Oscar Isaac

Early life and education

Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada was born on March 9, 1979, in Guatemala City to a Guatemalan mother, María Eugenia Estrada Nicolle, and a Cuban father, Óscar Gonzalo Hernández-Cano, a pulmonologist. He has an older sister, climate scientist Nicole, and a younger brother, journalist Mike. Isaac's family immigrated to the US when he was five months old, and they frequently moved around the country, living in Baltimore, New Orleans and Miami, where they eventually settled. Isaac became a United States citizen in 2006. He has French origins through his grandfather. He speaks English and Spanish.

Isaac attended the private grade school Westminster Christian School in southern Florida. Drawn to creating music and film content from a young age, he struggled growing up in Miami, which in his view was not "a flourishing place for the arts" due to its rather conservative nature. When he was four, he and his sister organized plays in their backyard. Around age 10, Isaac made a home movie called The Avenger, in which he played dual characters; he also participated in school plays. He wrote his first play in fifth grade; it was based on the Biblical story of Noah's Ark and featured a doubtful platypus. He found great joy at performing in front of people, which provided stress relief at a time when his parents were separating and his mother became sick.

Growing up in a religious household, Isaac was a rebellious child and liked causing trouble at school. He was eventually expelled.

In 1992, Hurricane Andrew destroyed his family's home in Miami. Around this time, his parents divorced and he moved with his mother to Palm Beach, where he attended a public high school. Isaac liked his new school and formed a band with boys he met in a trailer park. He learned music, played guitar and continued to make home movies, inspired by Quentin Tarantino's work: "action [films], with lots of blood and cars".

At age 14, Isaac and his bandmates performed Nirvana's "Rape Me" at a talent show and lost. He attended Santaluces Community High School and graduated in 1998. Isaac joined a Christian ska punk band named The Blinking Underdogs, which enjoyed some success, opening for Green Day. During this time, Isaac took a two-day workshop with a casting director and won a brief part in the independent film Illtown (1998).

Career

Early roles (2005–2010)

After graduating from Juilliard, Isaac continued to write music and performed in small New York clubs, and played Proteus in Two Gentlemen of Verona (2005) in The Public Theater. The following year, he portrayed Federico García Lorca in New York City Center's production of Beauty of the Father; David Rooney of Variety remarked that his "injection of wry humor provides welcome levity". Also in 2006, he briefly appeared on the television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and played Joseph in the biblical epic The Nativity Story, opposite Keisha Castle-Hughes. It was the first film to hold its world premiere in the Vatican City. Having grown up in a religious family, Isaac believed it was important to portray his character "as human as possible" and approach him like any other role. To understand Joseph's background better, he read a book titled The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. The film received mixed reviews and grossed $46 million against a budget of $35 million. A critic for The Abbotsford News wrote that Isaac brought the role "a freshness and vulnerability it usually" lacks. Toddy Burton of The Austin Chronicle found Isaac "endearing", yet thought that his character's selfless personality made him seem unreal.

Isaac played Romeo alongside Lauren Ambrose in the Public Theater's Romeo and Juliet (2007). Michal Daniel of The Record believed that a "persuasively young and inexperienced" Isaac was overshadowed by Ambrose but had an enthusiastic speech and a passionate behavior. For much of the rest of the 2000s, Isaac played minor roles in films—the thriller The Life Before Her Eyes (2007), the biopic Che (2008), the spy thriller Body of Lies (2008) and the Spanish historical drama Agora (2009). In a book published by Rutgers University Press, which analyzes the performances of rising actors in the 2010s, Rick Warner believed that Isaac "momentarily steals the scene" as a United Nations interpreter in Che. Isaac won the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role as José Ramos-Horta in Balibo (2009). Chris Barsanti of PopMatters opined that he played his role with "improbable charm". According to R. Kurt Osenlund of Slant Magazine, Isaac became "a bona fide scene-stealer" after Balibo.

Isaac began the 2010s with the role of the villain King John in the film Robin Hood. In preparation, he read about the character and shared ideas with director Ridley Scott on how to portray him. He liked playing a villain, as he said one does not worry about having to make them likable, enabling him to display more facets of his character. The film had a mixed critical consensus and grossed $321 million against a budget of $200 million. For R. Kurt Osenlund, Isaac skillfully overshadowed Russell Crowe (who played Robin Hood), "bringing new, magnetic venom to the done-and-done-again role". Rick Warner wrote, "In his early minor film roles, Isaac makes the most of the few lines he is given, supplying emotional complexity not just verbally but also through his attractive face and piercing stare."

Breakthrough (2011–2014)

In 2011, Isaac received recognition for several supporting roles. His first role that year was of an asylum orderly in Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch, for which he applied extensive makeup. Isaac credited Snyder for his openness to actors' input on set. He played a security guard in Madonna's W.E. (2011), a critical failure that British Vogue saw as his "one misjudgment", although Drew Taylor of IndieWire believed he was "one of the few worthwhile aspects" of the film. Isaac then portrayed a musician in 10 Years, in which he performed his own song "Never Had", and an ex-convict in Nicolas Winding Refn's critically acclaimed action drama Drive (2011). Initially hesitant about Drive, he accepted the offer after working out a "more nuanced" and less stereotypical version of the character with Refn and screenwriter Hossein Amini. Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter praised Isaac's "unanticipated intelligence and sincerity"; Madison Diazm, writing for Comic Book Resources in 2022, called the film an early testament to Isaac's ability to create tension. Drive earned $81.3 million against a production budget of $15 million.

Isaac had four film releases in 2012. His first, the Mexican epic historical drama For Greater Glory, had him play a freedom fighter, for which he was nominated for an ALMA Award for Favorite Movie Actor – Supporting Role. After playing the main character's cousin in the comedy-drama Revenge for Jolly!, Isaac appeared in the action thriller The Bourne Legacy. Director Tony Gilroy originally considered Isaac for the lead role in the latter, but the film's production company decided against casting an unknown actor. Isaac instead won the brief part of a brainwashed assassin. The film was released to a mixed critical reception and box-office success. Lizzie Logan of Vulture opined that "Isaac took a character with very little screen time and turned him into a living, breathing, hurting person". Won't Back Down, a drama on the American educational system, was Isaac's last film in 2012. It received negative reviews and was a box-office failure.

In 2013, Isaac played the titular character of a struggling folk singer in 1961 Greenwich Village in the Coen brothers' drama Inside Llewyn Davis. Isaac accepted the project due to his high regard for the Coen brothers, who in turn were impressed with his musical talent. In preparation for the part, Isaac learned the guitar technique Travis picking and worked with musicians Erik Frandsen and T Bone Burnett. Before production began, Isaac behaved and dressed like Davis to observe people's reaction to him. The film received acclaim, as did Isaac's performance in what proved to be his breakthrough role. Critics from The Oregonian and St. Louis Post-Dispatch added that Isaac "anchors this film with a star-making, soulful performance", and "has a gift for being appealing even when he's unpleasant". A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote, "Isaac, a versatile character actor here ascending to the highest levels of his craft, refuses the easy road of charm. Like his character, he trusts his own professionalism and the integrity of the material." Scott opined that the musical performances elevated the film, especially Isaac's "The Death of Queen Jane" and "The Shoals of Herring". For the film, Isaac was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. He next starred as Laurent LeClaire, a man who seduces his friend's wife (Elizabeth Olsen) in the erotic thriller In Secret (2013). Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune praised Isaac as the film's prime asset, noting that his "sly delineation of the charismatic Laurent provides the through-line".

Mainstream success (2015–2017)

In 2015, Isaac portrayed Nathan Hamlet Bateman, the reclusive inventor of a humanoid artificial intelligence, in the science fiction film Ex Machina. He based his character's look and accent on director Stanley Kubrick and observed his speech patterns. Isaac modeled Bateman's personality on chess champion Bobby Fischer and played the game during filming to get "in that mode of constantly trying to be a few steps ahead". Ex Machina was a commercial and critical success, with praise for Isaac's performance. Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com commended Isaac for possessing "an electrifying star quality, cruelly sneering yet somehow delightful, insinuating and intellectually credible". Isaac followed with his first leading role on television—the 6-episode HBO miniseries Show Me a Hero, in which he played politician Nick Wasicsko. Isaac was approached for the role shortly after he had finished filming for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Although he found the story "fascinating", he was initially reluctant to sign on as it was "a little impenetrable" for him. He agreed after finding footage of Wasicsko interacting with the media. Because a show's length generally exceeds a film's, Isaac found filming the miniseries a little more difficult and was skeptical about its six-hour format. Isaac's performance, which won him the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film, was lauded by critics. Emily Nussbaum of The New Yorker praised it as "a star performance agile enough to elevate scenes that might veer into agitprop".

Isaac co-starred as Poe Dameron, an X-wing pilot, in the epic space opera film Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). Having liked Star Wars films since childhood, he initially considered himself unfit for the part, but director J. J. Abrams convinced him in a meeting. A fan of Inside Llewyn Davis, Abrams described Isaac as "a far more sophisticated actor than one might get for a role". Isaac suggested to Abrams that his character be from the moon Yavin 4, which first appeared in Star Wars (1977) in scenes filmed in his country Guatemala; this idea was incorporated. While filming The Force Awakens, Isaac initially felt insecure, but soon found a sense of belonging with co-stars Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, who were also newcomers to the film series. In preparation for the role, Isaac read about war, including a book called What It's Like to Go to War. The Force Awakens received positive reviews and grossed $2 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2015. Forbes and TheWrap critics praised the cast additions, including Isaac, as "outright terrific", and "engaging performers" who "make strong impressions very quickly, and who are charismatic enough to make us care about their characters".

Professional expansion (2018–present)

Isaac filmed Annihilation (2018) simultaneously with Star Wars: The Last Jedi at the same studio. As such, he did not have enough time rehearsing for his role in the former and credited co-star Natalie Portman (who played his wife) with helping him film their intimate scenes with ease. The film received positive reviews. Tasha Robinson of The Verge complimented Isaac's chemistry with Portman, and Caryn James of the BBC took note of his ability to act well with a mere glance. Isaac debuted as a producer filming the historical drama Operation Finale (2018), in which he played Peter Malkin, the Israeli secret agent who captured Nazi fugitive Adolf Eichmann in 1960. When asked about his first time producing, he said he wanted to contribute to the stories he is part of. He believed that the film's topic still remains relevant in modern times, where extreme views are deemed acceptable. Critical consensus for Operation Finale was that it is "well-intentioned, well-acted, and overall entertaining, even if the depth and complexity of the real-life events depicted can get a little lost in their dramatization". Bhaskar Chattopadhyay of Firstpost thought Isaac was brilliant in certain scenes, but mainly highlighted the performances of the supporting actors. The film was a commercial failure. Isaac's other films in 2018 include At Eternity's Gate (where he played Paul Gauguin), Life Itself and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which featured his voice during the post-credits. Isaac co-starred with Olivia Wilde in the box-office failure Life Itself; Caroline Siede of Consequence found the two leads unconvincing and their roles to be poorly written.

After Isaac finished filming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in October 2018, he intended to take a prolonged acting hiatus but was cast as Duke Leto Atreides in Dune (2021) a few months later. In the former, the final film in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Isaac reprised the role of Poe Dameron. It received mixed reviews but was profitable. Earlier in 2019, Isaac starred as an agent working against a drug cartel in South America in J. C. Chandor's Netflix film Triple Frontier. To avoid feeling exhausted during scenes in which he is running at high altitude, Isaac trained in a New York hall where one can decrease oxygen. He said that filming in a favela with no water or sewer made him realize his privileged life. Reviews for the film were generally positive. Critics Christy Lemire and Richard Roeper highlighted Isaac's screen presence as "charismatic" and "electric". Isaac next voiced the role of Gomez Addams in The Addams Family (2019), an animated film based on the titular characters created by Charles Addams. For years, fans suggested Isaac be cast in the part as they claimed he resembled Raul Julia who played Gomez Addams in live-action films in the 1990s. The Addams Family received mixed reviews and grossed $203 million on a $24 million budget.

Reception and acting style

Media publications like Vanity Fair, The Guardian and People have positively commented on Isaac's looks. Rolling Stone and other media outlets have dubbed Isaac "the Internet's Boyfriend", a label he is skeptical about. Hoby Hermione of The Guardian took note of Isaac's "cheerful, vigorous presence", "energy and good humour". Melanie Haupt of The Austin Chronicle identified him as "polite, professional, serene". Joseph Adler, who directed Isaac in plays early in his career, was impressed with his "discipline", "professionalism" and "incredible intelligence". Nick Levine of NME wrote, "In the flesh, Oscar Isaac has a relaxed charisma that puts you at ease." Brett Martin of GQ commented on his "wide, easy smile", adding, "It's been a long time since we've had a leading man whose charisma comes packed with such tetchiness, so little naked desire to be liked."

In 2016, Time named Isaac one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2017, Isaac was described as the "best dang actor of his generation" by Vanity Fair's chief critic Richard Lawson, who wrote, "He's a classically trained actor of true range, one who can sing and dance, do comedy, action, and drama with equal ease and authority. He's thrilling to watch, a prodigious mind sparking a nimble [...] form into action." The same year, Esquire's Miranda Collinge added that after his roles of Hamlet and Poe Dameron, Isaac was becoming the most accomplished leading actor of his generation. In 2020, The New York Times ranked him 14th in its list of the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century. "When I think about what makes him so credible as an actor", wrote the list's co-author A. O. Scott, "[is] whatever Isaac is pretending to do onscreen [...] I always believe that he really knows how to do it, and that I'm watching some kind of authentic mastery in action." Hossein Amini, who directed Isaac in The Two Faces of January, remarked on his "ability to make the tiniest shifts in character incredibly quickly, without revealing any element of process".

Martin identified an extent of "loneliness and menace" in Isaac's most memorable characters, attributing his growing success to "a series of brilliant but darkly idiosyncratic roles" (Inside Llewyn Davis and A Most Violent Year). Isaac himself noted "a sense of melancholy, anger, displacement" in these characters. For Rick Warner, Isaac's roles in these films and Ex Machina signify his "penchant for moody rumination" that "runs together with an expression of intellect that slips into egoism". Madison Diaz of Comic Book Resources praised Isaac for his inclination to "intense and complex" characters and for exploring their hardships and complicated pasts. Tom Shone of The Guardian identified common characters of "ambitious, slightly myopic men whose own movement quickens their fall" (an oil importer struggling to keep his business intact in A Most Violent Year and a doomed politician in Show Me a Hero). Shone noted, "He has made a career playing men for whom careerism doesn't work." Isaac's favorite roles depict "a lot more of the beauty and cruelty of life". He often looks for "the comic in the dramatic and the dramatic in the comic and where those things meet and the brackish waters in between". For Isaac, acting is "the only framework where you can give expression to such intense emotions. Otherwise anywhere else is pretty inappropriate, unless you're just in a room screaming to yourself."

Personal life

Isaac is indifferent to his celebrity status and remains close with his family. According to a New York Daily News report, he was engaged to Maria Miranda in 2007. Isaac is married to Danish film director Elvira Lind, whom he met in 2012, and married in 2017. They have two sons: Eugene (b. 2017) and Mads (b. 2019). He lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Isaac is close friends with actor Pedro Pascal, whom he met while both actors starred in a 2005 Off-Broadway production of Beauty of a Father. Isaac and Pascal would later star together in the 2019 film Triple Frontier.

Isaac expressed support for Armenia in 2020 during the second Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying, "To think that Armenian people are in jeopardy once again is heartbreaking." He also expressed solidarity with the people of the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war. As part of a group called Artists4Ceasefire, he signed a letter urging President Joe Biden to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.