Martin McDonagh says he was terrified of John Malkovich on Wild Horse Nine set

Filmmaker Martin McDonagh said he was terrified of John Malkovich on the set of “Wild Horse Nine,” his new dark comedy about two CIA officers on a trip to Easter Island. McDonagh, who wrote and directed the film, said fear of the actor was part of what drew him to casting him in the lead role.

Malkovich and Sam Rockwell play CIA officers who have laid the groundwork for the 1973 coup in Chile and are now traveling to see the Moai stone sculptures. Malkovich’s character, Chris, is dying of cancer and increasingly loose-lipped about his CIA past, including a presidential assassination.

“He can be ultra dangerous and you feel scared of him more than most. Maybe Joe Pesci. I was scared the first time I had a Zoom with him,” McDonagh said. “But also his dexterity with comedy. But mostly knowing that in the silent moments you’d see acres of sorrow and regret when he’s seemingly not doing anything , when he’s just looking out of a window or listening to a Dictaphone or smoking a cigarette.”

McDonagh said he had twice before, for “Seven Psychopaths” and his play “A Behanding in Spokane,” tried to work with Malkovich.

The film, which has played to standing ovations across the Venice, Telluride and Toronto film festivals, is also being positioned as a commentary on contemporary American politics. McDonagh said even while editing, the film felt increasingly like a commentary on the modern day.

“It wasn’t the direct purpose of it, but I kind of liked that it felt that way,” McDonagh said. “The tragic thing is: history keeps repeating itself, and more and more stupidly and less and less secretively. They kept their horrible stuff secret back then. It’s like they don’t care what people think about it anymore. I think that’s a darker place we’re in now. Shame doesn’t come into it.”

McDonagh, the British-Irish writer-director of “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “In Bruges” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” said he traveled to Easter Island 15 years ago with the hope that it would spark a story the way a weekend trip to Bruges had.

“It looked like a beautiful backdrop to some kind of story to tell but it took a bunch of iterations of it before it became what you saw,” he said.

McDonagh said the film’s setting on Easter Island was meant to evoke a broader cinematic scope.

“I feel like finding the place is going to be key to my next project, which I don’t have right now. Part of that is: Where do you want to spend six months of your life? South of France sounds good! And where is cinematic that hasn’t been captured before?” he said.

He said Rockwell’s performance is also among the actor’s best, even if it is less flashy than Malkovich’s.

“It’s not as showy as some of the previous things I’ve done with Sam or some of Sam’s other brilliant work. But there aren’t many who could convey the love that’s there without bawling his eyes out. You feel like it’s an equal two-hander at the same time as John’s character will always be the lead,” McDonagh said.

Searchlight Pictures releases the film Nov. 6.