“Because Poe is such a complex character and a lot of his character, I guess, is a little repulsive - or polarising is the better word to use - I thought you needed an actor who is very empathetic and I think if you look at John’s body of work that’s the thing – you always feel connected to John, he lets you feel connected to him. But I also thought there was an underbelly in ‘Cusack World’ that would speak to Edgar Allen Poe.

“When I met him he was really into it, he really liked Poe and understood him, had good ideas about him. When we got talking about influences and literature he liked or art that he liked – a friend of his was Hunter S Thompson, but also Damien Hirst is a friend of his - so he has this very kind of dark, sectioned-off corridor that hopefully we open the door on a little bit.”