"The Actor" Trailer: André Holland Stars in a Surreal Noir Mystery from 'Anomalisa' Co-Director Duke Johnson

A struggling actor wakes up with no memory of who he is in this mind-bending noir mystery from filmmaker Duke Johnson, executive produced by Charlie Kaufman.

This new film from executive producer Charlie Kaufman poses a profound question: What is an actor if he doesn’t know who he is? Or more broadly, how can any of us truly know ourselves if we can’t distinguish between playing a role and being our true selves?

The Actor is a new thought-provoking noir mystery that leans heavily into fantasy and the unconscious mind. In typical Charlie Kaufman form, the film follows a protagonist lost in a fantastical landscape while searching for the genuine meaning of his life.

However, Kaufman is only lending his name to this project as an executive producer; the real genius behind the film is acclaimed stop-motion animator Duke Johnson, who co-directed, along with Kaufman, the 2015 Oscar-nominated, dream-like animated film Anomalisa. And in a lot of ways, The Actor feels like a companion piece—maybe just a spiritual one—as both films feature characters going on an existential odyssey while falling in love with someone just out of reach.

In this upcoming film, which marks Duke Johnson's first live-action and solo directorial effort, André Holland (Moonlight, The Knick) stars as a man who wakes up with no memory of his past or identity, other than that he knows his name is Paul Cole. And he's an actor – or so he figures from quickly gathering the little details about his life.

As he tries desperately to piece his memory back together, Paul finds himself trekking through a dreamlike town reminiscent of old 1950s Hollywood, mixed in with vintage New York City settings. However, when Paul meets a local costume designer named Edna (Gemma Chan, from Crazy Rich Asians), he not only falls madly in love but also suspects that she might have something to do with his recent memory loss, directly or indirectly. Like we said, the love story here feels very much like it’s evoking the same vibe, that same spirit as Anomalisa.

Joining André Holland and Gemma Chan in the cast is an eclectic group of actors, including May Calamawy, Olwen Fouéré, Toby Jones, Simon McBurney, Joe Cole, Tracey Ullman, and Tanya Reynolds.

Director Duke Johnson co-wrote the screenplay with Stephen Cooney, based on the cult hardboiled novel Memory (aka The Actor) by 1960s and '70s crime fiction writer Donald E. Westlake.

Featuring an original music score composed by Arcade Fire musician Richard Reed Parry, The Actor is scheduled to open in select theaters on March 14th, via Neon Films.

Here's the official synopsis:

Based on the novel Memory by Donald E. Westlake, The Actor finds Paul Cole (André Holland) stranded in a mysterious small town with no memory of who he is or how he got here. Without a sense of identity or purpose, he starts from scratch and begins courting a local costume designer Edna (Gemma Chan). As bits and pieces of his past slowly emerge, he attempts to find his way home, but time is slippery, appearances can’t be trusted, and it’s unclear which of his identities is real.