Had no real interest in writing an authentic portrayal of Hitler: Taika Waititi

Filmmaker Taika Waititi says he had no intention of doing justice to the character of Hitler in his new film "Jojo Rabbit". The anti-hate satire is about a young German boy (Roman Griffin), who finds out that his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.

Waititi plays the boy's imaginary friend, Hitler in the movie, which he has also directed. The 44-year-old filmmaker said the only thing common between his portrayal and the real-life German dictator was the signature moustache.

"That vision of Hitler that I wrote shares nothing with the real guy other than that moustache, really. He is conjured from the mind of a 10-year-old, so he can only know what a 10-year-old knows," Waititi said during The Hollywood Reporter's annual Writer Roundtable. "I had no real interest in writing an authentic portrayal, or even when I played him, I had no interest in actually putting in the effort or putting in the research, because I just didn't think he deserved it," he added.

"Jojo Rabbit", which had its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival, released in October this year.