Lynne Ramsay cast Ezra Miller in We Need to Talk About Kevin because of his ‘intimidating intelligence'. The Scottish director is the mastermind behind the upcoming thriller, also starring Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly. The film is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Lionel Shriver. Tilda plays a mother who recounts the events leading up to and following her son's massacre of students and teachers at his high school. Lynne knew instantly that Ezra was the perfect actor to play the disturbing and complex role of Kevin. ‘I worked with the wonderful casting director Billy Hopkins. I was quite interested in finding a non-professional actor as well. I was looking at both. Ezra walked in the room and I was like, ‘This is Kevin.' I needed a very intelligent kid. He just got it, the way he moves,' she said in an interview with British newspaper The Guardian. ‘[He had] confidence. There was a sexuality. He took up a lot of space in the room. There was that intelligence that was intimidating. I remember myself going slightly back in my chair. And also just the physicality. He'd obviously thought about Kevin and the way he moved.' Ezra was able to relate to the character on a deep level. The American actor picked up on Kevin's more ‘rational' characteristics and played to those strengths.
