I dont want to ensnare myself.
I wait until my ideas are clear, said Annaud.
Often I can tell its not going to work as soon as the door opens.
jean-Jacques AnnaudStephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
I never ask them what theyve done, Im more interested in what passes between us.
Sometimes, I see 30, 40 people in a day, like a doctor.
They often tell me such personal stories that they end up crying.
This helps me understand who they are but at the same time Im also upset by what Ive heard.
Actors are often scared, especially when theyre very famous.
Acting is a profession of fragility.
Annaud said he took different approaches to preparing his actors, depending on the production and role.
Murray Abraham, who had won the Best Actor Oscar the previous year forAmadeus.
Everybody warned me that Sean Connery was impossible and an extremely difficult character.
He was an absolute dream and I got on with him fantastically, he recounted.
He was terrible, not so much with me, but rather with Sean.
He would say, Ive got the Oscar, and hes an old idiot.
We called him to remind him of his contractual obligations, but he refused to come.
He was supposed to be there at 7 a.m. and he turned up at midday, said Annaud.
The people over there are lawyers and bailiffs, youre in breach of your contract.
Youre going to stay here and pay your costs out of your own pocket.
He looked at me and said, Touche.
He stayed on at his own cost and we shot his final scene on the last day.
