Paul Bettany Was Once Tricked Into Doing a Lars Von Trier Film That Was a ‘Hideous Experience’

Wandavision actor Paul Bettany was convinced to do a Lars von Trier project by his fellow Marvel actor Stellan Skarsgård. But doing the feature wasn’t the experience that Bettany was told it would be.

Stellan Skarsgård tricked Paul Bettany into starring in a Lars von Trier movie, then Skarsgård apologized

Bettany and Skarsgård once co-starred in Lars von Trier’s provocative movie Dogville alongside Nicole Kidman. But over the years, Bettany has been very vocal about his less than pleasant experience doing the feature. Initially, he might not have even starred in the project if it wasn’t for Skarsgård’s recommendation.

“It was a hideous experience. I did it because Stellan f***ing Skarsgård fibbed to me. He said, ‘You gotta turn up, it’ll be fantastic, it’s like a party all the time,” Bettany once said according to Irish Examiner.

Skarsgård would later apologize for persuading Bettany to do Dogville under false pretenses.

“And after three weeks and not one bit of fun, I said: ‘Stellan, what were you talking about?’ And he said: ‘Man, I was making it up – I just couldn’t face doing it without you.'”

Lars von Trier wouldn’t talk to Paul Bettany while filming ‘Dogville’

One of the challenges Bettany faced when working with von Trier was the filmmaker’s lack of collaborative spirit.

“I found it a particularly unsatisfying experience because Lars has no interest in you being any part of the cerebral process with him. You’re absolutely his puppet,” Bettany said.

In a 2013 interview with The Guardian, Bettany provided a bit more detail about his experience working with von Trier. Although he has great respect for the director and his work, he disagreed with how the filmmaker treated his actors. There was little communication between Bettany and von Trier while on set, which could be frustrating for the Wandavision star.

“As an actor, I have questions. I want to know what I’m doing. And he simply wouldn’t talk to me. You’re not allowed to talk about the film and there is no rehearsal. The whole experience was diametrically opposed to what I thought it would be. Let me be clear: I love Lars’s films. He’s a precociously brilliant director. But he has no interest in what the actors think,” Bettany said. “He just stands there and says: ‘Louder! Louder! Do it louder!'”

Paul Bettany panicked when he discovered that his hotel room was right next to Lars von Trier’s

Bettany once recalled facing another challenge with his director when Bettany moved into a hotel room right next to von Trier’s. But at the time, the Iron Man star didn’t even feel comfortable with a wall being between them. So he planned to move further away from von Trier for some peace of mind.

“A couple of weeks in, I tried to drag my bed away from the wall that separated my bedroom from his bedroom in the hotel,” Bettany once said in an interview with The Independent. “I worked out that my head was 10ft from his head while we were asleep, and I did not want that. I wanted to be an extra 5ft away on the other side of the room. Unfortunately, the bed was bolted to the floor…”