At the first public screening of The Flash, which stars Ezra Miller as DC’s speedster hero, filmmaker Andy Muschietti addressed the chaotic behavior and mental breakdown that hit the actor after filming was completed. Miller has been arrested numerous times for disorderly conduct, assault and a break-in, and engaged in other chaotic, disruptive and unsettling behaviors over the past year and a half.
In August, the actor—who identifies as non-binary and prefers they/them pronouns—released an apology “to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior” and said they were “suffering complex mental health issues.” Since then, the 30-year-old Perks of Being a Wallflower and Justice League actor has remained largely out of sight as the legal issues played out, issuing as a guilty plea to trespassing that ended the break-in charges.
Muschietti, the director of the It movies, spoke out publicly about Miller’s conduct and condition at an early screening of the June 16 movie on the Warner Bros. studio lot. “Ezra is well now. We’re all hoping that they get better,” said Muschietti. (During his remarks, the filmmaker, who is Argentinian and speaks English as a second language, apologized for occasionally using the “he” pronoun for the actor. “It’s not that I don’t want to, I just get mixed up. I spent an entire year with them, and still to this day…” He shrugged. “It’s my fault.”)
“[They’re] taking the steps to recovery, [they’re] dealing with mental health issues, but [they’re] well. We talked to them not too long ago, and [they’re] very committed to get better,” Muschietti said.
The filmmaker’s sister and producing partner, Barbara Muschietti, also weighed in to praise the actor’s work in the film. The Flash stars Miller as two versions of the high-speed hero Barry Allen, brought together by the character’s ability to puncture through time and into parallel universes. Miller appears in some capacity in nearly every scene in the film. “I have to say, during our shoot, during principal photography, their commitment to the role was something like we’ve never seen, and the discipline, the work, the willingness, physical, mental, and just wanting to go beyond the pale,” Barbara said. “It was just amazing.”
“Ezra is an extraordinary actor,” Andy added. “[They] was probably one of my… Not probably, [they’re] one of my best experiences working with an actor—ever. [They’re] brilliant. [Their] contributions are constant, and also, [they] likes to play and do more takes than I do, which is a lot. So, take 24, I’m like, ‘I think we’re done.’ They say, “Can we do one more?’ ‘Yeah, of course.’”
The primary version of The Flash that Ezra Miller plays is the character who was introduced in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and appeared as a supporting character in the two alternate versions of the Justice League film. The character has also turned up for a brief role in the TV version of The Flash that stars Grant Gustin as the hero. (In multiple universe storytelling, these kinds of crossovers happen.)
Anthony Breznican
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