00:00We did end up playing a prank on Jen.
00:02It's really funny, like I can sing that song like backwards,
00:06but there was something in me that was so nervous
00:08about how it was gonna go down that I like,
00:10in the moment, I think I forgot the lyrics.
00:12No one told you life was gonna be this way, you know?
00:15And I think the only thing I ended up remembering doing
00:17was the.
00:19Hi, my name is Will Poulter,
00:20and I'm here with The Hollywood Reporter,
00:22and I'm gonna be sharing some of my close collabs.
00:25I had like fanned out on Florence Pugh one time before
00:35I had seen her in Lady Macbeth,
00:39and saw she was amazing with Cosmo Jarvis
00:42and with my friend Naomi Ackie,
00:44and so I was so excited to get the chance
00:46to work with her on Midsommar.
00:48It's sort of crazy, she can go from being like
00:50the silliest person, joking around, having a laugh,
00:55like bantering with everybody,
00:56and then in an instant, she can be, you know,
01:01in the depths of despair, bawling her eyes out,
01:04you know, totally horrified,
01:06as she often was, you know, on Midsommar.
01:09And I was so amazed by her performance when I saw it live,
01:12but even more so when I watched the movie,
01:14like the sort of things that she's going through,
01:17the way that she plays grief,
01:19the way that she plays genuine horror,
01:21and the fact that she did all that
01:22while being such a fun kind of,
01:26and sort of like energetic kind of life force on set,
01:31I don't really know how she did that,
01:32it was kind of superhuman.
01:34I'm just gonna lay down, okay?
01:35Yeah, do that.
01:37Everybody else lay down.
01:43Withermillers was a surreal experience for me,
01:46just on the basis that, like, I was 19,
01:49and I was really, really lucky
01:52to be made to feel incredibly, like, welcome on set,
01:55and Jen kind of, like, typified that sort of friendly
02:01and welcoming energy that I received,
02:03and I was such a fan of hers.
02:05Like, Friends was one of my, like, ultimate shows growing up.
02:09Me and my sister collected the box sets
02:11and watched it incessantly
02:13and could quote virtually every line.
02:16I think I would have been heartbroken if she wasn't lovely,
02:20and she absolutely was.
02:20We did end up playing a prank on Jen.
02:23You know, there's a scene in the film
02:24where they put a song on the radio
02:26and everyone, like, sings along,
02:27and Jason set it up so that the Friends theme tune came on,
02:31and we all sang along to that,
02:32and I think it made it on, like, the DVD.
02:34It's really funny, like, I can sing that song, like,
02:37backwards, but there was something in me
02:39that was so nervous about how it was gonna go down
02:41that I, like, in the moment, I think I forgot the lyrics.
02:44No one told you life was gonna be this way, you know?
02:47And I think the only thing I ended up remembering doing
02:49was the, because I was, like, so nervous, so silly.
02:54Hi, Mom.
02:55Jesus.
02:59Michael was amazing to me.
03:01Like, I don't know if I've had an experience
03:04with another actor where they've kind of put their arm
03:06over my shoulder, like, quite so much.
03:08Like, he was so supportive,
03:10and I can remember the scene where I come into his office
03:13and he himself is sort of gripped by addiction.
03:16He's struggling with opioid abuse disorder,
03:19and seeing him in sort of in that state
03:23and not getting the chance to kind of, like,
03:24talk to him earlier in the day and kind of, like,
03:26shoot the shit and just walking in and seeing him like that
03:28was really, like, heartbreaking and genuinely really moving,
03:33and I kind of didn't really have to, like, do any acting.
03:36I was just, like, crushed to see him
03:38be as convincing in that state.
03:41It's so poison, boy.
03:45What's that?
03:46It's so poison.
03:47That's what you do.
03:48That's just poison.
03:53I, like, couldn't have been a bigger fan of the show,
03:56and that's kind of how the journey started for me
03:58in the sense I was a huge fan,
03:59kind of, like, asked to be on the show,
04:00and Io, you know, and Jeremy,
04:03both of their performances are, like,
04:04so brilliant in the show,
04:06and so getting the chance to work on The Bear
04:10in season two with Lionel was amazing,
04:13like, genuinely a life-changing experience.
04:16It was a kind of dream come true for me to play a chef,
04:18and then in season three, I got to cross over with Io
04:23in this really interesting, kind of meaningful way,
04:26and she's so fun to do scenes with.
04:30I think she's such a brilliant actor.
04:32You know, comedy and drama chops
04:34are just, like, equally as strong,
04:36and she's an insane talent.
04:38I thought her episode, Napkins, of season three
04:42was one of the best episodes of the season.
04:45I mean, just incredible.
04:47So I'm very lucky to have done stuff with her
04:49in season three, and I really hope I get to continue
04:52to work with her,
04:53because she's super talented and lovely, too.
05:01Taylor Leone is insanely funny.
05:06Like, so professional and good at what she does,
05:10it's almost effortless.
05:12There's a moment right before I tell her to shut the,
05:16um, she's, like, giving me the one true, honest compliment
05:21that I've, like, waited for my entire life,
05:23but I'm too, like, stupid to sort of take it in,
05:27and she does it in the most surprising, amazing way,
05:30and, you know, and she constantly delivered things
05:34in ways that I never would have even thought of,
05:36and it's so funny.
05:37Like, her manipulation of Jenna's character,
05:40her kind of performative activism,
05:42she's extraordinary, and, like,
05:45I haven't had many experiences as great
05:49as my experience of working with Zaya.
05:52What exactly are we saying this is, though?
05:54I think we know exactly what it is.
05:56A horse-like mammalia.
05:59With some sort of protrusion or growth.
06:06Daisy Edgar-Jones is really funny.
06:10She really makes me laugh,
06:13and she's wonderful in On Swift Horses,
06:17and so believable and real in every turn,
06:22and I loved working with her on that,
06:25but the surprise was to find out how funny she is,
06:27like, offset when the camera's on rolling,
06:29like, she's so sweet and really, really funny.
06:37When I think about the warfare group,
06:39I think about us all doing, like, silly things,
06:42like group quartet singing while smoking cigarettes
06:47and drinking energy drinks in between takes,
06:51or, you know, all, like, having meals together
06:54at the end of every single day.
06:56We spent virtually every waking moment with each other
06:59and lived together through that boot camp
07:00and through the shooting,
07:04and, you know, as serious as the subject matter is,
07:07and I will say is, like, incredibly intense
07:10and committed, you know,
07:13the whole kind of cast were in the process of shooting it.
07:17Like, we had such a laugh, too, and had so much fun,
07:21but it was still intense,
07:23and it still pushed us all kind of further
07:24than we'd ever been,
07:25so having those moments of levity was key
07:28and very much a byproduct of the amazing camaraderie
07:32that developed through boot camp,
07:34and I sincerely love those guys.
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