The Rental: Dave Franco Says Alison Brie Is Best Actress on the Planet
The Rental, which arrives in theaters (provided there are theaters open to arrive in) on July 24, has received a lot of buzz for being Dave Franco’s directorial debut. While he has previously worked behind the scenes on shorts such as Dream Girl, this marks the first feature film that the popular actor has directed as well as co-written.
But as much as a film relies on direction and script, it would be nowhere without a talented cast – something The Rental certainly boasts. Alison Brie, Franco’s wife and the star of Netflix’s Glow, plays the smart and kind Michelle. She is joined by Dan Stevens as her husband Charlie, who has a wandering eye for his coworker Mina (Sheila Vand), who is currently dating his brother Josh (Jeremy Allen White). It’s a convoluted web that already offers plenty of drama before the thriller aspect of the film kicks in.
The director and his cast presented The Rental at a pop-up event at the Vineland drive-in on June 18, after which Franco showered the actors with compliments on their performances. In particular, he was effusive about Brie’s talents, saying:
“I've obviously always known that Alison is a great actor, but when I was behind the camera and I was able to just kind of contently watch her for five weeks, I realized she might be the greatest actress on the planet… I have a little bit of a bias, but I can't imagine doing this without Alison.”
Of course, he couldn’t leave out the rest of the cast, and followed up his comments by praising specific aspects of each of the main performances. The tense, taut thriller required a lot of pent-up emotions from the actors, especially in the quiet moments leading up to the major storm. About Sheila Vand, he said:
“I think most people know Sheila from A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, and she's obviously incredible in that film. But what really made me want to work with her was a smaller movie called We The Animals. She has so much range in that film, and I knew that she would be perfect for this part.
Sheila, when it comes to the more intense, dramatic moments - like the stuff that I would lose sleep over - we would come up on that day of this really big scene, I'd be like, "Are you ready?" And she'd be like, "I think so." And the first take, she's just bawling. She's so in it… I'm so happy to have worked with her. She has so much range. I can't wait to see what else she does.”
While none of the protagonists are outright villains in the film, none of them are shadier than Dan Stevens’ Charlie. The stench of adultery follows him from his very first scene, making this the second time he’s played a smarmy cad after his hilarious turn in Eurovision Song Contest. Franco complimented his ability to pull it off so easily.
“I think Dan is so good at playing a villain… I think certain actors, when they're playing a villainous character, you immediately hate them. You're not rooting for them. But I think Dan has so much fun that when I watch him in this movie, the more he does immoral things, the giddier I get. I'm like, "Go Dan, go!" I think that's a huge compliment and a tough thing to pull off, and I also give him props for playing these more immoral characters in the service of the whole story.”
Finally, he pointed out Jeremy Allen White’s underrated talents, which anyone who has watched Shameless can attest to.
“Jeremy is one of the most naturally gifted actors I've ever seen. He is literally incapable of having a false moment onscreen. I remember hearing from every other actor at some point in the shoot, just talking about how easy it is to be in a scene with Jeremy, because he's so locked in. And all you need to do is just give yourself over to whatever he's doing.
We'd be behind the monitors every single day, I swear to God, and we would look at each other and be like, "Why is Jeremy not the biggest actor on the planet?"
The Rental will introduce millions of viewers to Dave Franco’s skills as a writer and director on July 24, but just as significantly, it will cement him as someone who knows how to handpick a quality cast.