“Survival films are like sports films.” I had never made the correlation until speaking with Eiza González, the star of the new sci-fi horror Ash. When you think about it, survival and sports films have much in common. The main character typically faces adversity and pushes their body to the limit. That could be something as dangerous as surviving on a desert island. It could also mean facing off against a bigger and stronger opponent on the football field. Either way, survivors and athletes must find it within themselves to dig deep and pull through.
In Flying Lotus’ Ash, González plays Riya, an astronaut who wakes up and discovers her entire crew has been slaughtered. Riya doesn’t remember her name until another crew member named Brion (Aaron Paul) arrives at the station. Why does Riya have no recollection of what happened? Does Brion know, or is he choosing to withhold information? Either way, these two must get off the planet before this mysterious someone — or something — comes back for more carnage.
In an interview with Digital Trends, González and Paul discuss the physicality required for their roles and how music played a factor in shaping scenes on Ash.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Digital Trends: I want to start with this line that Flying Lotus said Guillermo del Toro told him. “Don’t direct the movies that you need to make; direct the moves that need you to make them.” And I thought that was just so powerful, not even just for directing. You can apply it to a lot of things. I want to do that with your careers. Can you pinpoint a time when you saw a part and took it because you believed that the project needed you to do it?
Eiza González: I wish I had that confidence.
Aaron Paul: [Laughs]
González: I don’t have that confidence at all. I’m like, “Please. Please. Please pick me.
Paul: Yeah, I feel that. At the beginning of my career, you’re just struggling to get a job. Right?
González: Totally.
Paul: Now, Eiza and I are fortunate enough to be working and to be able to pay our bills. Jobs are coming in. It’s still a grind, but we have choices now at least. I mean, my main focus is that I have two babies and my wife. So I tend to say no and just kind of hang with my family. [Laughs] You know what I mean? The kiddos are so little, and it’s hard for me to pull myself away.
González: He’s the most dedicated father you’ll meet. He really is. I don’t say this lightly because I know a lot of good fathers, but he really is like, I would say, number one.
Paul: Oh, I love you.
González: He prioritizes his family. He’s not going to say it, so I’m going to say it. I think this movie needed Aaron. I really do. I don’t think I would’ve been able to personally achieve half of the things that I achieved in the movie without Aaron. It’s a combination of his talent, but it’s also a combination of his personality, his kindness, and his soul. We talk about talent, but we don’t talk about how crucial the quality of a human being comes into play when you’re on these sets.
Being a good person, thoughtful and caring of others, self-aware. All these things make a ginormous difference, especially for women as well. I think that we need to feel really safe on a lot of these sets, and having a male partner like him who is just a dream — I can’t find a better word than dream — makes a difference. It really allowed me to be a better actress and to be able to access places that if I didn’t feel safe, I wouldn’t have been. So I think this movie needed an Aaron 100% without a doubt. And that’s why this movie ended up being his.
Paul: Oh, please. I love you so much.
González: I really do. I really genuinely believe that. Love you.
Digital Trends: Well, I will put you in my top three fathers, Aaron. I’m going to trust you.
Paul: [Laughs]
González: Yeah, he deserves it.
Paul: Oh, thank you.
Digital Trends: Eiza, this is a very physical performance, and I’m not just saying that in fight scenes. You have to convey so much emotion. You’re literally wearing your heart on your sleeve, especially in that final scene when you’re flying off the planet with tears in your eyes. It’s this relieved moment of “I survived, and I made it.” I was wondering how a role like that, where you know physicality is such an important aspect, informs your decision-making as an actor, and does it get you closer to the character?
González: That’s what I look for in characters. That’s what I crave deeply. I think that being able to break the predisposed or preempted thoughts or ideas of what I’m capable of doing is really important. And not for other people, but for myself. I’ve been craving a role that mixed all the things that I was yearning to go into. I think what really helps in projects like this is actually filming chronologically. It wasn’t necessarily constantly chronological, but we weren’t skipping to the end of the movie. There was a certain order.
You’re exhausted — I’m not gonna lie — when you’re in a movie that you are in every shot of every minute of the film. I’m in it for every second of the movie. You work thousands of hours a day. You go to bed. You wake up. You do it. You go to bed. I never saw sunlight. There was an exhaustion that I started carrying with me. A very interesting moment in my life was when Riya just became the vessel. Everything happening in the end — this anger, this rage, this fire in her, and this excitement in her — the line is so close.
I actually think about this movie, funny enough, like a sports film. Survival films are sports films. They’re just people yearning to get to the other side. That creates a lot of the beating heart throughout the film. I try to keep that in my mindset as I was going because you have to have endurance. Endurance is part of the process of a film like this, and you have to maintain it because if not, the movie falls flat. You really have to push through physically and mentally.
Digital Trends: I never even thought about it as a sports film. It’s such a good analogy for it.
González: Yeah, it’s a sport.
Paul: It’s a lot.
Digital Trends: With Flying Lotus’ background, you said he would play music to set the tone of a scene. I want to go pre-this movie and post-this movie. As an actor, did you like to listen to certain music when developing a character to help you make choices? Then, post-this movie, how will you now use music?
Paul: Sometimes, I used to have headphones in and listen to certain types of music just to get me in a headspace. That used to be part of my process. I hadn’t done it in years, but then he [Flying Lotus] started to do it. First of all, when you walk onto the set, the lighting is always like that in the hues. It’s such a visual spectacle, and it really puts you there in that mood. Then, he [Flying Lotus] would just play this perfect music in between setups that just put you there. It was the heartbeat of that particular part of the script.
González: Yeah. Some of the music is some of my favorite parts of the film.
Paul: His whole vibe is just so incredible. I love the guy. He put his heart and soul into this thing. He’s been working on it since 2020. I’m proud to be a part of it.
Ash is in theaters on March 21, 2025.
