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It’s a good time to be Todd Field, the Portland-raised director behind TÁR, his masterful, epic saga of composing and cancellation starring Cate Blanchett.
With each day, the film’s award prospects increase, and Field (who, among his many achievements, is a former Portland Mavericks bat boy) may well face none other than Steven Spielberg (who is releasing his autobiographical saga The Fabelmans, starring Michelle Williams and Paul Dano, this month) at the Academy Awards.
However, Field recently opened up about a lesser-known phase of his career: his time as an actor. While hardly a household name, he boasts 41 acting credits on IMDb, including his role as Nick Nightingale in Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, which starred Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
In a recent interview with Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast, Field recounted his collaboration with Cruise.
“He’s basically pushing me onto the fighter jet,” Field said. “I said, ‘Oh yeah, I went to film school.’ And he said, ‘No, no…you’re going to direct.’ What are you going to do?”
Ironically, Field and Cruise could soon have competing movies at the Oscars. Gold Derby, a website that predicts Oscar nominations, recently ranked the Cruise-starring Top Gun: Maverick seventh on its list of potential Best Picture contenders, just behind TÁR.
TÁR is now playing at Cinema 21, Living Room, Laurelhurst, Fox Tower, Studio One and other Portland-area theaters.