Rebecca Miller directs the new documentary series, "Mr. Scorsese," debuting on Apple TV this week.
She talked about the intimate portrait of an exceptional artist.
Miller is a filmmaker, author and actress. She's married to actor Daniel Day-Lewis and is the daughter of legendary playwright Arthur Miller.
She knows about the creative mind.
"I didn't realize how big of an undertaking it was when I started," Miller said. "My curiosity about, on the one hand, his work and, on the other hand, his spiritual journey and his life as a Catholic, and how yet he has this fascination with violence, and so I was like, what are these two things? How do they go together? Who is this person? How did he come to be?"
Miller had great access to Scorsese.
SEE ALSO: All-new Beatles documentary by Martin Scorsese coming to Disney+
"I think he was ready. I think he can be protective of himself. And certainly sometimes when he's interviewed, he just talks about film and which is normal," Miller said. "He knew that I wanted to talk about him as a person, as a man as well. And in the end, he decided, I guess, that he was ready to be known."
Scorsese still features the saint and sinner idea in his work.
"The eternal battle between saint and sinner in all of us really is something that I think is very compelling to him and his characters," Miller said.
She also got to the bottom of what drives Scorsese.
"I think he has a peace in him and a peacefulness and a way of being that's much easier on him than he did for sure. It was really, you know, there were some dark times there. But now at the same time, I think he still has that hunger to do his best work. He's still hoping that his best work is around the corner, you know?" Miller said.
"Mr. Scorsese" premieres on Apple TV starting Friday. It's already getting rave reviews.
The director shot "The Color of Money" with Paul Newman and Tom Cruise in Chicago.
The stars played pool in places including Berwyn and Portage Park.