„I So Hated It That I Got Rid of All My Agents”. Because of This Movie with Jason Statham, the Oscar-winning Actor Withdrew from Cinema
The British actor wasn’t happy with his participation in a crime film alongside Jason Statham, and so much so that he quit the cinema after that performance and fired his agents.
Although Mark Rylance has largely focused on theater in his career, the actor has also not been absent from cinema productions. However, he isn’t proud of all of them. To this day he regrets his participation in the 2011 film Blitz, in which he starred alongside Jason Statham.
This production so discouraged him from cinematic appearances that he gave up acting in films for four years. And he even decided at the time to fire all of his agents, whom he apparently resented for encouraging him to take part in Elliott Lester's picture, as he recounted during an interview with the Big Issue.
I don’t think you need to do every medium. And I don’t think there’s anything superior to being a film actor or a stage actor. I gave up film acting in around 2010 when I was in a horrible film called Blitz. I so hated it that I got rid of all my agents.
The actor didn't care that many in the industry thought you had to be a film or TV series actor to count. He himself didn’t share such an opinion and was comfortable focusing on theater. And yet, after four years, he decided to return to the movies thanks to Steven Spielberg and an offer to star in Bridge of Spies. And it was a very good decision, as it earned him an Oscar for his supporting role.
So I thought, f**k this and stopped promoting myself in film. Of course, nature hates a vacuum and suddenly Spielberg was brought along to a play I was doing and that whole thing happened.
It's unclear why Mark Rylance dislikes Blitz so much, as all he has said about the film is that it's terrible. He confessed this during an interview for The Irish Times.
