John Cusack has revealed that he used Edgar Allan Poe's stories and poems to help research and understand the writer.
The actor will lead the cast in The Raven this week, a thriller where a series of murders mirror Poe's writings.
Cusack plays Poe alongside Luke Evans and Alice Eve, James McTeigue is in the director's chair.
Speaking to HeyUGuys the actor said: I think poets tell better history than historians. Historians lie all the time but the poets can get to truth of it.
"So, if you know what Poe’s written about in all his stories and you know what he’s said about all his stories and you know about his letters, you can investigate him.
"So, you have Poe investigating the mind of Poe. All we see is a bit of the dream within a dream. Where does creativity end and the imagination and reality begin? What are the boundaries between life and death?
"He took his creativity to the edge of madness. The stories and poems - they spoke to me more - turns of phrases and imagery and symbols."
While we may not have seen Cusack on the big screen for a while the actor has been busy has he has already completed The Paperboy, No somos animals, The Numbers Station and The Frozen Ground.
He is currently filming Adult World.
The Raven is released 9th March.
Tagged in John Cusack Alice Eve Luke Evans