Palmer thought she totally bombed her audition.
Dave Morales sat down with Hacksaw Ridge star Teresa Palmer in this backstage interview to talk about auditioning for the role, playing an emotional role as a mother and working with director Mel Gibson.
“I shot my audition on an iPhone,” said Palmer, who was assisted by her director-husband, Mark Webber. After hearing crickets for three months – thinking she totally bombed her audition – Palmer received a a Skype call from Gibson who revealed that she landed the role of Dorothy Doss (Desmond’s wife played by Andrew Garfield).
Palmer took her role to heart, telling Morales that, “I am a mother to sons. I was just so affected that these men would leave their families, mothers and wives, and have to go to war. I really took that on.”
As for working with Gibson, Palmer explained that the experience was much different than one would expect.
“He takes his job seriously, but he doesn’t really take himself that seriously. There’s a lot of joking going on… everyone was laughing… everyone had a really good time on this movie.” She continued, “He’s very passionate… he’s a genius.”
Hacksaw Ridge’s official film synopsis:
HACKSAW RIDGE is the extraordinary true story of Desmond Doss [Andrew Garfield] who, in Okinawa during the bloodiest battle of WWII, saved 75 men without firing or carrying a gun. He was the only American soldier in WWII to fight on the front lines without a weapon, as he believed that while the war was justified, killing was nevertheless wrong. As an army medic, he single-handedly evacuated the wounded from behind enemy lines, braved fire while tending to soldiers and was wounded by a grenade and hit by snipers. Doss was the first conscientious objector awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Hacksaw Ridge hits theaters on November 4th. Watch the full interview with Palmer below:
