Hong Chau recalled studying the script for “The Whale,” and initially disliking it, however discovered that she was unable to cease eager about it. She lastly agreed to mail in an audition tape. This was round December of 2020, solely a month after he first daughter was born. As new dad and mom can attest, taking care of a new child robs dad and mom of sleep, and Chau was feeling utterly exhausted when she dedicated her scene to reminiscence. She defined:

“They’d requested for 3 scenes, however my child was not an excellent sleeper, and I used to be simply actually drained. […] Simply the act of committing that monologue to reminiscence and determining every part that wanted to be achieved simply took a lot power.”

Maybe it was her lack of power that appealed to Darren Aronofsky. Or maybe Chau is such a naturally gifted performer her fatigue wasn’t a problem. Regardless, Aronofsky noticed what she had dedicated to movie and was astonished at how properly it seemed. Notably, he liked that Chau bothered to dam the scene. He recalled:

“It was outstanding as a result of not solely was she nice, however she really used the digicam to dam the scene. And we’re speaking a couple of digicam on a tripod, so the digicam was nonetheless, however the way in which she moved out and in was precisely what the textual content urged. […] I used to be like, ‘Oh, not solely is she an actor, however she’s clearly a director as properly, as a result of she’s eager about how you can work with the digicam.’ In order that was actually spectacular.”

As of this writing, Chau has not directed any shorts or options.