Actor Oscar Isaac has starred in many franchise roles. After playing the pilot Poe Dameron in “Star Wars” and the titular Moon Knight on the Disney+ Marvel series, he starred in Guillermo del Toro’s 2025 “Frankenstein,” which was a huge hit for Netflix. Isaac appeared on the streamer again in the second season of “Beef,” along with Carey Mulligan, Charles Melton, and Cailee Spaeny. Isaac recently revealed that he was only convinced to join the show after watching a pivotal scene from the show’s first season.
Oscar Isaac Reveals Why He Joined The Netflix Anthology ‘Beef’
Following the success of season 1 of “Beef,” the Netflix anthology series created by Lee Sung Jin continued with a whole new cast of characters. When asked by Entertainment Weekly what made him sign up for the show, Isaac revealed that there was a pivotal scene from the show’s first season that stood out to him.
“I remember I was really intrigued by the first couple of episodes,” Isaac recalled. “But it was episode 3, when [Steven Yeun’s] character goes to the church, and the singing starts happening, and he starts sobbing. It was both so moving and so hilarious at the same time.”
In episode 3, titled “I Am Inhabited by a Cry,” Yeun’s character, Danny Cho, breaks down crying during a Korean evangelical church service. But, in the previous scene, he almost set Amy’s car on fire until he noticed that her daughter was sitting inside. The feud between Danny and Amy, played by Ali Wong, takes dark, and sometimes comedic, twists throughout the show’s first season.
Isaac Praises ‘Beef’ For ‘Embracing The Cringe’
Isaac went on to praise Jin’s ability to craft a “razor-thin tone that I thought was really fascinating — between embracing the cringe of the moment, but also the compassion for that character and the situation. That was it.”
Isaac said that he had “these very long sessions” with the showrunner to explore the themes of the show. “Sunny and I, it felt like a men’s group of two, like a therapy session. We would talk about all sorts of subjects that kind of related, even sometimes very loosely, to the script,” he recalled. “That felt like, ‘Oh, this is a real investigation of something. This is not just showing up to deliver some idea.’ That became really exciting.”
In season 2, Isaac plays a country club manager named Joshua Martin. He and his wife, played by Carey Mulligan, get caught in a sticky situation when a younger couple, played by Charles Melton and Cailee Spaeny, witness them having an intense fight.
Oscar Isaac Stars In Julian Schnabel’s Historical Epic
This isn’t the only Netflix project that Isaac is involved in. His film “In The Hand of Dante” made a splash at last year’s Venice Film Festival. The movie boasts an A-list cast that includes Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler, John Malkovich, Martin Scorsese, Al Pacino, and Jason Momoa.
Isaac plays two roles: an author named Nick Tosches in the 21st century and Dante Alighieri in the 14th century. Netflix has scheduled the film for a theatrical release on June 12, followed by a streaming release on June 24.
What’s Next For Oscar Isaac: Inside ‘The Roman’
According to Deadline, Isaac and his production company are working on developing a creative partnership with the streamer that will give them first-look rights to any film or series projects. One of those projects is a Vegas series from Brian Koppelman and David Levien.
The eight-episode casino drama puts Isaac into the role of Robert “Bobby Red” Redman. He’s president of the hottest hotel casino in town, but he’s going to try to make some long odds moves to try to secure his position and take even more ground.
According to Variety, the series is called “The Roman” and will also star Betty Gilpin, Alec Baldwin, and David Costabile. Gilpin will star as Marla Blake, who is described as “Bobby’s formidable wife and a brilliant, highly connected lawyer.”
Baldwin will play Paul “Primo” Clark, said to be “A legendary and flint-eyed business technician, Primo is the longtime chairman of the organization and a surrogate father figure to Bobby.” Baldwin previously played a casino boss in the critically-acclaimed film “The Cooler.”
At this time, “The Roman” does not have a release date.