Stars in disguise: behind the scenes with Gary Oldman, Jennifer Lopez and Jerry Lewis – in pictures

Jennifer Lopez is an extraordinary beauty and an extraordinary dancer. She and Richard Gere were on totally different continents during rehearsal for the late night tango scene in Shall We Dance. We sent one choreographer to Richard and one to Jennifer, to teach them the two separate halves of the same dance. When the moment came to finally bring them together the day before the scene was filmed, it was electric. Dream Role: An Exhibition of Photography from Film Director Peter Chelsom curated by Beatrice Audrito is at Fortino in Forte dei Marmi, Tuscany, in June and July 2024

On the set of Town & Country, I turned a corner and there was Warren Beatty. Diane Keaton’s wig was drying in the sunshine. Warren got the joke. I think this photo expresses the futility of that period of my life. Divorce, cancer and Town & Country, a film that shot for 132 days instead of 60 – they all happened in the same year. Warren is an extraordinary actor – I wish he’d made more films

Another one from Town & Country. Charlton Heston had more of a sense of humour than anyone expected. Here he is with Harry Boykoff, who played the butler. In all my career, only he and Christopher Plummer arrived on set too early. He wouldn’t go back to his trailer and, to save me time, he insisted on staying, sitting in a chair, or sleeping

I first met Jerry Lewis in Las Vegas, where we rehearsed for Funny Bones. Walking through the crowded gambling floor of a Vegas casino with Jerry, the reactions ranged from hysteria to ‘he’s alive’! Very much alive, in fact – he was a very sprightly 69. From the outset, he was generous. There was only one alarm bell: he made a show of presenting me with a signed copy of his book The Total Film-Maker. It threw me and reminded me I was directing a director. I kept expecting him to be difficult, to pull rank, but he never did. In Blackpool, he embraced the fish, the chips, all of it

John Cusack and Jeremy Piven on the subway in New York. After Town & Country, I knew I was going down. I took Serendipity to save my career, and it did. It still makes the top 10 charts in various categories. Oh, the irony. It was the easiest film I have ever made. I sometimes think the job of film director, especially with a romantic comedy, is to be the host to a very long-running cocktail party. It’s all about atmosphere

Part of the exhibition is called the Dream Role Project, where I invite people to create the dream role they never had or could ever hope to have. It has to be self-deprecating, ironic, tinged with absurdity, a twist. I asked Gary [Oldman] to be Cary Grant in North By Northwest. I wanted to go for a subtextual meaning – like, demons are always there to chase us, we are always on the run. And, apart from the suit and tie, Gary looks nothing like Cary. That’s the point. A kind of bad dream

Another one for the Dream Role Project. Tara Fitzgerald was in my first film, Hear My Song. I was in Rome, editing, and she was filming there. We seized the chance to recreate Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday, on the Spanish Steps. With a twist – ‘false pubic hair’ is the strangest order I have ever placed on Amazon. We wanted to get the period right

Goldie Hawn thought it was funny that during the relighting of certain scenes in Town & Country, I would go into Pasadena and choose furniture for my new house. I would come back and share fabric swatches with her

I shot A Sudden Case of Christmas with Danny DeVito this year in the Dolomites, in Italy. Danny is a star, all the way. What struck me was his range. He is a serious actor and a seriously funny actor, too. More than most actors I’ve known, he likes it to ‘come to the boil’ at the last moment

With Berlin, I Love You, I wanted to make a film about a photographer, played by Jim Sturgess, largely because I could do the stills as well as direct. As for the film and its theme, I made the decision that it was about a time in someone’s life when they ‘die’ and become ‘regenerated’. Inspiration was to be the barometer for his state and his photography was the measure of that. Once he recovers the eye, the vital viewpoint, that makes him an artist, he is reborn

Simon Pegg and Rosamund Pike had already worked together in The World’s End. So their chemistry on Hector and the Search for Happiness was great. They enjoyed each other, it was quite personal. I’m not a fan of ‘evident’ acting. It all depends but I like it when actors play ‘close to home’ on film