There's a super strong sense that we're part of a company," Wright tells EW. "Everybody else is holding up their end of the story over there, and we're holding up ours over here, and at the end of the day, it's going to come together in this remarkable, unique way that only Wes does. It's very much about this collaboration between all of us."

Courtesy of Pop. 87 Productions/Focus Features Mike Maggert, Fisher Stevens, Jeffrey Wright, Tony Revolori, and Bob Balaban in 'Asteroid City'

Even a few lines are plenty of opportunity for the actors to make an impression. Especially since Asteroid City is full-to-bursting with different characters, even a single line can be packed with emotional weight or information about the person saying it.

"There's an enormous amount of comedy and specific beats that have to transpire in a very short period of time," Brody says. "You see that in the writing, and then Wes supplies us with animatics, these moving storyboards, that are also really informative. But when you're on the set and you know you're getting to the pace that lights Wes up, he'll then push you to do it even faster! Capturing all the nuances that you can within these very specific, technical blocking really is a very fun challenge."

Asteroid City is even more complex than other Anderson movies because many actors are playing multiple characters at once. The part of Asteroid City that takes place in the American Southwest at a kids' science convention is actually a visualization of a play being put on in '50s New York. So Johnasson, for instance, is not just playing '50s actress Midge Campbell — she's also playing the Broadway actor who's portraying Midge Campbell on stage.

"This film required more prep work because of that aspect: having to make sure that each person is separate," Johansson says. "There's one character that is the person you're acting from. And then you're thinking about how they're interpreting the character that they're bringing to life. It has to come from one place, I think."

Courtesy of Pop. 87 Productions/Focus Features Grace Edwards and Scarlett Johansson in 'Asteroid City'

"When I was thinking about the story, I wouldn't think about Wes, but I would think about Edward Norton's character, because he's the playwright," Schwartzman says. "So like, what was he doing? What did he want this to be?"

One thing that Norton's character apparently wanted was to include a lot of young kids in his play. His story includes a group of schoolchildren getting stuck in Asteroid City alongside their teacher (Maya Hawke) and a singing cowboy (Rupert Friend). Hawke tells EW that working with the exuberant young actors helped her acclimate to her first Anderson movie.

"It was actually an amazing way to enter an intimidating experience because within that sphere, I felt confident that I had things to offer. I could play games with them," Hawke explains. "We developed a rapport pretty quickly and I loved working with them. They don't break. They're in it and they want to be great and believe in their characters and the space. They make you believe even harder in it yourself."

"They weren't sniggering or mocking the process, which I might have expected a little bit from kids. They took it really seriously," says Friend, who is also set to appear in Anderson's The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar later this year. "But then when, for example, they had to dance, they let their hair down and you saw their exuberance come out. That was such a joy to watch."

Courtesy of Pop. 87 Productions/Focus Features Hong Chau and Adrien Brody in 'Asteroid City'

But despite being made of so many interlocking parts, Asteroid City came out remarkably cohesive. Johansson told EW earlier this year that she filmed most of her scenes toward the end of the shooting process, with Schwartzman as her main costar. Seeing everything put together in the final film was as impressive for her as for any other viewer.

"It was so beautiful," Johansson says. "I wasn't there for the whole time, so there were a lot of pieces that I missed. I loved finally seeing all of the intricacies of everybody's performances. I also felt very touched by how supportive all the characters and performances are of one another. The whole thing felt really cohesive, and I loved that."

Asteroid City is in theaters now.

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