Danny Ramirez Spills The Tea On Todd Haynes’ Steamy Flick, Joaquin Phoenix’s Exit And What’s Next
Danny Ramirez has opened up about the drama surrounding Todd Haynes’ untitled gay romance film. The project made headlines in August when Joaquin Phoenix abruptly left just days before filming was set to begin.
In a recent interview with Variety, Ramirez, who was cast as Phoenix’s love interest in July, described the situation as “complicated” but he remains optimistic about the experience.
“The audition process was extensive,” Ramirez told Variety. “But what I walked away with was just a full artistic validation of throwing down opposite of [Phoenix] in this chemistry read, and it was very intense and dramatic scenes.”
“It felt like we were battling. So, I’m still excited, obviously working with Todd,” Ramirez said.
When asked about the film’s future, Ramirez seemed hopeful. “I’ve been shifting gears to different projects,” he said. “And so the most recent updates are hopefully, but who knows, it’s just a complicated process.”
The Mexican-American actor was wrapping up work on The Last Of Us season two when he got the news. He admitted that it was “definitely disappointing.”
“Whenever you have the chance to throw down with someone of that caliber, obviously Todd as director and Joaquin, I think that’s where, for me, obviously, there’s a lot more people that have been affected in different ways,” he said.
But Ramirez is using it as motivation. “If anything it just gave me more inspiration to keep driving and to keep pushing it and knowing that I’m on the right path and approaching the work the right way, that’s what I’m excited about,” he told Variety.
Ramirez also addressed comments from his Top Gun: Maverick co-star Lewis Pullman about possibly joining the project, hinting that they have other collaborations in the works instead.
Haynes first teased the film in a May 2023 interview with IndieWire, revealing it was based on ideas brought to him by Phoenix. “We basically wrote with him as a story writer,” Haynes said. “It’s a gay love story set in 1930s L.A.”
