Dane DeHaan suffered mentally while shooting 'A Cure for Wellness'

Dane DeHann in a scene from “A Cure for Wellness.” / Courtesy of 20th Century Fox

By Kim Jae-heun

Dane DeHaan, the leading actor of the upcoming American psychological thriller “A Cure for Wellness” said he suffered both mentally and physically while portraying the young executive in the film.

DeHaan plays the role of the ruthless executive Lockhart of Wall Street, who goes on a trip to retrieve his company’s CEO from an odd, secluded wellness center located in the middle of the Swiss Alps. Upon his arrival, Lockhart feels a bizarre atmosphere in the place where he suddenly gets sick and is taken to receive special treatment.

“It was a physically and psychologically demanding shoot for me, definitely,” said DeHaan during the live broadcast press conference at CGV Yeouido, last Wednesday. “Specifically, the most physically demanding scene was the scene in the isolation tank. That sequence took two weeks to shoot. I was strapped in wearing several different metal cables that were attached to the side of the tank, that kept my body horizontal. I was breathing through an oxygen tube but my nose wasn’t covered and my eyes weren’t covered. It was two weeks of that. I was really exhausted and crazy and at times it was a little dangerous too.”

The dentist scene was another painful experience for the actor where he confessed he suffered the biggest mental stress. He did not have to actually have his tooth pulled out, obviously, but it was a psychologically demanding scene despite the short shooting time.

DeHaan said almost every scene in the movie required his best acting skills as the director Gore Verbinski asked him to keep the audience in the scene, not losing the grip of the story for even an instant.

“I first appear as a character giving a favorable impression, which is followed by sudden shocking scenes. There are two that I thought, ‘what is this?’”

“Some scenes don’t connect with each other and the corridor scene took three months to shoot as there was some impression Verbinski wanted to convey to the audience,” added DeHaan.

The director said he attempted to shoot the scenes from certain angles that give a sense of irrationality and set the frames to foretell the sickness in the story.

Verbinski, who directed the first three “Pirates of the Caribbean” series and the Hollywood remake of the Japanese horror movie “The Ring” (2002), now hopes to depict how modern people suffer psychological oppression and pain in pursuit of perfection and success with this new movie.

“I think modern society is not healthy and has changed irrationally. I wanted to show how this prevails in our lives today and sometimes the treatment can be more horrific than the illness itself,” said Verbinski.

DeHaan agreed with Verbinski that his character Lockhart is an ill person who was previously a workaholic who hopes to become a rich and powerful man by stepping over competitors.

“The movie is fun and scary and is based on a unique idea. Korean audiences will watch the unexpected development of the story, which will last for a long time after you have watched the film,” said DeHaan.

“A Cure for Wellness” will hit theaters on Feb. 16.