Oliver Stone Talks ‘Snowden,’ Praises Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Director Oliver Stone’s next film is in theaters this weekend, and he is tackling another biographical political drama. With Snowden, he focuses on the story of Edward Snowden, the man who released some of the NSA’s classified information to the media. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in the title role, and Shailene Woodley plays Snowden’s girlfriend, Lindsay Mills.

BackstageOL’s Dave Morales sat down with the Oscar-winning director to discuss the film, including picking Gordon-Levitt for the role.

“With Joe, I said, ‘I want him,’” Stone revealed. “And I called him…I said, ‘Look…I’m excited. I want to make this movie. I want to make it with you,’ which was probably a mistake. You should never tell an actor you only want it with him because then he has a lot of power over you, but no, he was great. He worked very hard. I loved his movie Don Jon…he wrote [it], directed it, and he starred in it. It’s outrageous. He’s got a sense of humor.”

“[Gordon-Levitt] looks, he feels like Snowden,” Stone added. “Ed’s anti-dramatic…he’s a code writer. It’s not really exciting stuff. They stay hidden, and that’s Joe.”

Watch our interview with Stone below: