Jacob Tremblayis one of the most impressive young actors working today, something made all the more impressive by the fact that he seems genuinely decent and ‘normal,’ as opposed to the horror stories we often hear about children who grow up in the industry. He’s still the youngest nominee for the Screen Actors Guild Award for a Supporting Male Actor for his powerhouse role in the filmRoom. He was only nine at the time, and yet he was responsible for at least one of the most intense scenes in film history.
He’s 17 now, but Tremblay has already starred opposite Julia Roberts, Naomi Watts, Peter Dinklage, Vera Farmiga, Kevin Bacon, Ewan McGregor, and more. He has worked with the great Mike Flanagan (Before I Wake, Doctor Sleep), starred inthe new version ofThe Little Mermaid, portrayed Robin in the greatHarley Quinnseries, and starred in a Justin Bieber music video. All that, and he’s set to lead a new Netflix film written bythe great Charlie Kaufman,Orion and the Dark. Suffice it to say, Tremblay has had a prodigy-level experience as a young actor.
He’s going outside his comfort zone, however, in the new journalistic thriller,Cold Copy. He plays a young man named Igor, a fiercely intelligent and troubled young man whose famous mother died under mysterious circumstances. His story is picked up by an ambitious young journalist (played by Bel Powley), who is looking to make a name for herself with her celebrity professor (played by Tracee Ellis Ross). The result is a dark study of exploitation and journalism that asks, is there such a thing as truth, and at what cost? Tremblay spoke with MovieWebaboutCold Copy, his past work, and hisupcoming movie with Mike Flanagan,The Life of Chuck.
Jacob Tremblay Plays a Very Different Role
Jacob Tremblay is soft-spoken and seems very kind, and most of his characters have been relatively innocent, albeit complicated, souls. However, inCold Copy, he plays a much more emotional, tortured, and withdrawn character, which is what drew him to the film to begin with.
“Part of the reason I wanted to do this role so badly was because it’s so different from anything I’ve ever played before. So it was definitely a challenge at the start, and it pushed me out of my comfort zone from what I was used to playing. So that was very, very exciting for me,” explained Tremblay. “It was just really fun to kind of dive into those emotions, and see where it took me. It’s always like the first day or two, you’re kind of nervous, and you don’t really know the character all too well. So I think it’s very important, I always review the character a lot before going into filming.” He continued:
“Playing with those emotions is really exciting and something new for me, which is what I love about acting, really, is finding new characters. The tricky thing is, I usually like to find things I have in common with the characters. I think that always makes it easy during the pre-process. But one thing about Igor is, there’s very, very little I had in common. I think the only thing we have in common is just our love for art. Obviously, my art is acting and his is drawing.”
“I think Igor has a shell,” added Tremblay on the differences between himself and the character he plays inCold Copy. You know, when you first meet him, he comes across as very hard and tough, but on the inside he’s quite soft and has a big heart. I’m different in that way that I don’t really have a shell. It’s just me, you know what I mean?"
Bel Powley, Betrayal, and Intensity
Poor Igor develops a connection with a young journalist inCold Copy, and their relationship walks a fine line between kindness and exploitation. Igor is obviously attracted to her, possibly as a maternal figure to sublimate the loss of his mother, and is happy that someone is actually paying attention to him, but he also a subtle understanding that he’s being manipulated by Bel Powley’s character. Tremblay praised his co-star for bringing out the best of him and developing their chemistry together:
“She’s a great co-star to work with because she does such a good job at just diving right into scenes, and she’s so involved with the process,” explained Tremblay. “So I really enjoyed working with her, and we had some really fun scenes to work with, too, and a lot of emotional scenes. I found it very easy to get into those emotions with her, working with her, because she’s very, very talented.”
The narrative foundation of Igor’s relationship with Powley’s character, though, is a tragic one. Almost everyone inCold Copyexperiences a kind of betrayal which forces them to reevaluate their relationships and the honest intentions of the people around them. Tremblay elaborated on the themes of the film:
“It’s a story about betrayal. Bel’s character pretty much betrays my character. But what I like about is, sure, at the heart of it, it’s about journalism, but I think a lot of people in many different careers can relate to the story and relate to the pressure of being new to that, being a beginner, and having that ambition, and seeing, you know, how far are you willing to go for that? I’m excited for people to see that.”
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Cold Copyis yet another emotionally intense role for the actor, who has never shied away from heavy (and sometimes scary) performances despite his age. We wondered if these roles have ever affected him personally. “Yeah, I think the only time something like that has ever happened was duringWonder,which was a movie I did where I played a kid with a facial difference. So I wearprosthetics throughout the whole film, like face prosthetics,” said Tremblay, who added:
That was kind of heavy to work with at such a young age, so I remember coming home sometimes and feeling quite down after a while of playing that character. But I think that’s such a beautiful film. There are very sad emotional parts, but then what I love about that movie is that there’s a lot of hope. And I think that hope is what helped me kind of escape from those feelings of gray and almost depression.
“But it’s never really bothered me personally because, I don’t know, for me, it’s just acting,” said Tremblay coolly.
The Little Mermaid and Mike Flanagan’s New Stephen King Adaptation
“It’s just acting,” as Tremblay said, but so much goes on behind the scenes and among the audience. What happens when a film develops backlash? Does that affect a young man like Tremblay?The Little Mermaidremake drew such unnecessary vitriol from weird people online who didn’t want to see an animated film from their childhood be turned into a live-action film (especially with a Black woman, no matter how impressive Halle Bailey’s vocals were).
“I just really focused on doing the voice and portraying that character. And I think that was received well, my voice and everything,” said Tremblay. “As far as the film goes, I think that a lot of people judged it from the start without really seeing the movie. Just judging from what the trailer has to offer, and the trailer didn’t give away that much, they’re always gonna save the most beautiful parts for the film, which is exactly what they did. So, I think it’s never really bothered me personally, because usually when people watch the film, their opinions changed. But everyone’s entitled to their opinion.”
The Little Mermaidis in the past now, but what’s in the future for Tremblay? Aside from Orion and the Dark, in which he plays the titular role, the young actor is extremely busy. He’ll be starring in The Skeleton Tree, Queen of Bones, and The Toxic Avenger, and lending his voice to the stop-motion animated film,Wildwood. Perhaps his most exciting project, however, isThe Life of Chuck, which reunites him with Mike Flanagan for another Stephen King adaptation. We probed for whatever information we could get:
Well, I’ll just share that I had an amazing time on that set. One of the things I love about Mike is that he keeps things very, very fun and very kind of casual, but it’s serious when it needs to be serious on set. So, it’s really fun. I’m super excited for people to watch this film. I haven’t seen or read anything like it before. It’s so, so unique and so different.
“I just actually revisited [his earlier Flanagan film,Before I Wake] while I was filmingThe Life of Chuck. Because I remember talking with Mike about a lot of the things about that set, and I was so young, there were things I couldn’t remember. And there were so many memories that started coming back. ‘Okay, I do remember that. Do you remember that?’ So, I rewatched the film just recently when we were filming, which I think was not too long ago. It was November.”
And now it’s January and Tremblay begins his extraordinary 2024 withCold Copy, which is a production of Sycthia Films, ShivHans Pictures, Needle’s Eye, and 30WEST. It will have a concurrent theatrical and VOD release on January 26th from Vertical. You can check out the trailer below:
