"She's an incredible director"- Josh Charles recalls working with Taylor Swift for his cameo on 'Fortnight'

American actor Josh Charles recently opened up about his experience working on Taylor Swift's Fortnight music video and the pop star's skills as a director.

On Tuesday, May 7, 2024, the 52-year-old appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, to talk about his experience working on Fortnight. He gushed over Swift saying:

"She's an incredible director. My favorite kind of director because she knows what she wants. When she's got it, we moved on. She knows what she wants, when she's got it, she's got it. I will say this, I was already a fan of her music, but if any of you ever get to meet her, your fandom of her will just go up through the roof. She's just such a genuine, cool, approachable person."

Charles explained that her approachable nature was "so nice to see" as "that’s not always the case" with others. The actor also revealed that he initially thought his friend Ethan Hawke was joking about the surprise role.

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Josh Charles shares what Taylor Swift was like as a director on Fortnight music video

Josh Charles and Ethan Hawke were asked to star in Taylor Swift's Fortnight music video which came out on April 19, 2024. The two actors had previously worked together in the 1989 film Dead Poet's Society and remain good friends.

Hawke and Charles play the role of two scientists, running tests on Swift’s character in the video. When the actor reflected on how the pop star worked in the director’s chair, the 52-year-old shared that she was his “favorite kind of director.”

During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Josh Charles recalled thinking that Hawke was joking when he first heard the news about Swift's interest in the two starring in her music video. He explained:

"So she then reached out to Ethan, and Ethan reached out to me. Once I got over thinking he was punking me, you know, when he first called me, I said, 'Dude, are you bullsh*tting with me? Because if you're f*cking with me right now... He was like, 'This is dead serious. And we talked about it, and I talked to her people and it seemed like such a fun idea."

Fortnight is the first single from Taylor's eleventh album The Tortured Poets Department which came out the same day as the album release. The song featured the American rapper and singer Post Malone, who co-wrote the track along with Swift and Jack Antonoff. Josh Charles opened up about his and Hawke's appearance came about on the video, saying:

"It was a really strange thing. Taylor knows Ethan's daughter, Maya [Hawke], and reached out to her. The title of the album, obviously, The Tortured Poets Department, and so I think it's a little tip of the cap to Dead Poets Society, other tortured poets. She probably had this idea that it'd be interesting for us to be in the video."

Josh Charles and Ethan Hawke were asked to keep their involvement a secret from the world and even signed non-disclosure agreements. Charles quipped that he definitely did not tell his kids because they’re “blabbermouths.” Josh Charles added that while it was hard to keep secrets, he enjoyed working with his friend again. He said:

"Been through a lot with this dude over the years, but safe to say this was a most memorable day. We were treated with such class by Taylor and her crew from beginning to end. What I'll remember most was the laughter. There was a lot of it. Like we were 17 all over again."

The Tortured Poets Department is available on Spotify and Apple Music. Taylor Swift has also explained the meaning of some songs on the album, including Fortnight, in a track-by-track experience for Amazon Music.