Sadie Sink and Hong Chau are both having a wildly impressive 2022. Sink delivered a show-stopping performance in Stranger Things 4, one I think should have earned her an Emmy nomination, and Chau is hot off the release of The Menu in which she delivers pitch-perfect work as Elsa, Chef Slowik’s (Ralph Fiennes) restaurant captain. Those credits alone would be enough to deem the year a success, but they’re both about to add a major Oscar contender to their 2022 filmographies, Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale.

The movie stars Brendan Fraser as Charlie, an English teacher living with severe obesity. In between teaching virtual classes, Charlie’s visited by a handful of people including Sink’s Ellie and Chau as Liz. Ellie is Charlie’s 17-year-old daughter who’s proving to be quite the handful. Her mother (Samantha Morton) thinks she’s truly evil, but Charlie’s convinced that, deep down, Ellie really is a caring person. As for Liz, she's Charlie’s friend and diligent caretaker who often vacillates between abetting Charlie’s harmful behavior and fighting to improve his situation.

With The Whale arriving in theaters on December 9th, I got the chance to chat with Sink and Chau about their experience making the movie, which included an unusually lengthy three-week rehearsal prior to production. When asked for a part of The Whale filmmaking process she hopes to see on more shoots in the future, Sink immediately pinpointed that rehearsal period:

“For me, it was that rehearsal process, and not just blocking everything out, but also, Darren kind of encouraged us to just sit and watch all the other scenes that were being rehearsed. I think that was a great way to focus us all and just a great bonding experience. So yeah, I would say just the way that the rehearsal process was approached, I want to do that on everything now.”

Chau compared her expectations of such a rehearsal process to the reality of it:

“I went into that rehearsal period thinking that it would be a time for the actors to just talk about their characters for a bit, but we hit the ground running for that rehearsal! We started blocking things almost immediately, so that took some adjustment. It felt restrictive at first, but then within that, we were able to play. It was just like finding out the parameters of your sandbox and then getting to really go buck-wild within that even though it's a very tiny, tiny little sandbox.”

Chau also emphasized the value of getting a sense of what the other characters are going through via that rehearsal process, even if their situations didn’t directly impact her own character’s arc. She explained, “It’s so important for you to know what's going on with the other characters even if you're not necessarily in the scene with them because then everybody knows what movie that they're making.”

The opportunity to observe other actors didn’t end there. The cast also got the chance to watch scenes they weren’t in during production as well. Sink recalled one especially memorable moment of watching Chau work:

“There was one for you where Darren and I just shared a look because our jaws just dropped for this one scene where you're yelling at Brendan. And that was on set. That wasn't in the rehearsal process. I was sitting on an apple box off camera and I was just like, ‘My god.’ Just a powerhouse! That was a key memory for me.”

Chau also had an unforgettable moment highlighting Sink’s craft as well. She recalled:

“I remember even before getting to work with Sadie, I had met with the costume designer, Danny [Glicker], and he was talking about Sadie and he said something that I will remember; ‘her talent is so accessible to her,’ and I was like, ‘That is a perfect way of putting it.’ Once I saw her, I was like, she's incredible. She's amazing.”

Again, The Whale is yet another excellent addition to Sink and Chau’s already stellar filmographies, but given the subject matter, the complexity of their characters’ situations, and the unique filmmaking process, this project is a particularly impressive feat. Given the challenging nature of the production, I asked the pair if there’s a moment in the film that now makes them think, “If I can do that, I can do anything.” Chau opted for a scene that required some collaboration with Aronofsky. She explained:

“There was one scene that I didn't think Darren would use the take that he did and I was so happy that he kept it in the movie because we had a little bit of a conversation afterward where he was like, ‘Hm, I don't think that's the road we want to go down.’ And I don't know what happened, but he kept it in the movie.”

If you’re eager to spot this particular scene in the final film, Chau teased, “It’s the one where Charlie scares me.” Sink also kept it cryptic in an effort to steer clear of spoilers, but offered up some high praise for the experience overall:

“I’m thinking of one in particular that I won't say, but where I just kind of left being like, ‘Man, I should have tried it this way,’ or you just kind of get in your head about it. But I think watching the finished product, everything just clicked, and I don't think I've ever felt as proud of something as I have for this project.”

Looking for more from Sink and Chau on the making of The Whale? We’ve got just that for you in the full conversation in the video at the top of this article!