David Henrie, a well-known actor, director, and writer, recently opened up about his “fear” of selecting Mel Gibson in his adventure-fantasy movie Monster Summer.
Henrie, who is making his directorial debut in Monster Summer, told US Weekly that he “was afraid to work with Mel. How do you direct an Oscar-winning director?”
“I have heard horror stories about friends of mine working with big celebrities — not Mel, other big celebrities — and having really tough times not being able to direct that very large, well-known celebrity because they’ve done it, they know what they’re doing and they’re not going to take directions from a kid. … So I was very much afraid that that [working with Mel] was going to be that,” he added, shedding light on his concerns.
The 35-year-old actor-turned-director further articulated that his movie “needed a really good actor who could go from this pessimistic third act in his own life, lacking hope, meeting a boy, renewing hope and going on this huge arc.”
Moving forward, taking into account Mel’s greatness, Henrie said, “He has the biggest arc in the whole film. And I knew I needed a really good actor to be able to pull that off. And Mel [is] one of the best. I couldn’t think of anyone better, and he was great. He was such a partner.”
The Regan actor also sang praises of Mel as he “really cared” about what Henrie was occupied with and shared that now he (Henrie) “really can’t wait for people to see how he did.”
Other than Mel, Patrick Renna, a renowned face from the 90’s, will also be seen in the movie.
It is pertinent to mention that Mel played the role of a retired detective, Gene, who teams up with Noah (Mason Thames) and his pals to save their land from mysterious forces. The movie is releasing on October 4, 2024.