Bugonia's Emma Stone, Yorgos Lanthimos On Aidan Delbis' 'Brave' Debut: 'Moved Me To Tears' | Exclusive

Academy Award-winner Emma Stone reunites with Yorgos Lanthimos in Bugonia, a surreal and dark comedy sci-fi thriller that’s already making waves in the festival circuit. The film marks their fourth collaboration,

but this time, Lanthimos ventures further into the bizarre with a genre-bending remake of the 2003 South Korean cult classic, Save The Green Planet! The film also introduces Aidan Delbis in his breakout Hollywood debut as Don, a troubled young man with a fractured worldview.

Bugonia centres on Michelle Fuller (Stone), a high-profile pharmaceutical CEO who gets kidnapped by two conspiracy-obsessed men: Don (Aidan Delbis) and his older accomplice, Teddy (Jesse Plemons). Convinced that Michelle is an alien bent on destroying humanity, the pair embark on a desperate mission to save the planet. In his feature film debut, Aidan Delbis delivers a breakout performance as Don, a volatile yet sympathetic figure who blurs the line between hero and villain.

For Emma Stone, Delbis forms “the heart of the film,” anchoring the tragedy and poignancy of the drama. Watching his initial audition tape, Lanthimos and Stone were immediately struck by his authenticity. The actress recalls, “He was brilliant and so interesting and just wonderful. We went and all had a camera test together, and he just blew everybody away. It’s crazy to think that this is his first film.”

Lanthimos recalls being stunned by Delbis’s performance while filming a late scene, when Michelle and Don are offered a rare heart-to-heart. “It’s a very crucial part of the film, where they share this moment, the two of them,” he says. “Aidan’s performance in that part of the film actually moved me to tears while we were filming it, which I don’t think has ever happened to me making a film before watching it. It was just so honest and brave,” the filmmaker mentions.

When Delbis had heard about an open casting call for Bugonia, his previous acting experience had largely amounted to drama class in high school and minor roles in school plays. From the outset, Lanthimos had wanted to cast a novice for the role of Don. “I always try to include people that haven’t acted before”, he says, “because there’s something very special that happens between seasoned actors and non-professional actors that creates this very particular energy, which I always appreciate and love.”

Distributed by Universal Pictures, Bugonia will be released on October 31. The film had received a six-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival. This film marks Stone’s fourth collaboration with Lanthimos, following The Favourite, Poor Things, and Kinds of Kindness. Bugonia has already become one of 2025’s most distinctive cinematic experiences.