Mike Flanagan has proven himself a master of horror stories with several hit shows and movies under his belt. Altough Flanagan is best known for his work on The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, his filmography remains criminally underrated with movies like Oculus and Hush being some of the best horror-thrillers of the past two decade.
After working extensively in the genre, Flanagan finally got a chance to adapt one of his favorite horror IPs when he helmed 2019’s Doctor Sleep, a sequel to The Shining, both based on works from Stephen King. During an interview, Flanagan discussed why actor Ewan McGregor was the right choice for the role of a grownup Dan Torrance. Here is what Flanagan had to say about McGregor’s casting in the movie.
Mike Flanagan explained why Ewan McGregor was perfect for The Shining sequel
Mike Flanagan directed 2019’s Doctor Sleep, which is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. it serves as a direct sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of King’s The Shining, which is widely considered one of the best horror movies.
During an interview with GQ, Flanagan discussed the casting of Ewan McGregor in the role of Dan Torrance, the protagonist of the sequel and an important supporting character from the original film. The director revealed that although several actors were considered for the role, the Star Wars prequels actor stood apart.
McGregor was a fan of the 1980 film, he was more interested in exploring the character of Dan, who has grown up to be an alcoholic. Since the actor had dealt with overcoming the issue in his personal life, he asked Flanagan about Dan’s recovery process in the movie.
It was stuff that was important and relevant to his own life, and so he was clearly the right actor for that, simply because in his mind the only conversation we’re having was all about in building the characters.
Flanagan made the above statement, explaining how the character resonating with McGregor made him the perfect and arguably only choice for an adult Dan Torrance.
Furthermore, the writer-director added that he had a great experience working with McGregor. He felt that the actor brought a lot of humility and earnestness to the role and the overall process of making the movie, which helped the character become more than just a sack of sadness in the earlier portions.
Mike Flanagan wanted to make Doctor Sleep for years before he finally got the opportunity
In the same interview, Flanagan also talked about getting to adapt one of King’s most popular works while also having the task of following up with one of Kubrick’s greatest movies.
Flanagan admitted that he was a fan of both King and Kubrick, having first watched the 1980 film as a child and being terrified by it. At the same time, he became fascinated by the duo’s drastically different approach to the material. As a result, he read Doctor Sleep when it first came out.
For years, I would ask my agency what was happening with Doctor Sleep?
Flanagan stated, asking his agents for a meeting with King for years so that he could discuss adapting the novel.
However, the director admitted that even while reading the book, he could not shake off the influence Kubrick had on him. As a result, he wanted the adaptation to be more of a reconciliation between the two different takes on the material when he eventually got a chance to work on the movie.
Doctor Sleep can be rented on Amazon Prime Video.
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