Oscar Isaac Felt An Intense Responsibility To Make The Promise

The Promise is a new drama from Terry George (Hotel Rwanda), set amid a horrific genocide in the early 20th century, which Turkey still refuses to acknowledge. The film stars Oscar Isaac as an Armenian caught in Constantinople as the Ottoman Empire collapses.

Isaac says there was extra pressure about being on a foreign location. "I do miss home," he says of spending three months in Malta filming The Promise. "It's not like there's an endless well to draw on. Inspiration has to come from somewhere - observing things, reading things, thinking about things. I get a bit nervous if I'm not doing that." To help with this, he always brings his guitar with him (he played in bands before his acting career took off). And he thinks about returning to music if the acting roles dry up.

But for now Isaac will continue mixing smaller projects with higher-profile roles like his hero in the new Star Wars movies or the villain in the last X-Men adventure. "These things go up and down," he smiles. "So there's a sense of, 'Strike while the iron is hot.'"

Watch the trailer for The Promise:

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video.