“Whenever I bring up the film with people, they always have something very specific to say about him, whether it’s something that’s true or something that’s been created, because of his whole myth and how iconic he’s become. He’s a person that has made such a big impact in so many people’s lives, and he’s also my favourite actor.

“So there’s definitely a responsibility to honour him, and honour who he really was, and try to dig the truth out of all the stories that have been told about him and all the stories that have been made up. What’s true, and what’s not. I think for every fact you can find about James Dean, you can find a fact that’s the complete opposite.

“Everybody has a different story, and ultimately it’s been a really interesting process of digging through everything and trying to figure out who he really is.”

The film focuses on James Dean’s friendship with photojournalist Dennis Stock. Is there a sense in the script that Stock is trying to get to the truth about Dean in the same way you describe?
“Well, Stock’s photo essay was done before East of Eden came out, so James Dean wasn’t famous at all, nobody really knew who he was. In the industry there was some buzz that there was this guy, and he’s in this movie that Elia Kazan directed and he’s supposed to be really good, and they started to show some screenings of it and it started to gain buzz.

“But James Dean really didn’t become the icon that he is until after he died, so I think, sure, as a photographer he was probably trying to capture James Dean as a person, but there wasn’t this whole mythical iconic persona to compete against.”