As director of an Oscar-nominated black comedy triangle of sadnessRuben Ostlund knew well before anyone else that Charlie Dean had given a star-making performance.
“She may have been working as a model and was an actress before, but it felt like a little bit of a crossroads [her career] was going somewhere [exciting]Ostlund told us ahead of the film’s October release in the US.
Dean gives a revelatory, emotionally layered performance as Yaya, a model whose popularity as a social media influencer has led her and her boyfriend (Harris Dickinson) to be all aboard a wrecked luxury yacht with a group of eccentric one-percenters. expenses paid. (The satire became particularly infamous for its extended vomiting sequence, earning it the title of “Most Disgusting Film of 2022”.)
The Cape Town, South Africa, native earned instant acclaim for her work Triangle It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2022, where it won the prized Palme d’Or for Best Film.
Then tragedy struck.
In late August, Dean fell ill and was admitted to a hospital in New York City. Within hours, Dean, only 32, had died. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was bacterial sepsis, possibly related to the removal of his spleen following a serious car accident in 2008, which increased his risk of viral infection.
Dean died just two weeks before the film’s North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and five weeks before its US release.
“We were just gonna go and do it [press] travel together and go to Toronto and have the whole ensemble present the film together,” Ostlund recalled. “And all of a sudden there’s a spot that’s missing. No one is standing there taking credit for the work. So it’s something that felt really, really sad on a level that was unexpected.
Ostlund first met Dean, who previously appeared on The CW superhero series black Lightning, four years ago during the casting process. He says he grew close to the actors during the production which lasted for nearly 100 days.
“It was during the pandemic and it was a very close-knit environment, a small group, spending an intense period in our lives together. And it really was an ensemble film. … and I think everyone became very close to each other during this shoot. And then of course there’s always tragedy when someone so young is passing away.
Swedish filmmaker finally has hope triangle of sadnesswhich is up for three Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay) at Sunday’s ceremony will serve as a memorial to its lost star.
“Knowing that her family was proud of the film, and that Charlby was very proud of the film after Cannes, [we look at it as a way to] Pay tribute to his work. It will be very interesting to see which part she will take after this. … Yes, it’s sad, but at the same time, I hope the movie can be a way for us to pay tribute to her family and to her and to her work as an actress.