Oscar Isaac

Born: March 9, 1979 in Guatemala

[on modeling his title character in Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) persona] For the character I thought a lot about the comedy of resilience. Buster Keaton was someone that came to mind. He had quite an impassive face with a melancholic stare on it. All of these crazy things could be happening – he could be falling in love or a building could be falling on him, but it was all internalized.

[on working with the Coen brothers] It was the best experience of my life. They’re so generous – not only with their time, but with stories about these people that they’ve worked with and artists they admire. It was an incredible, joyous process – even though it’s quite heavy material. They’re very pragmatic. They don’t put any impositions on you or come in with any kind of idea in particular that…