Call Me by Your Name often gets discussed in terms of what it means to viewers — what it awakens, what it lingers on, what it leaves behind. Less often do we pause to consider what the film demanded from the people who made it.
For Armie Hammer, stepping into the role of Oliver was not simply a matter of performance. It required a kind of exposure he hadn’t been asked for before — not just physically, but emotionally. Under Luca Guadagnino’s direction, the usual tools of acting proved insufficient. Confidence had to give way to uncertainty, control to vulnerability.
What emerged was a collaboration marked by intensity, trust, and occasional resistance. Hammer has spoken openly about how difficult it was to let go of familiar defenses, and how deeply the process stayed with him long after filming ended. This is not a story about spectacle, but about what happens when an actor is asked to go further than expected — and chooses to follow.
Playing Oliver
Director Luca Guadagnino sent Hammer the script for Call Me by Your Name with an offer to play Oliver — a character half-jokingly referred to by others as “il movie star.”
At first, Elio dismisses Oliver as a shallow American, a defence mechanism that makes it easier not to look too closely. Guadagnino, however, wanted to go further than that.
“I think Armie is a very complex person,” the director said. “It’s not just that he’s beautiful. What fascinates me is the tension between that exterior and the turmoil underneath.”
“There were aspects of Oliver I responded to,” Hammer explained. “The ease, the comfort — things we don’t always feel ourselves. I’ve spent my life acting, even outside of acting. And Luca said: no, that won’t work here. That was terrifying.”
Letting the Mask Slip
As the film progresses, Oliver gradually allows Elio to see beyond the performance. Even before that turning point, Guadagnino and Hammer kept searching for ways to strip away artifice.
Hammer believed much of Oliver’s confidence was a carefully practised illusion — “smoke and mirrors,” as he put it. Oliver’s habit of leaving situations with a casual “Later” carried real emotional weight.
“It’s about making the person you desire feel elusive,” Hammer explained.
Working with Luca Guadagnino
Eventually, the process went deeper than Hammer expected.
“There’s something contagious and demanding about acting from that place of passion,” he said. “It felt like the safest space I’ve ever been in — total empathy, total understanding. But Luca knows when you’re lying. On screen or in life. And he won’t let it go.”
Guadagnino noticed Hammer pulling back as filming neared its end. The emotional intensity made letting go difficult for everyone involved.
“For me, making a film means creating a real family,” Guadagnino said. “Sometimes that emotional current becomes extremely intense. And then it gets complicated.”
After the Film
Letting go of Call Me by Your Name proved difficult. Even as other projects followed, the experience lingered.
“It’s going to be hard to convince me to do something I don’t feel passionate about now,” Hammer admitted. “I lived it every day. Watching it later feels almost too fast. I wish I could go back.”
Hammer may have played Oliver on screen. But listening to him speak about the film, it becomes clear how deeply the experience stayed with him.
“And yes,” he admitted, “I’m still in love.”