Lewis Pullman talks filming 'Lessons in Chemistry' with THR on the red carpet for the Spirit Awards. Plus, he praises Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi for their work in 'Priscilla.'
00:00Congratulations! Lessons in Chemistry nominated.
00:03I mean, did you know, did it feel special when you were filming it on set?
00:07Did you know that this was something special?
00:09Yeah, it definitely did. I mean, I read the book and I knew it was special from the get,
00:14but the whole team that was culminated was just, it was a dream team of collaborators.
00:19Everyone was like, very much wanted it to be a process, a mutually exclusive creative process,
00:25which is rare, especially on that scale, and Apple and Lee Eisenberg and Bree were all like,
00:32everyone was just so adamant about making it, you know, staying true to the book
00:36while also staying true to whatever was truthful in us at that moment
00:40in order to bring some breath and some real life to it.
00:44What's your process when you get a script like this? Do you go immediately and read the book
00:47or do you want to just stick to what's been presented to you?
00:50If I've got the book, I mean, you're lucky to have a roadmap like that.
00:53Yeah, I wouldn't, I wouldn't disregard that. I have done stuff where, you know, it's like a movie repeat.
00:59Like I did Salem's Lot and I intentionally didn't watch those beforehand.
01:04I watched them after just because I was like, that when you're, when you're doing a, you know,
01:09you're playing somebody who's already played it on screen.
01:11I think that is, I didn't want, I want to stray away from replicating anything. Yeah.
01:15It's nice to see you here too. I don't know. What's your schedule's like?
01:18I've just been reading all these headlines. You're off to do Thunderbolts. Is that happening?
01:21When do you leave for that?
01:23I am having fun in Venice Beach in Santa Monica. Where are we?
01:28Santa Monica.
01:29Santa Monica. I'm, you know, I'm just going wherever the wind takes me. Yeah. Yeah.
01:36And then tell me, you know, part of the independent spirit is like championing the work of others.
01:40And, and what's great about being here today is they celebrate so many people, yourself among them across film and TV.
01:46Was there a performance, a film that you saw in this crop of nominees or even just this year that really jumped out to you and meant something to you?
01:55Oh, throughout the nominees of this year?
01:57Um, good question. I just on the plane watched Priscilla. I don't, I don't know if it's nominated, but yeah, yeah.
02:05And I worked with Kaylee. I thought she was magnetic and I, and I thought Jacob was fantastic and, and didn't, you know, that role is so, there's so much mythos surrounding it.
02:17I can't imagine how hard it must've been to that kind of allow yourself the freedom to inject your own self into somebody who is so defined.
02:25And he really did that and brought life into him. And, and I thought Kaylee just can't sing a false note. Kaylee's always delivers like the best work.
02:33I'm so excited to watch what she does.
02:35And she does it so young. I mean, she's so young.
02:38Yeah. It's incredible.
02:39Like you, you watch someone like you and you're like, he was born to do this. She's born to do that.
02:44Do you, when you see something like that, especially an actor like Jacob playing a real life person, does it inspire you to, I mean, cause that's something that, that comes with its own set of challenges.
02:54Is that something you want to do, would do?
02:58I mean, that is one hell of an undertaking and I, I really respect his, his bravery, you know, that, that is, there's a lot against you, you know?
03:07And, and you just have to, I imagine what he did was just kind of shut those off and just go tunnel vision and just do it for yourself and do it for the truth of the story.
03:16Yeah. I mean, I would love to play like a real, you know, love to, you know, evil Knievel, Bruce Springsteen. I don't know.
03:25I would, I would, I would be terrifying, but I'm all about chasing the terror. So.
03:29And then last question, what's the most indie thing you've had to do on a set? Like, is there either bootstraps kind of production? What's the, what's the most you've had to give up? What's the hardest you've had to work?
03:40I mean, probably like, you know, getting the, using the, doing the boom, you know, going like, I don't know, getting the crafty. Like I did a lot of like shorts. That's how I got my start with my, my buddy Graham Parks, who's a great filmmaker.
03:55And so that was just like, nobody had like a set position. Everyone was doing everything. And it's fun. You get, that's how you learn like what the whole organ, how the whole organism works, you know?
04:06How's the first to answer that would get there?
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