"She's the center of it all"- Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe open up about working with Emma Stone in Poor Things

Poor Things is one of the most anticipated films of 2023, and with the release date (8 December) so close, it is a golden time for Yorgos Lanthimos fans who have waited a long time for the release. Filled with a star-studded cast, which includes industry giants like Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, and Willem Dafoe, the film also features the likes of Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, and Jerrod Carmichael.

Poor Things follows the story of Bella, a young woman who was resurrected and raised by Dr. Baxter (Dafoe), resulting in a complicated connection between the two. With little outside experience, Bella is swayed when she runs away with the lecherous Duncan Wedderburn (Ruffalo).

Having worked with both Dafoe and Ruffalo, Emma Stone was arguably the star of Poor Things, as also indicated by both actors in a recent interview with Screen Rant, ahead of the film's release.

Speaking about working beside Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe said:

"It's a really complex relationship. It's all in the writing. It's all in Emma. I mean, she's the center of it all and you really take so much of your cues off of her. And my character sort of falls in love with her, which is easy to do, no acting required because when you work with Emma, you fall in love with her."

Ruffalo also went on to elaborate on Stone's relationship with him during the filming process and the subtleties of their respective characters, which played a huge part in shaping Poor Things.

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"I just found us to be very caring for each other"- Mark Ruffalo on working with Emma Stone on Poor Things

With a premise as tough as Lanthimos likes it, Poor Things will surely feature a lot of unconventional, tender moments that are hard to pull off. Like Lobster, this would require some remarkable understanding from the lead actors.

This is exactly how Ruffalo and Stone worked, according to the MCU star's latest interview.

"We have a pretty intimate journey to go on together, and I think we were both nervous about that and we're nervous about how far out there we were in our roles, in our own respective ways," Ruffalo said. "So I just found us to be very caring for each other just as performers and really trying to make each other feel safe and secure and allowing to be vulnerable."

"Interestingly, that informs the dimension of the sort of love that they find in that in Duncan's own totally perverse way has uncovered in him, which leads to a total breakdown."

All three artists in the film are well-known for their ability to play difficult roles. This is exactly what they did with Poor Things, which has a twisted storyline with plenty of horrible elements mixed in with nice and compassionate ones.

Emma Stone, portraying a reanimated girl, of course, has the bulk of the work, but the actress has always shown the ability to take on challenging roles and play them with ease.

Poor Things will premiere theatrically on December 8, 2023.