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“Starling Girl” actor Lewis Pullman grew up with a front row seat to how determined and commendable his career looked in front of the camera. The actor is the son of beloved “Independence Day” and “While You Were Sleeping” actor Bill Pullman. Asked for the best acting advice he’s received throughout his career, Lewis told POPSUGAR: “My dad had a lot of good advice, but one that he stuck to was subverting expectations.” Lewis on Starling Girl ‘s latest role takes that wisdom to heart.
In the film, Lewis plays Owen, a 20-something youth pastor who feels more suffocated than ever after returning to a fundamentalist Christian community after an eye-opening trip to Puerto Rico and be misunderstood. “He’s really excited about all these new approaches to faith and how he’s taking his belief in God even further,” Lewis shared of his character. But unfortunately, his father – the leader of their fundamentalist sect – was not so enlightened. “It was so categorically rejected that it was almost comical. So he felt like he was lost.”
Owen finds a way out in a budding relationship with Jim Starling (Eliza Scanlon), a 17-year-old girl on the church dance team who, like him, feels that her wings have been clipped. They genuinely see each other, and their relationship makes them both feel closer to God than the onerous expectations and guidelines of their extra-religious community. However, when their affair is discovered, Owen’s resolve crumbles against the objections of his father, who betrays the Jewel in ways too naive to predict.
Owen agrees with his father about their affair — that the much younger and less experienced Jewel “seduced” him — as she is forced to “confess” in front of the entire church. Then, in a gut-wrenching scene, Owen approaches her in front of everyone and offers “forgiveness” for her transgression. Despite this ultimate betrayal and abuse of power, the film never fully portrays Irving as a definitive bad guy, which Lewis believes is an important aspect of the film.
“I think the power of the movie comes from how it portrays each of the characters, and it doesn’t do it in a way that doesn’t demean anyone. Because when you demean any of these characters, you take away the film’s connection with It’s related to opportunities for certain listeners,” he said.
Lewis struggled, but did manage to find a way to resonate with Irving. “As long as Owen is around his father, he turns back into a boy,” Lewis said of why his character might succumb to pressure, adding, “Being surrounded by his father, overwhelmed by that father-son relationship, you feel like Maybe [Owen] Doubting everything he ever thought, [where] Any idea he might have had at first was wrong. “
He continued, “I just keep coming back to that feeling and thinking, ‘What happens when you’re not allowed to express your true feelings, impulses and doubts?’ way.”
Lewis is building his Hollywood career, starring in hits like the action blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick” and the time-traveling romance “Press Play.” But his complex role in “The Starling Girl” was one of his most challenging. “I read the script, and at first, I thought, ‘I don’t know if I really have the tools and the ability to really play this role,'” Lewis admits to his initial thoughts on the role.
Luckily, Lewis’ role model as an actor has far more integrity than his character’s father in “Mynah Girl.” Lewis said his “El Royale” co-star Jeff Bridges, who had a bad time, taught him to “make the mundane spectacular,” adding, “Don’t be complacent. , and don’t lose the opportunity to tell that story you might have missed.” While Lewis admits that his “Top Gun: Maverick” co-star Tom Cruise’s “work ethic isn’t necessarily learnable,” he never An equally important lesson was learned from working with Tom Cruise. “He always has the audience in mind, right? What can he do to make sure it’s the best experience possible? [for them]”
“Sometimes I think, ‘I don’t know how to justify it.’ He’s always had some really creative ways, and that helps me a lot.”
Lewis’ father Bill’s advice about subverting expectations certainly helped him bring nuance to his portrayal of Irving as well. “[My father] always thinking, ‘what’s the obvious way to do this [role]? ’ and then, ‘What’s the opposite way? ’ And then, ‘How can I prove this? Lewis said of Beal’s process of unraveling a character, it’s always a lot of fun. “Sometimes I think, ‘I don’t know how to justify it.'” He’s always had some really creative ways, which really helps me. “
You can see Lewis Pullman subverting expectations for Owen in “Mynah Girl,” now in theaters.
Image Credit: YouTuber Bleecker Street
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