Andrea Arnold’s coming-of-age drama Bird, available to watch in theaters now, follows a young girl living with her father and half-brother in northern Kent.

The movie, which stars Franz Rogowski and Barry Keoghan, was not sold to its actors on a script, but instead a concept. To convey the film, Arnold sent Rogowski an album and a few images, and told him some stories, he told ABC Audio.

He remembers listening to the music Arnold sent him as he drove through the U.K.

“I had these songs, and I was driving my van and the sun was rising,” Rogowski said. “Her invitation was so physical. The way she introduced her world and the character to me was not based on a story or on drama or, you know, the big five emotions that humans go through on a daily basis … her invitation was only based on images and music and her childhood memories. And that was very interesting.”

Keoghan said he respects Arnold for her bravery in making a film like Bird.

“I think she makes movies really close to the heart and this one especially,” Keoghan said. “She’s a genius. And I’m glad that I got to be part of this because I just got to find a lot, selfishly, about myself as well during it and during the journey of it. And there was no better person to be there with me doing it … Andrea, she basically took my hand and, you know, guided me through it.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.