Before Cronenberg shot “Crimes of the Future” in 2021, he wanted to know what type of COVID restrictions and regulations he would be working with. To research his new role as a director, he took on some other roles in television acting. The Canadian filmmaker joined the cast of “Star Trek: Discovery” as the recurring character Kovich, a doctor and teacher at Starfleet Academy. He also took a role in the fourth season of the Shudder series “Slasher” as Spencer Galloway.
“I wanted to see if it was possible to make a movie with those protocols,” Cronenberg explained to IndieWire:
“How awkward does it make things, how much more expensive does it make things, does it affect your acting, your directing, your acting? I saw that it was perfectly possible to do. It was more expensive, it was more awkward, but it was very doable and you got used to it. You got used to wearing the mask.”
These acting gigs left Cronenberg extra prepared to face the challenges that the virus presented during production. Luckily, he handled everything efficiently and effectively. “[A]mong our crew of 150, nobody got COVID,” the director claimed, “so it worked.”