Paul Dano became “totally smitten” with financial analyst Keith Gill while preparing to play him in Dumb Money.

In the new comedy-drama about the GameStop stock market saga in early 2021, The Batman actor plays the investor, who posted videos on YouTube under the username Roaring Kitty.

To prepare to play Gill, Dano spent countless hours watching his videos, in which Gill typically wore cat T-shirts and backwards caps.

“I became totally smitten with him,” he told The Guardian. “He’s such a buoyant spirit. I could see there was something so beautiful in him. It’s all about: here I am, I’m wearing a headband and a cat shirt because I think it’s cool.”

The Prisoners actor explained that he clung onto Gill’s backwards baseball cap as a way into the character.

“It makes you feel younger,” he explained. “As an actor, you’re always looking for anything to grab on to. What’s behind that door? What’s under that rock? Anything that’ll help.”

However, he opted against reaching out to Gill to respect his privacy after the analyst testified to America’s House Financial Services Committee in February 2021.

“He was subpoenaed by Congress and has really been off the grid since then. It didn’t feel right to drive to Massachusetts and stand outside whichever house I thought was his,” Dano shared.

Dumb Money is in cinemas now.

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