Wyatt Russell didn’t intend to be an actor. But when his first career failed him, he taught himself.
Wyatt Russell is relatively new to acting. He’s known for performances in 22 Jump Street, Everybody Wants Some, Cowboys and Aliens, and Black Mirror, and he’ll soon be known for upcoming releases Folk Hero & Funny Guy (in theaters May 12), Ingrid Goes West (in theaters August 11), and Lodge 49 (premiering October 5th on AMC). Some might attribute Russell’s success to his golden surfer hair and good looks, but that’s not the full package; both on-screen and off, he exudes a mix of natural charm, convivial confidence, and small-town modesty, plus an uncanny ability to make his acting seem easy.
olk Hero & Funny Guy is the latest example of Russell’s mastery. A classic buddy tale with an indie feel, the film has been receiving positive reviews, in particular for the titular relationship between Russell’s “Folk Hero” and Alex Karpovsky’s “Funny Guy.” From its character-driven plot to its improvised dialogue, the whole thing feels authentic. The performances are remarkably human and the emotions ring true; pain overshadows laughter as the dark, unglamorous side of showbiz affects the relationships onscreen. Often, when we are about to laugh, the film surprises us with harsh realism. Of course, the film is funny, too, but most of the humor comes in the form of painfully awkward situations. We laugh, we cringe, we sympathize. We identify. [More at Source]
Recently, Wyatt Russell became the proud owner of a garden. The plot occupies the northern edge of his drought-tolerant side yard, surrounded by a chain-link fence and head-high hedges. The garden has shrubs and bushes, cedar chips and flowers. It’s a young man’s successful attempt at landscaping. It’s not done yet, either. “This was, like, a mud pit a month ago. I didn’t finish it, but this was all going to be decomposed granite patio,” Russell says.
We’re seated on either side of a fire pit, outside the unpretentious bungalow on a Silver Lake hill that Russell shares with his girlfriend, actress Meredith Hagner. Russell has a languorous surfer’s drawl: He sounds a lot like the stoners and layabouts he’s made his stock and trade in his short film career. But he’s more attentive than those characters — and, in all likelihood, a far more impressive amateur gardener. He recently laid the soil and the plants together with Hagner. Hence his concern for the yard: This was a couple’s project. [More at Source]
The bond of male friendship is examined – and tested – in Folk Hero & Funny Guy, a short and sweet dramedy from multi-hyphenate Jeff Grace, who writes and directs. We meet comedian Paul (Alex Karpovsky) at the end of a tired stand-up routine in a beer-stained comedy club. Meanwhile, Paul’s childhood friend Jason (Wyatt Russell) has built a successful career for himself as a folk music star. Inspired over the course of a drunken reunion, Jason gets the idea to take Paul on tour with him. We had the opportunity to speak with Russell about the film, and one can read the full conversation below.
How did this all come together?
I came back from doing a film and I just read this movie that I thought was really good. And it had a musical element to it which is something I’d wanting to do. Because I play guitar, and it’s an important thing in my life. For myself. I’ve never done it for anybody else. Or played it for anybody else in a way of going ‘I want this to be a career.’ It was always sort of private but [the movie] was the first time I was like, ‘You know, this could be a cool thing for me to do and challenge myself to be able to play live and sing live.’ You know, there’s no hiding. That appealed to me a lot, so when I met Jeff [Grace], the director, I met someone who totally understood what they had written, had lived with it, and I knew that the movie was in good hands and that whatever performance came out of it was going to be in good hands so it was an easy decision after that. [More at Source]
Wyatt & his “Folk Hero & Funny Guy” director Jeff Grace spent the day yesterday doing press rounds for the movie that will be on iTunes in a couple of weeks. I’ve updated the gallery with photos of the guys visiting SiriusXM & AOL Build.
