Alessandro Nivola on “Kraven the Hunter’s” ‘silent scream’ meme moment

by Annika January 2, 2025

In December, actor Alessandro Nivola made a strong impact on the big screen with three films: “The Brutalist,” “Kraven the Hunter,” and “The Room Next Door.” In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Nivola discusses his role in “The Brutalist” and the complex relationship between his character Attila and Adrien Brody’s character, László. He also shares insights into the production process and his experience working with director Brady Corbet. Additionally, Nivola reflects on his role in “Kraven the Hunter” and the challenges that come with making a superhero film. Finally, he talks about his cameo in Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Room Next Door” and his son Sam Nivola’s burgeoning acting career.

Alessandro Nivola on “Kraven the Hunter’s” ‘silent scream’ meme moment

– Alessandro Nivola made three memorable impressions on the big screen in two weeks.
– In “The Brutalist,” Nivola plays a character who feels overshadowed by his cousin’s talent and struggles with the weight of his cousin’s Holocaust survival.
– Nivola’s role as Rhino in “Kraven the Hunter” was well-received but faced challenges behind the scenes.

In the span of two December weeks, Alessandro Nivola made three memorable impressions on the big screen. Beginning with Brady Corbet’s Oscar-contending The Brutalist, Nivola signed on to play Attila Miller just days into 2020’s pandemic. At the time, production was still expected to begin three weeks later, but as we can all attest, those best-laid plans quickly turned into three years. Thus, Nivola became one of only a few holdovers from Corbet’s 2020 cast, as Adrien Brody then took over the lead role of Attila’s cousin, László Toth. The latter is a celebrated Hungarian-Jewish architect who, having narrowly survived the Holocaust, emigrates to the States where Attila provides him with a bed and a job on behalf of his modest Philadelphia-based furniture store.

While there’s a great deal of love between the two cousins, Nivola is now shedding light on some of the unspoken elements that inform their eventual conflict. For starters, Attila has always lived in the shadow of László’s talent, resulting in a permanent chip on his shoulder. “Attila has this need to impress László from the minute he arrives in America. He needs to prove to László that he’s somehow made it in America and that he’s figured out the system and that he’s made it work for himself. But it’s total bullshit,” Nivola tells The Hollywood Reporter. “László sees right through it, and that’s infuriating to Attila. On top of all of that, the biggest factor that looms over their relationship is that Attila had escaped the Holocaust camps. So Attila longs to provide some kind of safe harbor for [his Holocaust-surviving cousin], but there’s almost a humiliation at the fact that he did not have to endure it himself.”

The Brutalist is often regarded as 2024’s Oppenheimer, as they’re both decades-spanning historical dramas that offer grand cinematic presentations in VistaVision and IMAX, respectively. Additionally, the two stories center on a genius whose life’s work causes them great pain, but the biggest difference between the two is that Corbet produced his independent film for a staggeringly low million. (That said, Oppenheimer’s 0 million budget was a paltry sum when compared to other recent period epics.) Nivola chalks up Corbet’s economical filmmaking to a carefully planned shot list and minimal locations. “With indie movies, you either have a director who is panicked because they don’t have enough time to get the coverage they need for each scene, or you have someone like Brady. He planned his shot selection to capture each scene with less coverage,” Nivola shares. “So I guess money goes a little further in Budapest, but the keys were shot selection and deceptively few locations.”

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Nivola’s big swings as Aleksei Sytsevich/Rhino in J.C. Chandor’s Kraven the Hunter are, per consensus, the few highlights of the poorly received film. On paper, Sony’s latest (and final?) Spider-Man universe film had all the right ingredients: a respected filmmaker, a great cast with two Oscar winners and the resources to shoot mostly on location. However, even with all the proper pieces in place, every film is a roll of the dice, and every good film is widely considered to be a miracle. “I really don’t know what happened behind the scenes. On these kinds of movies, you hear about all the wranglings at the studio, and maybe there were too many chefs. I don’t know,” Nivola says. “I don’t know enough about what the process was beyond just my experience of being on set, which was really joyful. So I didn’t have any sense of there being problems behind the scenes. But a lot of that probably starts to play out in the edit with all the different opinions about it, so I really couldn’t tell you.”

During post-production, the veteran actor did follow up with Chandor on the preservation of a now fan-favorite choice he made when Rhino receives bad news. He proceeded to react with an unforgettable bird-like cry, and said moment is bound to become a beloved Internet meme when the film eventually hits digital. The bold decision aligns with Nivola’s career of being unafraid to take risks, something Pollux Troy’s pinkie wave proved in John Woo’s Face/Off. But much to Nivola’s surprise, this particular performance beat was slightly modified in post. “The way I performed it was totally silent. It was a silent scream. When I did it, everybody laughed on set. It was so weird, but they all loved it. We kept referring to it as the ‘silent scream moment,’” Nivola reveals. “So I kept asking J.C. [Chandor] during the edit if the silent scream was still in the cut, and he said, ‘Yeah, of course. We would never lose the silent scream.’ But when I saw the movie, it had that guttural voice catch, which I don’t think was as effective as it would’ve been otherwise.”

Nivola’s upcoming projects include Downton Abbey 3 with Paul Giamatti. He will also continue to watch his son, Sam Nivola, rise in his own acting career. Sam has been landing high-profile roles and has already worked with notable directors like Bradley Cooper and Mike White. Overall, Nivola’s recent performances showcase his range as an actor, from playing a complex character in The Brutalist to bringing life to the superhero villain Rhino in Kraven the Hunter. His ability to take risks and deliver memorable performances is what sets him apart in the industry.