Oscar Isaac shares his uncle’s moving reaction to ‘Moon Knight’

Moon Knight is the first MCU project to openly acknowledge mental illness and depict it in earnest through protagonist Marc Spector. That in itself goes a long way towards demystifying superheroes and making them more relatable, though for many people, Oscar Isaac’s journey in the Disney Plus series will no doubt cut a little closer to the bone.

In fact, the actor himself has revealed in a candid interview that his own uncle broke down crying during an episode of Moon Knight because of his struggle with mental illness. In a profile run by Esquire Isaac said:

“My uncle suffered from mental health issues. He started crying watching an episode of Moon Knight because, I think, it just felt like being seen. There was something there that felt like an acknowledgment of the pain and what people do with pain, and the forgiveness, of how you forgive yourself, and how to come to terms with the child within you. It’s basically saying, we have a superpower and it’s the human brain, particularly for those who deal with trauma and sustained abuse. There’s this thing that the brain can do to allow them to survive.”

If the show’s premiere episode is anything to go by, Moon Knight is leaning more into Steven Grant’s mental disorder rather than the usual superhero shenanigans. On that point, I think we can all agree that Marvel Studios’ attempt is utterly laudable, if not downright revolutionary within the industry. Hopefully, that continues to be the case in the next batch of episodes arriving in the upcoming weeks.

Moon Knight continues with a second episode on Disney Plus come April 6.