Steven Spielberg doesn’t like rehearsals, admits ‘The Fabelmans’ co-star Judd Hirsch – Contenders LA

It was especially annoying to play a young Steven Spielberg The Fables, the director’s semi-autobiographical film based on his own family and upbringing. For starters, star Gabriel LaBelle said during an appearance at Deadline Contender’s Film: Los Angeles Awards Season Event that he never actually sat down with the director to get the 411 on what Spielberg was like as a little kid .

“He didn’t actually tell me anything. It made me nervous. He didn’t sit down and say ‘when I was 5…'” recalled LaBelle, who was joined on stage at the DGA Theater by Judd Hirsch, who plays Uncle Boris in the Universal Pictures/Amblin film . “I had to track him down.”

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Hirsch said it was actually a testament to the faith Spielberg had in his cast, which included Michelle Williams, Paul Dano and Seth Rogen. He doesn’t rehearse. It won’t be, “How do I play this?” before the shoot,” explains Hirsch. “Steven has faith in the people he has cast. We had no real direction as to how well we had to play the part. He (LaBelle) was Steven and I was this crazy man.”

The Fables follows a young man’s discovery of a shocking family secret and his exploration of the power of films to help us discover the truth about each other and ourselves. In addition to LaBelle, Hirsch, Williams, Dano and Rogen, the film stars Jeannie Berlin, Julia Butters, Robin Bartlett and Keeley Karsten. Written by Spielberg and Tony Kushner, it’s in movie theaters everywhere next week.

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During the panel discussion, both LaBelle and Hirsch recalled their first meeting with Spielberg. LaBelle auditioned via Zoom during the height of the pandemic and only realized much later that he was being asked to play the director. Hirsch just got a message that someone named “SS” would like to speak with him.

“I said [to his agent] Find out who the SS is,” Hirsch recalled. “Is it some kind of secret? It felt like a crime series.”

This was not the first time Hirsch had met Spielberg. He remembered meeting the principal years ago when he was just starting out. “I was told he was going to be very big. He was a little boy. I met him when he was 24 years old Jaw bone on his desk.”

Check back Monday for the panel video.