The pairing of Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore is a cinematic dream. During the New York Film Festival premiere of The Room Next Door on October 4, Swinton, 63, expressed her long-standing aspiration to collaborate with Moore, who is also 63.
In a discussion following the screening, Swinton recounted how writer-director Pedro Almodóvar had emailed her the script for the film, which depicts the journey of two close friends as one approaches the end of her life. He asked her whom she envisioned casting alongside her.
Swinton reflected, “There was one face, one name,” referring specifically to Moore. She admitted feeling anxious, thinking, “What if he has another name or a list of names?” Nevertheless, she bravely typed Moore’s name and hit send just as Almodóvar’s email arrived in her inbox.
Pedro Almodóvar describes casting Moore alongside Swinton as “the best idea” during the film’s New York Film Festival debut
Commenting on their interaction, Almodóvar, who attended the premiere with Moore and John Turturro, remarked, “It was the best idea.” Swinton emphasized, “It was unimaginable. It could not have been anybody else,” affirming the perfect choice of casting.
She drew a parallel between the film’s narrative and her personal relationship with Moore, highlighting that it tells a “beautiful” story of “friends from a long time ago who haven’t seen each other for a couple of decades but are exactly the same age.”
Reflecting on their limited encounters, Swinton noted, “Julianne and I are pretty much the same age, but we’ve only met a couple of times, very much in passing in the corridors of film festivals.” She mentioned having a “good hunch” that they would enjoy each other’s company.
Although she had fantasized about working together, Swinton confessed, “How could we imagine this?” She described their reunion as a chance to “make up for lost time,” with Almodóvar commenting on their lively conversations, noting, “We never stop talking, it’s true.”
Their genuine connection enriched their performances in the film. Swinton elaborated, “We’ve lived long enough to know the value of old friendship and also to have that experience of having an old friend who you don’t see for a couple of decades. The value of that is so intense because your bond is about the good stuff, not the in-between bits. It’s about the real seedbed of your life.”
The film, marking Almodóvar’s first feature-length English-language project, tells the story of Ingrid (Moore) and Martha (Swinton) reconnecting later in life after being close friends during their youth while working at the same magazine.
According to the official synopsis, “Ingrid went on to become an autofiction novelist while Martha became a war reporter, and they were separated by the circumstances of life. After years of being out of touch, they meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet situation.”
Last month, the drama garnered one of the festival’s longest standing ovations at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, lasting an impressive 17 minutes following its world premiere.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE back in February, Swinton expressed her excitement about working alongside Moore. “We’ve actually met a couple of times over the years. And we’ve always wanted to hang out more and more.
The best way to hang out with someone you like is to work with them. Now we’re together and we’re loving it,” she shared. “We’re in Madrid, and we’ve been there for two months, and we’re going to be there until the summer, and we’re really happy to be together,” Swinton concluded.
