Rogue Lion In Survival Thriller Beast Was Inspired By Brad Pitt's Performance In Snatch, Says Director

Brad Pitt was a big inspiration for Beast director Baltasar Kormakur.

Speaking to Collider, Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur said Pitt's performance in Guy Richie's 2000 gangster movie Snatch as Gypsy boxer 'One Punch' Mickey O' Neill was a huge influence on his survival thriller Beast, which focuses on a father (Idris Elba) and his two daughters (Leah Jeffries and Iyana Halley) being hunted by a rogue lion.

Kormakur said: "Lions are not born on this earth to attack people, you know? But I think the situation is very clearly stated in the film, but at the same time, you have to have a worthy opponent.

"For example, Brad Pitt in Snatch was a little bit the idea for the lion. Lean, mean, fast, and unpredictable. And so you have to look at it not only as a chunk of meat or an animal, you have to look at it as a real character and we put a lot of work into creating a character and finding references of lions that we liked and felt would present this lion in a different way."

Elsewhere, Kormakur, whose previous movie was another survival thriller, 2015's Everest, explained how he tried to set his Beast apart from similar projects of yesteryear.

"I wanted to try to set this film apart from other films of this genre and try to bring something different to the table," he said. "Because obviously, Jurassic Park — a way bigger budget and bigger creatures — and so by getting you stuck in a shot, [we] up the emotional claustrophobia of being stuck, being one of the characters in this situation."

Beast (NC16) is now in cinemas.— BANG SHOWBIZ

Photos: TPG News/Click Photos