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Ben Mendelsohn got emotional over Steven Spielberg’s casting call

Ben Mendelsohn was overwhelmed by working with movie legend Steven Spielberg on his new film Ready Player One.
The Rogue One: A Star Wars Story actor plays villainous businessman Nolan Sorrento in the filmmaker’s new science-fiction spectacular.
In fact, Ben is such a fan of Steven’s work, that after meeting with the director he didn’t care if he won the part or not.
“(Starring in Ready Player One) is emotional for me,” the Australian star told website Screen Rant. “It’s a big deal. I mean, you know, he kind of raised me. You know? He kind of raised us all in a lot of ways.
“I said to him when I got the meeting with him, I said, ‘Look. You use me in the movie. You don’t use me in the movie. This is kind of exciting anyway. Whatever. This will do me.'”
But Ben did impress Steven and landed the major role, with the movie following Sorrento’s attempts to gain control over the OASIS, a virtual reality role-playing game that has enchanted humanity to the extent that most people live their lives within it.
The character clashes with the movie’s hero, expert gamer Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), who looks to advance his alter-ego Parzival through the game.
Although Ben said he would have been happy just to meet the man who made Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, he is delighted he landed a role in Steven’s latest groundbreaking movie.
“I would have been happy if I had sat in the room with him one time in my life and have him have heard of me in that kind of sense,” the actor explained. “So, it keeps getting better, this experience, because now the way this film is hitting, it’s like wow. You’re in a Steven Spielberg movie. Not only that, but you’re in this Steven Spielberg movie. It’s really awesome.”
Ready Player One, which is based on Ernest Cline’s bestselling novel of the same name, is in cinemas now.

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