Oscar Isaac reflects on one of the most emotional chapters of his life and the powerful last words his mother, Eugenia, shared before she died.
In the new documentary by his wife Elvira Lind King Hamletthe actor talks about the sadness he carried while preparing for his performance as Hamlet in 2017 and while he and Lind waited for the birth of their first child.
Isaac lost his mother in 2017, just as he was deep in rehearsals for the Shakespeare production at the Public Theater in New York.
The documentary follows him through that difficult period, interweaving rehearsals, family moments and the reality of his mother’s illness.
As seen in the film, Isaac wrote down many of the things his mother said during her final days, but one message in particular stuck with him.
He remembers her words clearly: “Everything goes back to the ocean. The ocean takes everything back. The only thing it doesn’t take is love. Love never goes out.”
He translates them from Spanish and describes them as deeply meaningful at a time when everything in his life felt overwhelming.
By means of King HamletLind documents Isaac’s private struggles, including his late-night phone calls about his mother’s health.
In one phone call, he noted that she was still holding out, despite doctors predicting she had “24 to 48 hours to live.”
Her death ultimately brings the family together in grief, with his brother Mike Hernandez offering a prayer that reflects both sadness and relief, saying he felt joy knowing she was finally at peace.
The timing of her death collided with some of the biggest turning points in Isaac’s personal and professional life.
In 2017 alone, he married Lind, welcomed their son Eugene and appeared in Star Wars: The Last Jediand carried Hamlet’s weight onto the stage.
He explains in the film that the play became a lifeline for him, saying it was “the only salvation” he could find at the time.
Now, years later, Isaac says he is grateful for that King Hamlet exists as a record of everything he has experienced.
He called it “a miracle” and praised Lind for her courage in filming such raw and painful moments.
During a question and answer session after the screening, he moved the entire audience when he said: “But actually the miracle is that Elvira came into my life.”
He described how she never avoids the difficult aspects of life and continues to create, even when surrounded by chaos and uncertainty.
Isaac sees the documentary as proof of her love for him and their children, Eugene and Mads.
He admires that she dared to film during such a vulnerable period and later found the strength to revisit it and turn it into a finished work.
For him, it’s both a personal time capsule and a reminder of the enduring power of love, the very thing his mother told him “never dies.”
