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Was there anyone else you had in mind to play Adolf?

No.

I guess that’s a tough part to cast, though, isn’t it?

The fact that (Fox Searchlight) preferred that I played the part rather than a celebrity cemented the idea that they were serious about making the film, regardless of who was in it. It wasn’t about box office draws or anything like that.

Roman Griffin Davis is great in this film and his transformation in the movie shows he has fantastic acting chops. How hard was it to find a kid to chart Jojo’s emotional journey?

Roman came in right at the 11th hour. He came out of nowhere, really. I don’t know how we found him. One of his mother’s friends suggested he audition. Before him, we were looking around for five months. There were a couple of different people we were looking at but, for me, there was something about his sensitivity. He’s a very empathetic kid. He was constantly asking if he was emotional enough and if what he was doing was making people feel something. That was a special quality.

How did you set the goalposts for how far into humour you were going to go with this movie?

I don’t think you can approach the subject matter and set the story during the Second World War without addressing (its atrocities) in some way. There are a lot of things you can’t make light of but that’s what makes the film interesting. For me, if you’ve seen any of my films, there’s always a mix of light and dark. Every single one of my films has something pretty dramatic in it. I think highlighting the seriousness of whatever the situation holds is part of the human experience. It’s a mixture of light and dark. Every single day of your life — there’s comedy, you’ve got laughs and there are moments where you’re pissed off or crying. Life isn’t Breaking the Waves.