"It's like being a boxer when you get in with the actor. You have to have respect," says Lester. "Now, if you get in the ring with Arnold Schwarzenegger and you're like, oh, you're Arnold Schwarzenegger. Well, that's never going to work, is it? If you get in the ring and you're like, you're Arnold Schwarzenegger, I'm going to make you the best possible actor you can be and do the best possible performance. Then you have respect, you know, which is the most important thing between the actor and the director."

Elliott Lester is a director and producer with a career spanning over two decades. He is best known for directing the thriller BLITZ, the critically acclaimed HBO film NIGHTINGALE, starring David Oyelowo, and the film Aftermath, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

His next project, THE THICKET starring Peter Dinklage, follows "a boy who, after his sister is kidnapped by a violent killer known only as Cut Throat Bill, enlists a fierce bounty hunter named Reginald Jones who becomes the leader of the group of outcasts searching for the stolen girl."

In this interview, we talk about his early career and transition from music videos to feature films, his experiences working with various actors including A-list stars, how to build relationships with actors, and more.

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