The latest thriller from M. Night Shyamalan Old hits theaters on Friday, July 23rd. The film stars Gael García Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Alex Wolff and Thomasin McKenzie as a family whose vacation goes fatally wrong after landing on an inevitable beach that leads to rapid aging.
“Visionary filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan unveils a terrifying, mysterious new thriller about a family on a tropical vacation who discovers that the remote beach where they relax for a few hours somehow ages them quickly … day,” reads in the official synopsis.
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ComingSoon editor-in-chief Tyler Treese spoke to star Alex Wolff about his role, working with M. Night and his thoughts on the original graphic novel.
Tyler Treese: Your character has this very childlike quality because he is mentally younger than what you portray him as. How did you make sure you had that childlike quality in your acting?
Alex Wolff: I mean, I saw a lot of cartoons while filming and read a few books on child psychology. I tried to just reconnect with that part of me and then just let it rip.
Working with M. Night, how exciting was it for you? He is someone who has made so many great films over the years.
I am happy to even know or meet him. He’s such a special guy, but I feel especially lucky to be working with him on his most personal film. I felt like I was a part of him, an emotional demon within myself, and I felt really happy to be a part of it.
There are so many emotional scenes that come with the aging aspect. Your character has to do with all of these scenarios that no child would be prepared for. Then the parents also have marital problems. Can you talk about showing all of those emotions and instilling a childlike tantrum in some scenes that really helps bring home the emotions of those moments?
Yes. I think that as a kid we often think of that blissful magical experience of all fairies and rainbows, like “Oh, I’m a kid” but I think it’s a really emotional time. Or at least it was for me. It was either a constant exhilaration or just constant despair. So it felt like, “Oh my god, this is the worst moment of my life because I’ve only lived six years.” So I feel like it was really just a connection to these extremes and it wasn’t that difficult was. What I really had to do was just feel like I had to go under like a construction to tear down these walls. When I start to feel this anger, the heat that is building up in my body, then there is this wall coming up, it’s almost like a computer server is like that, you’re sure you want to get this angry ? And you have to be like that, yes, and enter your password by yourself. That’s how I feel like I’m getting older. I just had to get rid of these walls and it’s only when you feel it it comes out. I felt like I was the right guy for the job because I’m someone with fewer walls than maybe some other adults.
I am always happy to hear about your preparation. This is based on a graphic novel called Sandcastle. Did you read that at the end or did you just stick with the script?
Yeah, I read that before I even read the script. So I auditioned and then ordered the book in case I got a call back or something. So I read it and fell in love and it was amazing. It was wild. I think the film is more soulful than the book. I love the book, but the book is almost a bit pornographic in places and kind of weird and wild. And, and I think this movie still retains those weird, tingly, unique qualities, but it’s got a slightly more emotional place.
