00:27This is Tim Wassberg from Fest Track on Surf TV.
00:29I'm here in Toronto, Ontario for the Toronto Film Festival.
00:33Because like Vinny is an artist, you know, a nuclear artist, you know, and Leo said the one thing that
00:39when you talked to him, the first thing you talked about is eyes and you connected with him with the
00:44eyes.
00:45I mean, that's interesting because as an actor, you know, you've worked with so many different people, so many different
00:50directors.
00:51And yet this is a kid taking his first steps as an actor.
00:54I love working with young actors or non-actors and because there's a certain sort of honesty and rawness and
01:03just like pureness to it.
01:05But also you never really know what's going to happen and where they're going to go.
01:09And, you know, you need to be more sort of agile in the different takes and sometimes bring it back
01:15and like sort of, but I think the most important thing is to walk into every situation with the vulnerability
01:25of like, I don't know.
01:27Like I've been doing this for many, many years, but still like I'm fresh into this.
01:32Like today when we enter the scene, we are equals.
01:35Like whatever I've done before is completely irrelevant.
01:38Like we're in this exploring together and be like, and work with curiosity.
01:43And sometimes the best idea or the best sort of impulse is from someone who's never done this before.
01:48But also like, and I think this, like this sort of, how do you gently or how can you guide
01:57someone to maintain their energy and to sort of keep like, keep searching and keep like finding new things and
02:04trusting that it's, you don't need to repeat yourself.
02:07Keep just looking and see what comes and you can't do no wrong.
02:11Like that was the thing I kept saying to Leo, like whatever, what's your words?
02:16How would you say, like, who are you in this?
02:18Like there's, it doesn't really matter what's on the page.
02:22If you don't, like, this is my approach many times.
02:25Like if you don't feel it, if, if it's, if it doesn't land in you, try something else, like stay
02:30open and keep searching rather than trying to nail it.
02:33Because it's like, that's when nerves and this sort of, you know, trying to be perfect and trying to do,
02:38you know, get all the lines right.
02:39And it's like, it doesn't really, it's not about that in the end of the day.
02:43Um, but I, I think Leo is super, like a very special actor.
02:47He's very, he has this concentration and like presence that is, uh, very powerful.
02:56And, um, I, I felt a connection with him from the very first time I met, like, whoa, there's something
03:04here.
03:04We just like hooked into each other as, as humans, I think, and, and the characters too have this almost
03:11like a kindred spirit sort of, it's like this invisible connection that is just like, um, yeah.
03:18Yeah.
03:29Cool.
03:31Oh, shit.
03:48They are trying to shut down the valve on the north side.
03:51A lot of oil till the next pump station.
03:54120 gallons per minute.
03:57Could you connect, like, obviously, you know, when you started, I mean, you came out of the gate, like running,
04:02you know, did you, can you look back and see what you did versus what like he's doing and where
04:09you are now and where you can see that path?
04:11Yeah, um, yeah, definitely.
04:14I mean, I also went really deep and really far straight away into like a emotional sort of, um, no
04:23man's land.
04:24Like you kind of throw yourself in and, and physical and, and like working with your own pain and your
04:31own fears and something deeply personal.
04:33And I think, I mean, uh, you, you, you need to find a way to protect yourself and pull it
04:39back and close after and, and be gentle with yourself.
04:42But also I think the world have changed.
04:45I think it's, it's important to, um, the, the, the art of making movies and bringing a character to life.
04:56That's, it's, it's healing.
04:57It's, it's, it's the, it's the most beautiful profession.
05:00I love cinema.
05:02I live for cinema.
05:04I love actors.
05:05I love directors.
05:05I love writers.
05:06I love producers.
05:07I love everyone in the crew.
05:09Like it's for me the most, like I'm so lucky and it feels like such a blessing to be part
05:14of this community.
05:15But when everything that is like sort of, uh, how you come across young actors, like they're so like, you
05:22know, your brand promote yourself, be,
05:24be visible, be present on Instagram.
05:27Like, and all of a sudden you start to look at yourself from the outside and it's like, how, you
05:31know, and you start to direct yourself and how do you, who do I want to be associated with?
05:35What is good for my career?
05:37Instead of being in the moment, you start to become your own audience.
05:40And I think that's a, that's a thin line.
05:42And it's, it's a hard balance that the young actors today are sort of, and maybe, I mean, everyone, but
05:48like maybe more for them.
05:50And I think like, I just want them to be about the art and be about the work and everything
05:54else will solve itself.
05:56You know.
06:14Got to lift before the misdeeds the rotors.
06:26Acting is existential.
06:28It's about where we are.
06:30I mean, I know from experience talking to people, everybody's experience is their own, but can you talk about, you
06:35know, looking at that?
06:37Because it's about where you are, who you want to be, but it's also making those choices.
06:42Everything you do creates a choice.
06:45Could you talk about that?
06:47Because you can, you know, you're so, the projects you pick are very unique.
06:52And I don't think many actors are creating that sense of differentiality.
06:57I mean, to do something like Hotspot and go to this is insane.
07:03But it's very telling in many ways, you know.
07:08I find life incredibly beautiful and difficult and like, and challenging.
07:17And, you know, the more you know, the less you feel like you have any idea.
07:21And I think, you know, the beauty about being an actor is that it's, I'm exploring truth.
07:29And truth is never wrong.
07:32Truth is just truth.
07:33Truth.
07:33And like in that sort of space, there's no right and wrong.
07:38Good and bad is irrelevant.
07:40It's a place of freedom.
07:42And I think I'm drawn to stories that are exploring and asking questions.
07:47And sometimes it's less about the character.
07:49Sometimes the character might need some work.
07:52And like, and then I can say, I was like, I love this story.
07:54I love this director.
07:55I love the actors.
07:56But let's work on the character.
07:58And sometimes it's the other way around.
08:00It's like an amazing character.
08:01The story might need some work.
08:03Or the director's like, might not be someone that you feel like you love everything they've done.
08:08But this specific project is bringing all the ingredients is all right.
08:12So there's never, I'm just trying to follow sort of some sort of intuition, but also not repeat myself to
08:23go into things that is, that feels slightly scary.
08:26And we're like, oh, let's see, like, because I don't want to ever like repeat something that I feel like,
08:32oh, this is a formula that works, you know.
08:34So I think it's, and I think more, more, more important today than ever, you know, a storytelling and sort
08:42of shining light on complex situations on characters.
08:46And like, it's not easy to be a human and we all make mistakes and it's okay, but, and it's
08:52okay to be wrong.
08:54But also like, you know, look at like, I don't, I think like, you know, movies have a very important
09:00part in history.
09:01And now to just like, you know, show, be interested, be curious, like learn if you feel like you're like,
09:08oh no, I hate these people over there.
09:10And I hate the people doing that and that.
09:13And like, you know, when you go into situations in life with aggression and sort of, you know, it's like,
09:18I know black and white, I know what's right and wrong.
09:21It's like, you don't know nothing.
09:23The whitest people I met, they come in and they're so humble and curious.
09:53And my last question, because human behavior is mysterious, it's universal, it's universal, but it can be mysterious because you
10:00never know what people are going to do.
10:01And that's what this film sort of does.
10:02Can you talk about, you know, looking at specifically within this film, what human behavior can be, it can be
10:09mysterious, it can be primal, it can be about survival, but it can also be about heart.
10:16Could you talk about that?
10:17Because you've always been very good at finding humanity while still also keeping an air of mystery within it.
10:24You know, does that make sense?
10:25Yeah, thank you.
10:27I think, you know, I love Susan Toreel.
10:31Like she's such a, she's a, she is someone who's very good at her job and she has her own
10:38sort of ethic and moral and rule system.
10:41But in the end of the day, she's someone with a huge amount of empathy and, and understanding and, and,
10:51and I think like it's that balance of, okay, I have, I hold myself accountable for my actions and my
11:03actions proves who I am.
11:05But also like, who are you as a human, who do you want to be when you look back at
11:10your life, you know, and it's like, how important is it to be right?
11:14Or how important is it to do the right thing sort of?
11:17And, and I think she's someone that is right in that, you know, when we get to know her, we
11:22see, and we feel that she has, she's carrying a lot of pain.
11:26She lived situation, we don't know what, but she's someone that understands, she's an outsider and she doesn't really belong,
11:34but she also has a huge responsibility because she's sort of the bridge between the law and, and, and this
11:39young boy.
11:41Um, I think this, this movie just sort of lives, um, on a lot of different places at the same
11:49time.
11:50Uh, it's a thriller, but also it's, it's, it's about belonging and being an outsider and accepting your pain and
11:58accepting that life is not always easy, but you can live with pain.
12:03You can live with fear.
12:04It's not dangerous and we all have it.
12:06Um, so I think it's a very hopeful film in the end of the day.
12:10Um, so I think it's a very hopeful film in the end of the day.
