Director Darren Aronofsky has a reputation for making audiences squirm. His audacious visual style and knack for pushing psychological buttons have allowed viewers to experience what it’s like to be a perfectionist ballerina trying to retain her sanity (Black Swan), drug users whose lives descend into hallucinatory chaos (Requiem for a Dream), an aging fighter unable to quit the ring (The Wrestler), and more. Lately, he’s been pushing himself—into new genres like National Geographic documentaries and YA literature. Aronofsky spoke from a shoot in Africa about balancing organization with improvisation, his upcoming film, The Whale, and the beauty of the internal monologue.
Fast Company: You’re in Zambia right now. What brought you there?
Darren Aronofsky: I’m in the Lower Zambezi National Park for a show I’m doing for Nat Geo [called Sentient]. We’re filming a pack of wild dogs, sometimes called [African] painted dogs. There’s a large pack of them, about 40. They hunt really big game. But before they go out and hunt, they actually vote in a unique way, to make the decision [about whether] to go out and hunt. The show is about animal intelligence, how the pre-21st-century idea that we’re very different from animals is untrue.
Environmentalism has been a focus of yours since high school, when you spent time in Kenya studying at the School for Field Studies. It’s woven into some of your films, such as Noah and Mother! You’ve also been producing numerous shows for Nat Geo. Has this been a conscious career evolution for you?
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