With the new film of Shakespeare's Macbeth receiving its world premiere at Cannes this month, director Justin Kurzel has said he found the idea of working with stars Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard very intimidating because of their body of work.
Kurzel, who will also direct Fassbender and Cotillard in the upcoming Assassin's Creed, told ScreenDaily.com: "As actors, their precision is amazing. Michael had read the script more than 200 times before our first read-through.
"It's like having a finely tuned Ferrari that allows you to direct by fractions. It was a big learning curve for me. In the end I think what bonded us was the fear of it all."
He continued: "There was a mountain over us - Michael playing Macbeth, Marion playing Lady Macbeth as a French woman, and me being an Australian coming to England and making a film of one of the most famous British plays. But that pressure seemed to really galvanise us."
Paying tribute to Fassbender, Kurzel said: "There's something generational about him - a masculinity and a vulnerability, kind of like a Paul Newman or a De Niro."
Macbeth will be released in cinemas in October.
