Albert Brooks Once Pranked Oscar Isaac by Screwing With His ‘Star Wars’ Offer

The day Oscar Isaac learned J.J. Abrams wanted to meet him in Paris about a secretive role in his upcoming blockbuster, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the actor was hard at work filming “A Most Violent Year.” Directed by J.C. Chandor, the crime drama cast Isaac opposite Jessica Chastain and Albert Brooks. When Brooks found out about the pending offer, the industry veteran decided to pull Isaac’s leg with a phone prank.

“I actually still have the voice message saved,” Isaac recently told GQ. “I remember in between shooting I got a message from an unknown caller, and it was a voice. It was like, ‘Hey Oscar, it’s J.J. Ya know, you don’t have to come all the way out to Paris. What’re you gonna do, play a droid? You don’t need to be doing that…actually, this is Albert Brooks.'”

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Even with the footer, the prank actually worked for a quick moment. “He really had me going for a second there, and I’m very happy that I still have that voice message,” the actor said. “But yes, then I ended up going out to Paris and I met with [J.J.] and Kathy Kennedy and Lawrence Kasdan.”

Abrams offered Isaac the role of Resistance fighter Poe Dameron, but the actor said he was reluctant at first because originally, Dameron was only set to appear in the opening sequence of “The Force Awakens,” to set up the greater narrative. Isaac told Abrams he would think on it, as he was getting tired of playing supporting roles. Abrams ultimately decided to expand Dameron’s role in the film before Isaac made his final decision, which convinced the actor that joining the new “Star Wars” trilogy was a no-brainer.

Prior to “A Most Violent Year,” Brooks and Isaac first appeared together in Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive.” Isaac has played Dameron in two “Star Wars” films, “The Force Awakens” and “The Last Jedi,” and he’ll reprise the character one final time in “Star Wars: Episode IX,” once again directed by J.J. Abrams. Disney will release the new “Star Wars” film in theaters December 20, 2019.