news Jesse Eisenberg Teases Wordless Sasquatch Role for Zellner Bros. Comedy: ‘I Grunt, but No Lines’

Jesse Eisenberg won’t be using a social network for his next role.

The “Social Network” alum revealed that he will be playing Sasquatch in an upcoming project helmed by directing duo David and Nathan Zellner. Eisenberg previously starred opposite David Zellner in Riley Stearns’ “The Art of Self-Defense,” which was produced by Nathan Zellner.

“The next movie I’m doing is the Zellner Brothers’,” Eisenberg confirmed to Variety. “They’re just these brilliant directors that I’ve wanted to work with for a long time, and I’m playing a Sasquatch.”

He added, “In full makeup. In full body hair. No lines — I grunt, but no lines — and I’m so looking forward to this.”

The Zellner Brothers have long been fascinated with Bigfoot, releasing Sundance award-winning short film “Sasquatch Birth Journal 2” in 2010. Eisenberg also recently made his feature directorial debut with the drama “When You Finish Saving the World” starring “Stranger Things” breakout Finn Wolfhard and Julianne Moore. Emma Stone produced the film, which additionally premiered at 2022 Sundance.

While the yet-untitled Sasquatch project remains under wraps, the Zellner Brothers are helming the upcoming sci-fi film “Alpha Gang” about extraterrestrials who develop human emotions after landing on Earth and suddenly second-guess their plans to destroy the planet. Nicholas Hoult, Jon Hamm, Sofia Boutella, Steven Yeun, Mackenzie Davis, and Charlotte Gainsbourg are set to star.

Eisenberg also has a lot on his acting plate, leading the series “Fleishman Is in Trouble” opposite Lizzy Caplan, plus starring in John Trengove’s “Manodrome” and historical drama “The Medusa,” directed by Peter Webber and co-starring Pierce Brosnan.

The “Zombieland” actor previously told IndieWire’s Eric Kohn as part of the IndieWire Studio that directing has “kind of taken a bit of anxiety off” acting.

“I see the process from the outside, so it’s less daunting,” Eisenberg revealed. “Normally as an actor on set I’m a ball of anxiety, and partly that has to do with the fact that I shelter myself so much. I don’t watch dailies, I don’t watch the movie, I don’t ask anybody how I’m doing because I’m panicked that I’m not doing well. And having directed a movie, just kind of relieving myself and puncturing the mystique of the whole process of it and the artifice of it allows me to think about it in more practical terms. So maybe I wish I would have done that sooner.”
 
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