Shadowing Practice: Timothée Chalamet & Emma Stone | Actors on Actors - Full Conversation - Learn English Speaking with Video
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No, but seriously, I feel like I grew up, I mean, we're not too far in age,
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but I really grew up seeing a lot of your movies, so.
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Oh my god, I'm so old.
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No, no, I felt totally prepped for this before even getting into it.
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Jeez.
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But now I never saw the new Partridge family.
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Oh no. So what's that?
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Is that the first gig ever?
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That was a reality search competition that I auditioned for when I was 15.
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Wow.
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Yeah.
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I had been in LA for three months when I was 15
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and I was auditioning a lot and I wasn't getting any parts.
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Were you staying at the Oakwood Apartments?
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No, I was staying at Park La Brea.
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Okay.
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Did you ever live at the Oakwood?
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No, but there's a documentary about it that is terrifying.
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I haven't seen it.
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It makes you not want to really be in this business.
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Have you lived in LA?
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I shot Beautiful Boy in LA actually and actually shooting that here, it felt like, oh wow, maybe I'll move out here.
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This is a great city and a great vibe.
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And then, I don't know, something, I don't know, like you, the more you, it's like the more time you spend out here,
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I don't know, I don't want to get lost in the sea almost, I wanna like grow as a human, as a guy.
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I feel like in New York or in Paris, or anywhere really.
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Like, not anywhere, but like
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New York, I often think about.
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But cities where people also do other jobs outside of the entertainment industry.
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Yeah, exactly.
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Have you been in LA basically since you?
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No, I moved to New York when I was 20.
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So I've been in New York for 10 years, but I spent a ton of time here.
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Okay.
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Yeah, but I know what you mean.
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And then did you get that job, or that was just an audition?
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Well, no, you got it, because it's on your own.
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I got it, yeah.
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No, I won the role of Lori Partridge.
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Okay, all right.
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And we made one episode, and then we were not picked up to series.
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Oh, so it's just a pilot.
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It didn't work out.
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Oh, so that footage doesn't exist.
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It does exist somewhere.
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But you've seen it?
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I have seen it.
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And you're proud.
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Mm -hmm.
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Okay, all right.
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And I wish that you could have seen it too.
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No, I didn't know it was a reality.
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I'm sad that you didn't get to.
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No, but you thought it was a pilot.
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Yeah, it was a pilot.
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Okay, I'm gonna rattle off some, but last year I felt like I was cutting off Daniel Kulia.
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So tell me if I'm cutting you off or anything.
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No, this is fantastic, go ahead.
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Okay, Ben's Superbad, which at the time for me, and I'm speaking for guys and girls my age everywhere,
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where that was, that exists in the Mean Girls universe for me, as far as defining a moment for a lot of people.
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So what was that?
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Did that feel like a get when you got it?
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Was it insane being on that set?
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What was Jonah like at that age?
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Was it his first gig?
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Yeah, because he was 23 maybe, 22 or 23.
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And I was 17 and no, I was out of my mind with excitement.
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I was so, so, so happy to do that.
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I also worked for like eight days on that movie, but it felt like eight months.
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Oh really?
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Yeah, it feels like, do you laugh at it?
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Do you think it's funny?
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I love it.
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I love it so much.
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Have you seen it recently?
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I just watched it like two weeks ago actually.
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I think it's, like Michael Cera is so excellent in that movie too.
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And he's so good at like, not project, like he's like, yeah, I'm gonna be.
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I know, he's so good.
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And Martha, who played Michael's love interest, became my best friend.
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She's my best friend.
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Martha who plays?
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Martha McEysen.
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Oh, really?
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And you met her on that?
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Yeah, I met her on that.
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Oh, that's really hard -warming.
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Yeah, we lived together three years after that.
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Like as actors, as actresses?
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Yeah.
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I guess you can say both.
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Yeah.
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All right.
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You can say both.
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OK, and then
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The Rocker, which is not a movie that a ton of people have seen, but I think is fucking brilliant.
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And that's one of my favorite movie quotes in it, where Rainn Wilson pukes in his hand before a show.
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And you're like, what are you doing?
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And he's like, some people rock a rabbit's foot.
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I rock a pocket of puke.
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And I don't feel like.
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I can't believe you're quoting The Rocker.
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Dude, I love it.
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That I've seen more than Superbad.
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That I've seen like four or five times.
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What drew you to that so much?
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I think Rainn Wilson is like an unseen genius.
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Well, no, people know how good he is, so I guess not like an unseen genius, but he really is so funny in it.
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And you are excellent.
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I have to ask you a question now though, because of Rainn Wilson.
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Because Rainn Wilson leads to The Office, which leads to Steve, and we both work with Steve now.
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What was it like working with Steve?
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What a dream.
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I feel, I realize the more I act how important trust is to it all.
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I think maybe that's not obvious.
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And then I did this, I did Call Me By Your Name with Army and I felt so safe.
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I feel like it's the ability to be ugly or be bad
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or not be able to weep in a scene where you're supposed to weep
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or whatever and you don't feel like you're getting judged or something.
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And with Steve, it could be intimidating too being opposite someone very well known before you have any sort of career.
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And he put me at such ease and beyond that, and he's incredibly talented and a great human, a great dad, a great man, he'll open.
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You go to set in the van, he'll open the door for everyone.
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He did that for everyone, of course, yeah.
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It'll pass though.
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It always does.
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What does?
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The feeling of being alienated and isolated.
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Huh, that really helps.
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Thanks for the advice, Dad. Because you did
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Crazy Stupid Love with him.
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Crazy Stupid Love and Battle of Sexes.
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Yeah, but he's been like that since, I mean, he was always holding the van door.
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What was Crazy Stupid Love like?
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It was so much fun.
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That movie's so good.
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It was so much fun.
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It was really great.
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This thing is like the perfect man in that movie.
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He's incredible, and we got to improvise so much, and it was just like.
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The stuff in the house?
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Yeah, the stuff in the house, it was so much fun.
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Whoa, like those Y shots are so epic.
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You're like, wow, do people really live like this?
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I don't know if they do.
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It was an empty house.
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No, that's like a utopic movie, weirdly.
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Yeah, exactly.
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And Jonah, who's the boy in that, I'm forgetting his last name, I went to high school with him.
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Really?
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Yeah, really weirdly.
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So he came back and he shot
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Crazy Stupid Love, and all of us other actors were bitter.
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Now, was Easy A, did that feel like, that, did that feel like, okay, now I, did you sense like a change or something?
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Because I feel like I was very aware of you after seeing
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The Rocker and Superbad, and then it was like, okay, now.
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I was really in love with that script, but I put so much pressure, I was 20, and I put so much pressure on myself,
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and was just like, while we were shooting it, I was just like going nuts, and I was like, I don't know,
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this whole thing could fall apart.
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I have no idea, because I was, you know, I had to be there all day, every day.
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And if I wasn't on screen, I was narrating, it was just too much me, and I was like, this is gonna fall apart.
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So it wasn't the most enjoyable.
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No, but it was just because of my own, you know.
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And what was that stress composed of?
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Like, this is my shot, if I mess this up, then?
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It was kind of like, I just felt like it had to be well calibrated throughout, and it was the first time that I had ever,
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Had to rely on myself mostly to be able to carry all of that
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Yeah, I think it was just so much pressure on myself
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And then you and when you saw it you were I haven't seen it you haven't seen no I've seen some scenes
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Okay, but I went to a friends and family screening to see it
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and I had to get up and walk out I was yeah, who wants to watch themselves for that long?
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Yeah, no Can you watch your your stuff?
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I won't know I mean so I can now if I like if I like what it is, then yes.
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Like the film itself.
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Listen, I had a small part in, why did I say listen?
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We're sitting right here next to each other.
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Alright, you know what?
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Fine, I will.
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Fine, yeah, I was listening before.
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But when I did Interstellar, I saw that 12 times in theaters in IMAX.
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You did, just to figure it out?
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Well.
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Here, don't you crack that code.
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That was good.
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Yeah, try to figure out the ending.
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Because you loved it.
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Because I loved it and in fact, Christopher Nolan had a screening at Lincoln Square.
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I forgot about this, I really haven't thought about this moment.
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That underground theater?
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No, no, it was in IMAX.
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It was in the IMAX one.
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Although I know those underground ones, the red and the fluorescent lights.
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And he invited just some of the people from the cast, which is surreal because it's a huge IMAX theater.
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It was just me, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, and John Lithgow.
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And I really had no career at this point, so I was like the fraud a little bit in the room.
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And I saw it and I loved it, but then I went home to my dad and I like wept for an hour
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Because I just figured my part was like bigger or something.
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I don't know.
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They didn't even like cut anything I just figured I don't know what I figured.
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It just felt so giant when you were doing it.
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Yeah, that's exactly it.
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And while you were reading it, you were like this is...
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Yeah.
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Also, there's this monologue in space.
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That's like McConaughey's like most brilliant acting in the movie
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He's he's getting those video logs.
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He starts weeping
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And it's really amazing and the whole thing plays on him as it should because that moments about him
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It cuts like a grainy
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Let's talk about up until I mean obviously in the past couple of years things have been pretty be electric for you,
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but how did you feel, what you're saying, watching films like that that you were in, did you feel a lot of dejection?
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No, no, no, it wasn't dejection in some part of my brain makes me want to say immediately, there was always gratitude to be working because,
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because I grew up in an actor's building in New York and I know the privilege it is to be able,
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whether via commercials or anything, to support yourself.
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And yet, when I saw Interstellar, and it's like my favorite director.
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And like McConaughey's just killing it and he's like so good.
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And I was there, like I was there.
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So I don't know what it is, it's a feeling of like, man, I feel like I'm getting close.
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But you know, the cliches about this business are how difficult the odds are often as they are.
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And I don't know, I know what worked for me really conversely, because I went up for all these things and I tested for Spider -Man,
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I didn't get it, and like a Tim Burton movie too, and these things weren't happening, and I thought okay, who knows.
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Tim Burton's a crusher.
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I was, oh my God, when I auditioned for Alice in Wonderland, I was like, oh!
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And then not getting a Tim Burton movie is really devastating.
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Did you read for him?
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I mean this is a pretty esoteric conversation and you're like, you know the feeling of not getting a Tim Burton movie.
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Working at all these fantastic girls.
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Exactly right.
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But for me it was Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children.
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Oh God, so good. So, but, and then ironically for me it was doing more independent films
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and I feel like that's what helps me not be cynical
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and kind of inspired about the landscape we're in now is if studios controlled things more before, that's my impression of it.
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Now people want a mirror in the things they see.
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They want to see things shot in a way that don't feel like the sheen of Hollywood is there.
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So I think.
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And they want to see stories that feel real.
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That's what I think.
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Absolutely.
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I totally disagree with you.
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I absolutely disagree.
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We are totally different pages, but whatever.
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It's fine.
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So, just kidding.
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No, I think you're absolutely right.
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I think it's an exciting time.
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There's a lot of shift happening.
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Okay, I'm gonna pull out my little pathetic piece of paper here.
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Okay, and then the help.
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That was, did you know how special, I guess what's my question, did you know how special it was while you were making it?
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There was, the book had been written.
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We were making it off the book, and the book was so wonderful.
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So I think that was, I mean that was the first time I had ever done something that had been adapted like that.
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Okay.
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So that's, you know, you know that feeling.
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Yeah, absolutely, yeah.
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You bring it to a little life.
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Was it different from the book in many ways, or no?
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It was, no, it was pretty similar and it was such a beautiful, we were all in Mississippi together,
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we lived like two blocks from each other, everybody spent the whole, it was the first time I really understood,
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I mean I had done a movie called Paper Man where we were in Montauk in the winter all together
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and everyone ate together every night, but I really now understand what it is to have
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that kind of family away from home and spending all that time together, it builds something.
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Really special.
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Yeah, irreplaceable.
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And then you feel like it helps the acting even weirdly?
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I do, because like what you were saying, if you feel really safe with those people,
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if you feel like you can be anything in front of them, then there's nothing but freedom then, when you're working.
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And did you, was it crazy seeing Jessica Chastain be this incredible?
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Yeah, and also when she was there, when we were in Mississippi, she was like, yeah, I have like six movies coming out next year,
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but nothing's come out yet, and I was like, oh great, sounds like you're doing a lot of work,
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and then all of a sudden it was like everything.
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And like a most violent year, I mean that was later, but she's been in incredible things.
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She's been on the wheel.
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I saw that with my sister in Times Square and like those scenes with Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, they're all so special too.
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And you, I guess that was another one for me too, like after The Rocker, Easy A, where I was like, wow, this actress is amazing.
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And I love, no, but it's true.
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And like, I love when people, I haven't like really done straight comedy yet, but even we were taking these pictures before together.
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I do and like I could see you don't take yourself too seriously.
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You're so cut out for it.
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You would be amazing.
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All right, well let's kick something up.
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Please do it, let's do it.
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All right, we're making it happen.
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Wait, I had a question for you.
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You worked on, this is a little bit personal between us, but we have another connection.
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We worked on the movie
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Miss Stevens with.
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Oh my gosh.
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Jordan and Julia.
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Jordan Horowitz produced
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La La Land.
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Yes.
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And they just really wanted me to bring that up.
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No, um, it was wonderful.
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They're wonderful human beings.
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And truly like I am.
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I dropped out of college when interstellar came out to pull it make it a little full circle.
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Cause I was like, great.
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I was like, this thing's going to come out before it came out.
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You dropped out.
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Yeah.
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And I was like, and I'll just, I went for a year.
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Okay.
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I was like, I'll ride the path.
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Nope.
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Like it was like, not a thing.
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My part wasn't that big in it.
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And like, and, um, it was very presumptuous to think otherwise and I took that year off and you know.
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What did you do?
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Like I don't wanna, it would be counterintuitive to act like it was more dramatic than it was because people go through,
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you know, these are still first world problems, people go through way worse and yet for me,
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that was like the scariest year of my life because I didn't have a career.
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I had tasted enough of this stuff where I kinda could see what it maybe could be but
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it wasn't presenting itself and I wasn't in school anymore and had this complex where I was like oh my god,
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I'm gonna be one of these people that was like happy when they were like 16,
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17, 18, like spends the rest of her life like jaded.
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Peaked in high school kind of thing?
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That was my fear, truly.
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I was like, I'm gonna be like
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Brad from high school.
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No, and truly
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Miss Stevens is a movie that, was really small, not a lot of people have seen it, but that and Call Me By Her Name,
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like for me, if I can speak self -referentially, if that's all right, it's really like
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Miss Stevens is like the prelude for me.
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I'm like Call Me By Her Name is chapter one, Beautiful Boy is like chapter two.
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That's like how I see it.
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That's incredible.
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And Miss Stevens, you know, I went to a drama high school and that movie's about basically a kid,
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a teacher and a kid who like finds himself through drama basically.
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And that was really my experience, so when I read that I remember like just kind of flipping out.
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You went to the Fame High School, didn't you?
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Yes, yeah, yeah.
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Did it feel like Fame?
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How many people ask you that question?
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No, but I mean here's the thing.
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It was, there were like people dancing on the tables.
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That is a thing.
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That really happened?
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Yeah, absolutely.
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What, at lunch?
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At lunch and there was like, there's like Spirit Week.
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I can't even bring this up because people find everything online these days,
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but like man, I saw this video the other day of me like my freshman year in high school.
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It was like a spirit week dance contest.
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What did you do?
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I didn't keep all my clothes on.
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But it's a...
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So you're just free to really express yourself here.
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Yes.
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And it really opened up a lot for you.
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You were like, I wanna do this.
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That's, yeah, in a non -facetious way again.
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Like, I got there because my sister went there and I figured I went to a really...
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I mean, I had a bad time in middle school
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and I figured if I went to an artist high school it would mean less homework or something.
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Yeah, yeah which is wrong.
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But then, I felt like drama class was sitting in rows.
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I didn't realize it was like lock eyes with someone and bury yourself.
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Did you ever do any training?
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I mean, a little bit.
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I took acting classes.
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In Los Angeles?
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Yeah, I did not do any formal training.
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Like in La La Land?
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Did I do?
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Does she not take acting classes?
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No, she doesn't.
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She puts up doing a one -man show at the theater.
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Yes, she does.
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I did not do a one -man show situation.
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I know he doesn't come.
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And you guys have the argument that's so, I feel like so many couples go through that.
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Okay, another one that I saw maybe like six or seven times in theaters.
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In theaters you saw something six or seven times?
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Birdman.
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Oh, that makes sense.
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That movie is so good.
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Did it feel like, I don't even know what the question is, like how special was that to work?
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Did you know how special it was?
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Yes, and that one was really, really, like walking a tightrope the entire time
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because we had all this rehearsal to plan out those shots because everything was in one.
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And then actually shooting, it was just, I mean, it was incredible, but it was also like, how is this going to,
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I mean, Michael Keaton was like, I can't even believe what he pulled off in that movie.
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It's amazing.
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I love that argument scene.
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You just smoke the joint in there.
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Your eyes were glassy a little bit.
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I hoped I might be employed here by you as something.
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A monster for the children to play with, perhaps.
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Yes, if you like.
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Okay, now this year, this movie is the favorite.
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And I want to know what...
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You're doing such a good job.
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Is that what?
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You're doing such a good job.
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I'm trying.
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I feel like I'm on 60 minutes.
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So, Yorgos, I want to know what was that...
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Was it as basic as an email with an attachment?
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or was it an agent making you aware of the project?
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Because I know from the outside, I don't know if it came out when I was in high school, but when The Lobster came out,
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I know my friends and I were like, what is this movie and who has made this?
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Then Killing the Sacred Deer came out and it was like, this man's a genius.
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We don't know what he's thinking.
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What is he thinking?
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And then the favorite, it's, as I said to you last night, because we ran into each other briefly last night,
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I was so curious, I find often when there's a wild element in a movie, everything else will be static,
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so that wild element is especially accentuated.
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And what I really liked with the favor and it felt very bold was, it wasn't like
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Killing Me a Sacred Deer where it's like, here's the contemporary world, and here's this really weird thing happening.
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It was like, here's a period piece with this really weird love triangle basically happening.
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Anyway, so what, I'm sorry, what was the, how were you made first aware of it, and did you know Jorgis' work? And yeah.
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I was, my agent had met him, told me about him, asked if I could read the script.
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He was not thinking of an American, I think, at all.
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I read about that, right?
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In the cast.
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You auditioned for it?
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I auditioned for it, but when I met him, have you seen his movie Dogtooth?
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I haven't.
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Oh God, you have to see Dogtooth.
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It is bananas.
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And so I watched Dogtooth, because I hadn't seen any of it.
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The Lobster hadn't come out yet.
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Oh, this is a while ago then.
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This is in 2015.
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So Lobster came out in 2015.
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So I met him that summer.
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And I watched
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Dog Tooth and I was like, this person is going to be crazy.
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Like, I don't know what it's going to be like to sit with him.
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And then we went for lunch and he's.. like very, very lovely.
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And all of his madness is in his art, which is a great thing, but it's a lot of madness.
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So then I was just like, just take me.
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I just, I wanna do anything with him.
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I still do, I'll do anything with him.
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I think he's brilliant.
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And he's like, when you meet him, he's really, he's like a man.
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He's a man, yes, he's a man.
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But no, he's really wonderful.
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And was that, did you feel like that was a conscious choice on your behalf to, when I think of movies like
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The Help or La La Land, I don't know if they literally had studio financing, but they don't feel like it almost,
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or similar to The Green Book, I haven't seen that yet, but I think, as Gretel say to me,
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sometimes the most important things in life are cliches, and love can be a cliche, and The Help, whatever.
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It felt like, sorry, it felt like with The Favorite, I don't know, it was like a tone I hadn't seen you in before, like surrealist,
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and I saw an interview where you said it was a very conscious choice to have a scene with nudity
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because you felt like it was, I don't know, true to the script or something, or the scene.
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So I was wondering, were you like, okay, I'm gonna do this kind of movie now, or rather was it like,
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look, this is a great director, I'm just gonna work with great people.
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I truly have never in my whole time working, which is, I guess, longer than, but it's not that long I guess,
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like 12 or 13 years now.
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Well, I guess that is kind of fun.
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Have never ever made a decision because I was like, this is the kind of thing I need to do now.
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It's always been falling in love with either an element
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or now if you're lucky enough to get to the place where you get to start making choices, which is crazy and so rare,
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and I know will not last forever.
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Like, will Evan flow?
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Yes.
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Now I try to combine all three elements, of the script, the character,
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and the director, but in different times it's either I am dying to work with this director or I am,
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you know, this script is incredible or this character is, but it's always been about that and not about like,
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this idea is important or like it needs to be this big movie or I need to show my tits or whatever.
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Okay, okay, okay.
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And do you feel like, do you have like an, was it an agent or a manager, did anybody ever, was it you that was like,
463
I'm gonna be in great things?
464
Or did somebody, you know what I'm saying? or did somebody say like, look, you're a great, you're excellent, you should only be in excellent things?
465
No, no, I mean, I've had the same managers since I was 15,
466
which is really great because we've gotten to talk about everything and he's like a member of my family.
467
He's amazing.
468
That's so cool.
469
Yeah, his name is Doug and he's incredible.
470
And we, but.
471
Shots out Doug, shots out Doug.
472
What's up, Doug?
473
But it's, I just, I felt, and I don't know if you feel this way, do you feel like you wanna be part of things
474
that you would yourself want to go see or would affect you as an audience member?
475
Not just like, I've gotta play this role because it's.
476
Man, I got one of my best friends, Nick, over there, and that's often what we talk about is like,
477
I don't want to feel like I'm getting into opera
478
or ballet or an art form that is slowly becoming less viable because when people our age go to see movies,
479
they're like, you know. But that's where
480
La La Land or Moonlight or I would hope
481
Lady Bird or, it's bad to reference something you read, but like, you know, that people our age or young people could see and go,
482
oh yeah, this is a mirror, like I said.
483
This is not like yelling at us or something.
484
Yes, it's not like an untouchable statue.
485
And that's the other thing.
486
I feel like audiences respond, you know, it's almost like the way I think about acting.
487
Like Joaquin Phoenix said a quote where he says, some actors are worried about wearing different scarves or something and I think that's great,
488
but more important to me than wearing different scarves is like chasing a certain feeling.
489
What that feeling is, I don't know, but I'm chasing it.
490
And I read that and I was like, that makes sense to me.
491
And in the sense that I think it's really cool when an actor can shapeshift.
492
And certainly you don't want to play versions of yourself, but what's the coolest is when an audience can see like real humanity on screen
493
and really like learn about themselves or something rather than, oh wow, look at that guy go.
494
And I think that goes for the movies too and for explosions and everything like that.
495
Like, and that's what's cool about all this content that's made now is like,
496
I think more and more stories are made about real shit and not like, okay, well, that's what that person's going through or whatever.
497
Yeah.
498
God, you're so much more eloquent than me.
499
No, no. You're just sitting here like, please keep talking.
500
I understand why I do things.
501
It doesn't make me any different, all right?
502
I'm attracted to craziness and you're just embarrassed because I was like, you know, I was like this amazing thing,
503
like your special creation or something and you don't like who I am now.
504
Yeah, who are you, Nick?
505
This is me, Dad.
506
Here, this is who I am.
507
No, I want to ask you about Beautiful Boy.
508
Oh, OK, all right.
509
You have to talk to me about Beautiful Boy.
510
Tell me how that came to you and what drew you.
511
I mean, you are so .
512
You're so fantastic in everything.
513
And I didn't say about The Favorite, you were so excellent in The Favorite.
514
Stop it, just receive this, hold on.
515
You are so fantastic in that film, you killed me.
516
And I was just like, I don't know how you are, the way you are, is it just easy for you?
517
What's that?
518
Acting.
519
No, no, no. I mean really, it just feels like you have, you're one of those people who just like,
520
you can't, like Olivia Colman, who's in The Favorite.
521
I was like, this isn't something you can learn.
522
I don't know what to do, because that can't be taught.
523
It just comes through her.
524
It feels like it does for you.
525
And you're hearing that from you.
526
I'm gonna receive that and take a moment.
527
But truly, you're so alive and honest in every moment, and to see you in that kind of pain was just like, it was excruciating.
528
And so, what was it like?
529
What was it like?
530
That was difficult.
531
It was really difficult.
532
And I was aware of it for about a year, and nothing I'd been in had come out yet.
533
so I knew it was gonna be like, that to me is like my get.
534
Like everything else I weirdly kind of stumbled into, including Call Me By Her Name and Lady Bird,
535
and that was like the thing that I went into the LA audition room and did it again and again and again.
536
And there was a chemistry with Steve,
537
and it felt maybe similar to your EZA thing as opposed to these other films I worked on where I was like,
538
well it's gonna be good if it happens to be good.
539
This was like a script people had coveted, and the books were really renowned.
540
and we shot in LA and on the stage too, so all of a sudden it felt like, wow, we're gonna make, it's like we gotta,
541
I don't know, it felt like there was an added pressure or something.
542
And then living the experience, I always feel like I gotta be careful, like I don't wanna be an actor who like waves,
543
like sells his struggle or something to validate the role or something,
544
because what Nick Sheff actually went through is always gonna be way crazier than what I would've gone through acting it.
545
And yet, just to, you know, sometimes I feel like your mind knows you're acting, but your body doesn't know you're acting.
546
Definitely.
547
And to go through those scenes like we were begging your father to come home and he says no,
548
like that's, I really can't imagine anything worse than that or that feeling of you are such a chaos in our life,
549
we can't allow you in your home anymore.
550
We have to see more. And.
551
Do you use, there's some actory stuff.
552
Yes, yes.
553
Are you more drawn to substitution or imagination or does it just depend on the role?
554
I love that question because I think it just, it depends on the role, it depends on the day.
555
I think sometimes I get to set and I'm like, okay, I feel like I'm ready to go today.
556
So if anything, I'm like, chill, chill.
557
But then on some days, like, if I'll get really in my head or something, I've said it before, but I'll really like,
558
before I take, if we do something together, you'll see, I'll just be like, reaching around everything, just so like,
559
I'm so out of my head as possible.
560
So you're present, you know what's beneath you, and around you, yeah, that makes total sense.
561
Yeah, exactly, like a wall or a sharp edge or a corner.
562
What about you?
563
That's, well, it totally depends on the circumstance and I guess the role.
564
But that's, it's funny that you mention that because I was insanely anxious as a child.
565
And a therapist told me once, if you're ever in panic, but they said to me, if you're ever in absolute panic and you can't,
566
you feel like you're out of your body, just, this is a gray chair, this is a table, this is a plant,
567
and you just kind of look around for a minute
568
or two and just say what's real and around you and it really does bring you back into your body.
569
Yeah, and it grounds you or something.
570
But that makes a lot of sense for acting.
571
You just reminded me about that.
572
I haven't really used it in those moments.
573
And we don't have to talk about that because I guess it's not so much movies, it's more like mental health and stuff,
574
but I remember reading something about that where you said that when you were younger, you dealt with that kind of stuff,
575
and truly, I'm not even just saying this, this was around when, I'm getting manic,
576
it was around when I was working on Miss Stevens that I read that interview and I felt like,
577
okay, you can be anxious or you can experience emotions as a human, even as a guy, and have a career and be,
578
you can still be successful, whatever that means.
579
I don't know, do you ever think about, I did this round table yesterday with a lot of actors,
580
and it's so interesting, because there's all these machinations at play now, people have their representatives there,
581
and things like that, and yet when it comes down to it, when you're talking like the other actors we're talking right now,
582
everyone was like a quiet kid in the corner of the classroom.
583
I was not a quiet kid.
584
Okay, all right, all right.
585
I was not a quiet kid at all.
586
Maybe those guys were, that makes sense.
587
But no, I was not a quiet kid.
588
I was, it's weird because I confuse myself with my personality because half of me is like a total ham performer,
589
like class clown, and the other half of me is like a terrified,
590
like everything has to be perfect or else the whole world is gonna fall apart.
591
but those two things, and it's gotten a lot easier as I've gotten older,
592
but as a kid, those two sides were so confusing to try to marry.
593
Because it was like, one was way too old for how old I was, and one was just being a kid and being hammy,
594
and it's, yeah, it was.
595
But I was not quiet.
596
It always exploded out of me.
597
Regardless.
598
I've gotten quieter as I've gotten older, even though I'm still not quiet.
599
But when, were you working as you were still an adolescent?
600
How old were you when you were doing these?
601
I moved to LA when I was 15, and by the time, Superbad was when I was 17,
602
and then it's been pretty much going since then.
603
And I just turned 30 10 days ago.
604
Hey, happy birthday.
605
Hey.
606
Hey, Steph.
607
So yeah, so it's been a little bit, how old were you when you started working?
608
Well it's interesting because I think something happens when you're in New York
609
or LA sometimes when you're young where they have to cast, like they, the industry has to cast out of the city.
610
The collective they.
611
The collective people.
612
So I think I knew a lot of kids that were going up for things when you were like six or seven,
613
because everybody's parent, or not literally, but it's more of a common thing.
614
And I kind of worked intermittently, but I never totally vibed with it, and it felt kind of fake, and I'm actually happy about that,
615
because I think that was probably a good thing and when I got to that high school I was like,
616
in fact it was on a day where kids were talking about agents and things and I was like,
617
shoot, I know someone that has sent me on things before.
618
Like, I need to milk that.
619
So I need to like, I need to.
620
So when did you start auditioning in this capacity?
621
I did a play called The Tall's in New York about a bunch of tall people.
622
Wait.
623
Literally.
624
Are you going stilts?
625
What happens?
626
No, no, no, but it's about, I got, it's like in San Francisco in the 70s
627
and kind of like a neuter dad is running for city comptroller and his family low key shits on him.
628
And it's just like a comedy of errors kind of thing around there.
629
But I had so much fun doing it that I wanted to see that Asian,
630
I was like 15, I went into that office and I was like, send me on more things this year.
631
Yeah, basically I'm ready to really do this.
632
But we were the same age, 15.
633
Yes, I know that's when you're like, I need to be.
634
You're like, I am an adult now.
635
I have grown, I'm 15.
636
But that's what I was gonna ask is like, because I didn't, I worked just enough so when I was 19 and I dropped out,
637
I had a weird like, like, like desire to be a part of that, warm.
638
Yeah.
639
But it didn't stunt me.
640
And then I guess, it's a big cliche,
641
but you see it like stunt people sometimes when they work too much young or something and frozen in that.
642
Yeah, or it's weird, you think people are actually,
643
I just realized this, you think people are being very mature at a young age and then you realize,
644
oh wait, you have the aesthetic of it, but the substance of it, they robbed you.
645
You didn't go to school.
646
You were still a kid.
647
Yeah, exactly.
648
Yeah, absolutely.
649
So did you feel like you worked, did you feel like you worked too much when you were young?
650
Maybe this is a weird question.
651
But I was like, I think I was really lucky that my first movie, I was about to turn 18 and then things started,
652
but I will say like, I'm wondering how you're feeling, although you seem probably light years more intelligent than I was at 22,
653
but how are you feeling like in this time in your life?
654
I guess you don't know because you haven't been older than you are right now.
655
Yes, that's true.
656
But at that, because I felt like, because EZA came out when I was 21, and Spider -Man came out when I was 22,
657
and I felt really, like in that time period, to lose anonymity, I didn't really understand what that would be like
658
and I think as a kid I had this fantasy that like, oh that would be so cool.
659
It would be, you know, and it was easily, easily the hardest aspect of all of this, even though I'm so grateful and like,
660
I would never wanna do a different job.
661
And it's, you know, I know there is a trade off in that way.
662
It was a really intense experience for a couple years to experience that.
663
How are you feeling with that kind of shift?
664
I think partly because it's not really overpowering or dramatic in any way, truthfully.
665
And people stop me, but it hasn't been really nuts.
666
And yet, I must be honest too and be like, I feel such pride for Call Me By Our Name
667
and Lady Bird and the fact that we made those on shoestring budgets and that I went in for Spider -Man,
668
I went in for those things and I didn't get them.
669
And those are like prepackaged, you will be famous after this kind of thing.
670
and those, Call Me Right Name and Lady Bird, they really weren't.
671
We were making art house movies.
672
So I think that's what helps me is when I get stopped, it's rarely, it's about the movies.
673
So, no, it's been all right.
674
It was for me too.
675
It's just so funny.
676
It was just, I think it was just the idea of your external,
677
because one of the things I value so much is just being able to be, you know.
678
You.
679
Yeah, and I completely feel that way now.
680
It was just in that time period where I was like, what is all, like this is so, yeah, it was just this interesting shift.
681
And was it friends or family or just experience that helped it?
682
No, that all stayed the same.
683
I think it was just, yeah, I think it was probably experience and that the people around me are the same and are wonderful.
684
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
685
And that's, yeah, very helpful.
686
I don't know if it's been your experience, but I feel like the more, even right now, doing this with you, like.
687
I have met very few bad eggs, I feel like.
688
And I think it's luck too, like Steve Carell and Armie Makani and Lily Rabe and Julia Hart and Greta, like these are great people.
689
But I don't know, I always feel like I gotta voice that because - I've been pretty lucky in that sense too.
690
There's been so many people, and also, yeah, people that you become, you work on these things,
691
and I don't think I've ever worked on a film where I haven't made at least one lifelong friend
692
that I'm still in touch with.
693
That's awesome.
694
Do you feel that way?
695
Every variety actor on Asher I do.
696
We're friends for life.
697
Okay, good, we're in.
698
I feel, yeah, I do feel that way.
699
I did a Christmas movie called Love the Coopers that was awesome.
700
And if the director, Jesse Nelson, ever happens to watch this, I had a great time.
701
Wasn't that with Diane Keaton?
702
Yeah, absolutely.
703
How was she?
704
What a legend.
705
What a legend.
706
And I was going up for a Rob Reiner movie around then.
707
Oh, man.
708
This is maybe impolite who even said to her, but I was kinda like, would you mind calling him and saying this kid is like?
709
But I didn't get it, so it didn't work.
710
But she did, she did call him.
711
And that's not evidence of her being a good person.
712
She didn't have to do that.
713
Like, she's just a great, also what's really cool about Diane is, like, you know, anytime people can be like a unicorn of any sort,
714
you feel like they can't really, and what's cool about Diane is like her fashion influenced her movies, influenced her fashion, influenced her movies.
715
Yeah, I think you're a unicorn.
716
Thank you, I think you're a unicorn too.
717
I gotta say, because I wanted to say to you before we did this, but I see like, what you've done in your career,
718
that sounds like so self important or something, but really what you've done, I see like what you and Jennifer Lawrence did,
719
and I think, okay this is alive and well, like this industry, and because you guys, in your own ways, you guys,
720
you ladies, You just have, in your own ways, done, you know, have walked that line of things people are actually seeing,
721
but then also really artistic projects, and it makes me really hopeful because in unique ways, and then also all your pictures together are so iconic.
722
When we take pictures together, it's like, man, look at all that star power in the picture!
723
Come hang out with us, come on!
724
Oh man, I can't even imagine, I can't even imagine.
725
She's really awesome, too.
726
She is so awesome.
727
Okay, so I want to talk about, and you've probably talked about this a lot,
728
but I want to talk a little bit about your preparation for Beautiful Boy, because it was so, I mean,
729
what you were experiencing as that character, who I know as a real person, was immense.
730
So what did that require of you?
731
Well, Felix, the director, wanted me to lose weight at the top.
732
How old were you there?
733
When did you make it?
734
You know, I was 21.
735
I was 21.
736
Okay, so did you make it last year?
737
Shoot, no, I must have been 20.
738
I was 20.
739
Okay.
740
How could you lose weight?
741
I know, I know.
742
What did you do?
743
I know, that's what I said to him.
744
I was like, well, I am skinny, sir.
745
And he was like, but you must be skinnier.
746
Oh, man.
747
And I felt like, well, there's no business.
748
How much did you have to lose?
749
I lost, it was supposed to be 15.
750
Whoa.
751
And then it was 18.
752
Oh my God, no. What, did you just not eat?
753
I just yeah, it's like very hyper concentrated portions of like you know, you see snowpiercer.
754
Yeah, it's like the protein goo
755
So what did you did you yes?
756
It's a hard yeah, it's hard to be eating
757
and like you said before I feel like influenced my environment a lot
758
when I act that's why I really don't like to act on stages
759
I want to act like with actual tactile real things
760
and to just be in that state was like yeah I was jarring and jarring for people around me, especially with the makeup too.
761
I could come on set and I would see Steve and his face would drop.
762
He told me one day he said no more.
763
He said like, he's like, you can't do anymore.
764
You got protected.
765
Yeah, and he pulled me aside.
766
Because you realize like SAG protection's a lot of things.
767
My mom works for a union, so they're so important.
768
But you realize like, you know, it's often not somebody trying to be malicious.
769
They're like just trying to whatever, like get their day done and not go into overtime or whatever, maybe that's malicious but so there was that,
770
there were the books that I stayed really close to, like a trust process with Steve, just getting to know him,
771
and then the gift from Nick who said we understand, and David who said this isn't a biopic basically, and get this as right as possible.
772
And that was a big relief because I thought, okay, forget mannerisms or picking up a cup in a weird way, and do it.
773
That's a great theory to do do it
774
and then lastly it was like really um it was uh say i'm jumping into it
775
or something the queen has taken a shine to me
776
and i will drip poison into her ear regarding you until she is mad with hatred for you
777
or we could have a mutually advantageous friendship count of three yes or no
778
but if you're so close to the queen why not just ask this favor yourself
779
And now on the favorite, what was the preparation?
780
Because we worked with the same, I don't know if you want me to bring this up, but we worked with the same dialect coach.
781
Who, Joan or Neil?
782
Neil.
783
Oh.
784
The best.
785
He is so fantastic.
786
And your accent, you gave me such confidence.
787
Because I don't know, was it with Neil on the favorite?
788
It was with Neil.
789
Yes!
790
Because I worked with him on The King, which is a movie I did this summer.
791
Oh God, he's amazing.
792
That's kind of what I wanted to do, because I was like, wow.
793
Because I feel, I know a lot of British people that can do excellent American accents.
794
Yes, me too.
795
And it's, the pool's a little bit smaller on the American end.
796
But it's also, a lot of British people have gone to drama school
797
and have been listening to the American accent for such a long time.
798
And we're just looking at American things.
799
And we're like, oh guys, I'm a lot.
800
Terrible British accent.
801
So the preparation for that, it wasn't too extensive because we had a long rehearsal process with the ergos.
802
What's long, like three weeks?
803
Like three weeks and so it was like horseback riding,
804
shooting those guns, all really bonding and doing kind of theater -ish exercises. And then...
805
That gun shooting scene is incredible.
806
The gun shooting scene.
807
Your face is so amazing in that scene because I don't know, and you don't have to define it for me,
808
but I don't know, it looks like it's trepidation at first, but then you really lean into it,
809
and it's like, oh my god, is she enjoying this?
810
She was a layered person to get to play.
811
It was so, I mean all three of those women, it was such a dream to read that script.
812
What was Rachel like?
813
Oh my God, she's maybe the most beautiful person I've ever seen and so wonderful.
814
At the same time?
815
Yeah.
816
I wanna hear more about that, but she gave me great advice about your life becoming public.
817
I met her last year and she said, if you're trying to run away from it, you're gonna drive yourself crazy.
818
And if you lean into it, you might actually enjoy it a little bit.
819
And I thought, okay, that's interesting.
820
and were you working closely with him on the character slash accent, or was that a thing where you were like,
821
day one, you're like, here it is. With Yorgos?
822
Yeah.
823
No, he does not talk about that stuff.
824
Okay, interesting.
825
He's like, you know, he's very...
826
Because he's thinking about other things, or because he wants...
827
He kind of like lets you do your thing, and then he can gauge it from there, which I'm actually kind of used to that process,
828
and I really enjoy it, because it gives you a lot of freedom to sort of, I mean, I love getting in there and being really,
829
you know, like really digging deep into the script, character, everything with the director.
830
Right.
831
But that is not Yorgos' way.
832
Okay, okay.
833
It is not his way.
834
It's kind of you guys find it and figure it out and then he will calibrate from there.
835
Because he's giving it to you or like a sci -fi director is just thinking about other things?
836
No, I think he's just, I think the reason he hires the people he hires is
837
because he trusts them to do what they do with the character which is lovely because you feel trusted.
838
Trusted, yeah.
839
And then, yeah, there's no micromanaging.
840
But then he's more specific as you start shooting.
841
And then on the - And what was Felix?
842
Man, Felix was a dream, and he made a movie called Broken Circle Breakdown, that if you wanna weep all day,
843
I - That's the one to watch?
844
I mean, that's like, it's also a beautiful movie that takes place in Belgium, but has a whole bluegrass musical theme to it.
845
Oh my god, amazing.
846
No, and what a dream, and also, like I said before, I read for him like six times.
847
Yeah.
848
So once he gives it to you, you're like, you, I like it!
849
You've given me an opportunity.
850
So yeah, I know a lot of gratitude.
851
And also that was tough.
852
There were little moments for the actors to be like, hey Felix, thanks for a great day.
853
So he was really great with us.
854
It wasn't the kind of thing we looked at the call sheet and you were like, oh, tomorrow's a lighter day.
855
It was like, oh God.
856
Then they went through this, then they went through this.
857
But it was awesome working with him.
858
It's so great.
859
They wanted me to ask a social media thing, but I was really inspired because I feel like eight years ago
860
or 10 years ago there was this thing where it was all new still and everyone was like,
861
oh my God, everyone has to be doing this now.
862
And I think what I've seen is like with you or J -Law or like Beyonce or Frank Osh, well I guess he's now on it.
863
Well this group is really.
864
No, I'm sorry.
865
But when people are at a certain level or something, you're not doing it and I think that's so badass or something.
866
I mean honestly, I think it's more because I would be overwhelmed by being, like putting something out there and being like,
867
why did I say that, or what were these comments, I think it would just be too much of an influx for my personality.
868
Okay, okay.
869
I think it's a sensitivity thing.
870
It's like a sensitivity level thing.
871
Oh, so you're not like, I'm better than this?
872
No. Oh, okay.
873
No, I do not feel higher than it, and I really like it, and I think it's great, and I do lurk, but I don't feel.
874
Yes, you lurk though, you lurk though.
875
On the Finsta.
876
I'm a lurker, big time.
877
East L34.
878
You have it.
879
I do, yeah, yeah, yeah.
880
Do you like it?
881
Does it help you feel engaged in the world in an interesting way?
882
You know what, I like the idea of it, God, I really hope this is not pretentious,
883
but I like the idea of it as almost another.
884
expression of self and rather than like, here's my career, like being like, you know, like, here's some clues.
885
And here's some thoughts I have.
886
Yeah, exactly.
887
Yeah, no, it's nice.
888
Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Timothée Chalamet & Emma Stone”. This video has 888 sentences and 9367 words to shadow. The speech runs for 45:20. The speaker talks fast, about 207 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| script noun | /skɹɪpt/ | A writing; a written document. |
| audition noun | /ɑˈdɪʃən/ | A performance, by an aspiring performer, to demonstrate suitability or talent. |
| theater noun | /ˈθi(ə)tɚ/ | A place or building, consisting of a stage and seating, in which an audience gathers to watch plays, musical performances, public ceremonies, and so on. |
| accent noun | /ækˈsɛnt/ | A higher-pitched or stronger (louder or longer) articulation of a particular syllable of a word or phrase in order to distinguish it from the others or to… |
| element noun | /ˈɛləmənt/ | One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based. |
| genius noun | /ˈd͡ʒin.jəs/ | Someone possessing extraordinary intelligence or skill; especially somebody who has demonstrated this by a creative or original work in science, music, art… |
| preparation noun | /ˌpɹɛpəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/ | The act of preparing or getting ready. |
| unicorn noun | /ˈju.nɪ.kɔɹn/ | A mythical, horselike creature with a horn on its forehead, supposed to be very rare and to be drawn to virgins and other chaste maidens. |
| mirror noun | /ˈmiɹɚ/ | A smooth surface, usually made of glass with reflective material painted on the underside, that reflects light so as to give an image of what is in front of it. |
| chase verb | /t͡ʃeɪs/ | To follow at speed. |
| legend noun | /ˈlɛd͡ʒ.ənd/ | The life story of a saint (such stories are often embellished, but any kind is called a legend). |
| dramatic adjective | /dɹəˈmætɪk/ | Of or relating to the drama. |
| hire verb | /ˈhaɪɹ/ | To obtain the services of in return for fixed payment. |
| sudden adjective | /ˈsʌd.ən/ | Occurring quickly with little or no warning or expectation; instantly. |
| underground adjective | /ˌʌn.dəɹˈɡɹaʊnd/ | Below the ground; below the surface of the Earth. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. | |
| fall apart verb | To disintegrate, to break into pieces. | |
| drop out verb | To leave (school, a race, etc.) prematurely and voluntarily. | |
| go in for verb | To enter a competition. | |
| go up for verb | Of the fielding side, to appeal for the batsman or batswoman to be out. | |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. | |
| come back verb | To return to a place. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Do you think it's funny?
- Have you seen it recently?
- You're like, wow, do people really live like this?
- I'm gonna be in great things?
- It doesn't make me any different, all right?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | It's always been falling · have been listening |
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if we do something together, you'll see |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | haven't seen · Have you lived · Have you been |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | were not picked · being alienated · had been written |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 280 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, you're, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: theater /ˈθi(ə)tɚ/, beneath /bɪˈniːθ/, pathetic /pəˈθɛtɪk/, aesthetic /ɛsˈθɛ.tɪk/, therapist /ˈθɛɹəpɪst/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: audition /ɑˈdɪʃən/, preparation /ˌpɹɛpəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/, conscious /ˈkɑn.ʃəs/, anxious /ˈæŋkʃəs/, malicious /məˈlɪʃəs/
- Long words — get the stress right: preparation /ˌpɹɛpəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/, sensitivity /ˌsɛn.səˈtɪv.ə.ti/, incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, humanity /hjuˈmænɪti/, documentary /ˌdɒk.jʊˈmɛn.tɹi/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like script, audition, theater.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.