When Cuckoo was first announced in August 2021, John Malkovich signed on to play Herr König, the resort’s mysterious owner. Timing issues forced Malkovich to drop out, leaving writer-director Tilman Singer without an antagonist. Enter Dan Stevens.
Cuckoo Interview: Dan Stevens, Hunter Schafer and Jessica Henwick on the horror thriller!
During their first conversation, Stevens surprised Singer with his German, the language the König spoke.
"When I first spoke to Dan, he introduced himself and said hello in perfect German, and I almost fell out of my chair," Singer told The Hollywood Reporter. "I apologized right away because I'm afraid to dig too deep. I knew how good he is, so I was already convinced of his acting. But then it was really about getting to know him and seeing if we speak the same language. And we did!"
Despite Stevens's language skills, Singer still couldn't overcome the age difference. Singer wrote König for an actor in his 60s. Stevens is only 41. Stevens explained, however, that König only had to act like an old man, not be one year old. Singer eventually saw the light.
