Harris Dickinson’s mother is at a loss for tragic roles – The Hollywood Reporter
(This story contains spoilers for Iron claw And Murder at the end of the world.)
Harris Dickinson is having a memorable December.
The rising English actor is wrapping up 2023 with a cameo role in Sean Durkin Iron claw And Brit Marling/Zal Batmanglij Murder at the end of the world. In the first, Dickinson plays professional wrestler David Von Erich, the third of Fritz Von Erich’s (Holt McCallany) six children, and the second of five to suffer a tragic fate. This role has a lot in common with other current Dickinson roles such as Bill “Fangs” Farah Murder at the end of the worldwhere the deaths of both characters set their stories in motion.
Oddly enough, Dickinson has played the first major domino to fall on two other occasions, starting in 2021. King’s man And then 2022 Where Crawdads Sing. Each death is central to their narrative, and in most cases, his characters still manage to maintain a presence in one way or another. However, this ominous pattern angered Dickinson’s biggest fan: his mother.
“It’s definitely not lost on me. It’s a topic of conversation with my mom. She’s constantly wondering why this thing exists,” Dickinson says. Hollywood Reporter. “Maybe I’ll think twice before I do another one of those things, because I don’t mean for them to keep happening like this. They seem to line up oddly.”
Below, during Spoiler’s recent conversation with THRDickinson, who is currently filming A24 baby girl With Nicole Kidman, he looks at the most emotional scene he shared with Zac Efron Iron clawbefore explaining Bill’s frustration with his partner in true crime, Darby Hart (Emma Corrin), in Murder at the end of the world.
So where did you do it? Iron claw Fall on your schedule?
I had just finished filming Murder at the end of the world In September of 2022, I entered directly after that Iron claw. I had about a month before starting.
Like Sean and I discussionBiographical films must have creative license. You cannot include every spouse and every child, or in this case every sibling. So did you focus mostly on character details in the script? Or did you also incorporate real-life elements that weren’t scripted?
Yes, I did very in-depth research on David and the Von Erich family. I had researched him for about three months before that, and tried to keep David’s mannerisms, who he was, and how he talked. I tried to find that very intensely. I wanted to do it justice. So, yeah, there were a lot of elements that weren’t in the movie. I really wanted there to be a moment where we understood how much he loved his horses and his farm, but there just wasn’t a moment for it.
Fritz had a classification system for his children, which was quite healthy.
(He laughs.)
And David outshines Kevin (Efron) at one point. Was his gift of gab the key to making this happen? Or were there other factors that played a role?
He was also a good wrestler. It was comprehensive. He didn’t have the ripped physique of Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) or Kevin, but he was definitely a good wrestler. As I said, he had the gift of gab, and was confident. He had an ease about him. He was tall. He had a real presence, a real power to him and aggression. He was good in promos. That’s what made him pass.
Can you believe this family is cursed? Or did Fritz lead them all to their breaking point as children and adults?
I don’t know about the fuck, man. I think it was just real unfortunate circumstances and a real tragedy of events. They were pushed, and while things worked out one way or another, it was like a knock-on effect from that first shock they had.
How big a footprint does this professional wrestling brand have in England?
WWE was big, man. We have hosted WWE in London several times. They did a tour and came to the O2 (the arena), and I went to see it when I was a kid. Rey Mysterio, John Cena, Big Show, all the big stars got here, so it was big.
(The following nine questions/answers contain spoilers for Iron claw And Murder at the end of the world.)
In the bathroom scene during the wedding, David didn’t know it would be the last time he’d see Kevin, but still played it like it was the last time he’d see him?
No, Sean was like, “Don’t think about it. Just play the scene.” You can’t think about that, because I don’t know. But maybe, to some extent, because we also wanted it to be more subtle. Sean wanted it to be a sweet moment between them that we hadn’t seen before. So maybe we tried to tweak it a little bit in that sense .
So I noticed a trend in iron claw, King’s man, Where Crawdads Sing And a Murder at the end of the world. In each story, you play a character whose dramatic death sets everything in motion or leads to the decisive conflict. I assume this style isn’t lost on you?
It certainly wasn’t lost on me. It’s a topic of conversation with my mom. She keeps wondering what this thing is all about. Maybe I’ll think carefully before I do another one of those things, because I don’t mean for them to keep happening this way. They seemed to line up, oddly enough.
Switch to Murder at the end of the worldDid you film your limited clips for the time being in Jersey and/or Iceland, and then reconvene with everyone in Utah a few months later?
Yes, I was in and out of Jersey throughout the shoot. You showed up in, you showed up. We first shot in Iceland in March, and then eventually, it was just Emma and I on a little road trip in Utah. This was fun.
Bill and Darby (Emma Corrin) begin their relationship through a true crime spinoff, then take their show on the road to pursue a serial killer. At one point, he became frustrated that she was more interested in the case than in their budding romance. But considering that they met through true crime and that she grew up in the coroner’s office, why was he so surprised by her commitment to the work? What did he really expect?
After a while, he was afraid of how sharply she was taking the case, how deep she was, how serious she was going to be in confronting serial killers and so on. It was darker and more confronting than he thought it would get. So he realized that she would never allow him to be with her in the romantically intimate way he had hoped. It just won’t be there.
Emma told me a few days ago how when you were shooting that restaurant in Utah, Zal Batmanglij told them about it imagine Bill died during their first personal meeting. This was motivated by the fact that you shot the death scene first. So, before filming your coverage of their first meeting, did Zal also tell you to imagine the last time Bill saw Darby dying on the hotel floor?
“No,” he said, “Imagine that you have known this person your whole life, but you are seeing him for the first time.”
You’ll likely have strong feelings about AI once the show wrapped, but have those feelings intensified over the past year, as AI has become a major issue in the industry?
Yeah, it’s definitely more emotional now than it was when we were filming. It’s getting a little scary. It’s interesting because I really like technology and am interested in its development, which is why I loved playing Fangs/Bill. He had a profound critique of it in his work, but he was also dependent on it in some ways. He was a computer specialist and a computer hacker, so he was very interested in this world of technology. So there is a real division of interests, and this is the same for me. I’m deeply fascinated by it, but I’m also afraid of it.
When you hear someone sneezing now, do you immediately check to see if there is a change in the light near you?
(He laughs.) Yes, and I’ve noticed that I actually sneeze when I’m exposed to bright sunlight, which is scary because it’s a real thing.
So you probably have that very rare condition, whatever it’s called.
My body is dominant, compelling, heliopthalemic outburst.
Wow, you didn’t just memorize your lines; I really learned them. Awesome.
(He laughs.)
(Spoilers for Iron claw And Murder at the end of the world You’re done now.)
To close things out with Iron clawWhat day are you likely to remember first when you look back decades from now?
The day we all wrestled with the Freebirds. We had a three-man tag team match. Zach (Efron) and Jeremy (Allen White) and I did it for ten minutes of the game and we did it together. The crowd was roaring, and it felt like a real moment. Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” was playing, and we were really into it. It was really fun.
Murder at the end of the world Needle drops were also played on set, such as Annie Lennox’s “No More ‘I Love You'” and Frank Ocean’s “Moon River.” Is it very helpful when that happens?
Yes, it’s very useful. It sets a mood and tone for the scene and the day. When music and film are in sync, they meet in this sweet spot, and that helps.
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Iron claw Now showing in cinemas.