To celebrate both the cinema and upcoming home entertainment release of West Side Story, we had the pleasure of chatting with star Mike Faist about bringing Steven Spielberg’s long-mooted passion project to life.
Directed by Academy Award® winner Steven Spielberg, from a screenplay by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award® winner Tony Kushner, “West Side Story” tells the classic tale of fierce rivalries and young love in 1957 New York City. This reimagining of the beloved musical stars Ansel Elgort (Tony); Rachel Zegler (María); Ariana DeBose (Anita); David Alvarez (Bernardo); Mike Faist (Riff); Josh Andrés Rivera (Chino); Ana Isabelle (Rosalía); Corey Stoll (Lieutenant Schrank); Brian d’Arcy James (Officer Krupke); and Rita Moreno (as Valentina, who owns the corner store in which Tony works).
Faist, who made his name playing Connor Murphy in the stage version of Dear Evan Hansen, portrays legendary Jets leader Riff in the new film, and during our extended chat, he tells us about the process of auditioning for the film and meeting Spielberg for the first time, the family dynamics between all the cast whilst living together during filming, his favourite moments to perform in the film and much more.
You can watch the extended chat with Faist here:
West Side Story is in cinemas now and arrives on home entertainment platforms later in 2022.
