Ben Mendelsohn admits that only a few years ago he'd all but given up on his dreams of a film career. For a couple decades he'd experienced pockets of success in his home country of Australia but while his contemporaries like Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce broke through it just seemed like it was never going to happen for Mendelsohn. As Mendelsohn tells the story in this episode of "Happy Sad Confused", it all changed with a little crime thriller named "Animal Kingdom". Since then it's been a remarkable run for Ben and he tells Josh all about it here, from starring opposite Ryan Reynolds in "Mississippi Grind" to playing an instantly iconic Star Wars villain in "Rogue One". Mendelsohn geeks out with Josh about their mutual love of his "Darkest Hour" co-star, Gary Oldman, plus he talks about the prospect of playing a villain in "Captain Marvel" and reveals why his dream role is Doctor Doom! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices