Oscar Isaac has spoken to NME about being a member of several ska bands during the ‘90s and early ‘00s before returning to acting – check out the full interview above.
Before starring in blockbuster films such as Star Wars, Dune and Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein, Isaac was an active participant in Miami’s local ska scene, playing in bands such as The Worms, Petrified Frogs and The Blinking Underdogs. “That was the last ska band that I had. That was the one that probably toured the most,” he told NME recently.
The various band names were “mostly” down to Isaac but he isn’t responsible for his “personal favourite”, Closet Heterosexuals.
“I was doing it from 1995 until The Blinking Underdogs, which ended in 2004. I’m not sure I was a rock star, it was more of a local thing,” Isaac explained to NME and his Frankenstein co-star Jacob Elordi. “We played gigs in Miami, Palm Beach and then a little further north.”
However, Isaac and The Worms also supported Green Day, Limp Bizkit and Descendents at the 1997 Warped Tour, a travelling punk festival. “I like to say we opened for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones but really, we played six hours before them on another stage.”
“With The Worms, it was mostly like these huge skinhead guys and then a very skinny, long haired, brown boy that was me playing bass in the background with suspenders,” he continued. “It was a real scene and it was so fun. It also gave a lot of the band nerds a chance to be rock stars as well, because everybody was really into trumpets and horns so that was really fun. It was an incredible time.”
“At that time, I went away from acting and theatre because I had a falling out with a drama teacher in my high school. I was like ‘fuck it, I’m gonna do music now’. But instead of music, I did ska.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Elordi and Isaac spoke about the musicality of Frankenstein. One grisly scene sees Dr Victor Frankenstein (Isaac) assembling The Creature (Elordi) from various body parts but the whole thing is soundtracked by classic waltz music.
“The fact that Guillermo chose to make it a beautiful, romantic moment bathed in golden sunlight with waltz music playing was incredible,” explained Isaac. “ It’s where Victor feels the most at home, the most at ease and the least conflicted.”
“I’ve watched the film three times now and on the third time, I just watched the background,” added Elordi. “There is a whole movie happening in the background. There’s so much detail in it, physically and metaphorically. There’s so much nuance, and it’s all deliberate from Guillermo and the respective craftsmen that put the time in. So if you watch it idly, you will miss what’s there. It’s like the most delicious little lolly, if you just look.”
Elsewhere in the interview, the pair spoke about trying to capture the perfect sunset, the advice they’d give their more squeamish friends before watching Frankenstein and how Isaac felt about sawing off another man’s (fake) leg.
In a four-star review of Frankenstein, NME wrote: “In short, this is a deliciously dark fairy tale that’s as fantastical as it is emotional. Is Del Toro’s Bride Of Frankenstein too much to hope for?”
‘Frankenstein’ is in UK cinemas now and will be available to stream on Netflix November 7