Building on our overview of Josh Safdie's 'Marty Supreme,' Odessa A’zion reveals how she secured the role of Rachel Mizler. From a self-tape audition in a Budapest phone booth during 'Until Dawn' to deep character immersion, A’zion shares her journey in the A24 film, now in theaters amid buzz for its intense Safdie style.
Veteran actress Odessa A’zion, with 10 years of experience including roles in her mother Pamela Adlon’s 'Better Things,' 'I Love LA,' 'Am I OK?,' 'Ghosts,' 'Pools,' and 'Until Dawn,' auditioned for 'Marty Supreme' while shooting the latter in Budapest. She recorded multiple self-tapes in an old phone booth, recreating a key phone negotiation scene for her character, Rachel Mizler. “I sent the tape a sh-t-ton of times,” she told Deadline.
Casting director Jennifer Venditti, who recalled A’zion from an 'Euphoria' audition, championed her to Safdie, despite initial concerns about her age. After improv and interview submissions, Safdie and Venditti FaceTimed her with the offer during location scouting. No chemistry read was needed with Chalamet, whose first meetup with A’zion was a casual New York diner meal with Safdie.
To embody Rachel—a blend of 'inner child and chaos and freedom' amid 1950s pressures—A’zion studied Hitchcock films, frizzed her hair for a younger look, created playlists, and used pregnancy weights. The script evolved with a revised ending and cuts, yielding a 2.5-hour runtime. A’zion and Chalamet favored authentic, minimal-rehearsal approaches.
Critics highlight the 'Safdie school' intensity, praising Chalamet’s monomaniacal turn but noting the anxiety-inducing pace (Slate). Chalamet’s bold, character-immersed press tour, including a self-directed Zoom promo inspiring a blimp, has drawn mixed reactions, which he defends as 'in the spirit of Marty.'