A month ago, I got an email from a publicist asking if I'd like to interview Riley Griffiths, one of the young stars of J.J. Abrams's SUPER 8. Given the fervent anticipation for Abrams's latest mystery box movie (and first directorial effort since the terrific STAR TREK), I immediately expressed interest, then clicked over to IMDb to see what other films or TV shows Griffiths had appeared in. The sole title in his filmography: SUPER 8.
I soon learned that Griffiths plays Charles Kaznyk, the director of the zombie movie being shot by the kids when they inadvertently capture a spectacular train derailment and... more. I didn't need to know the "more" before talking to Griffiths, but I was curious as to the nature of his role in Abrams's film. I gathered that he wasn't the protagonist, so what then? The best friend? The comic relief? A sleeper agent for the KGB? The publicist assured me that he was funny, and that there was a good deal of positive buzz surrounding his performance. Prior to getting on the phone with Griffiths (a week before the movie screened for press), that was going to have to suffice.
Now that I've seen SUPER 8, I'm thrilled I got to talk to Griffiths. His Charles will be instantly recognizable to any movie-mad kid who had a camera, indulgent friends and a crazy filmmaking dream. He's boisterous, but never bullying - as you basically have to be if you've any hope of seeing your DIY magnum opus through to the end. And with his precocious understanding of concepts like "production value", it's clear Charles has checked out at least one how-to text from the library (I leaned heavily on John Russo's MAKING MOVIES at his age, but that was a good decade away from publication in 1979, which is when SUPER 8 is set).
In SUPER 8, Griffiths is rotund and cherub-faced - sort of like a miniature Hitchcock. But at some point between the completion of principal photography and the press junket, he grew a few inches and acquired a deeper voice. And yet nothing's changed: Griffiths is the same likably energetic kid you'll see in the movie. I'm convinced we'll be seeing lots more of Griffiths over the years; I just hope he's willing to talk to little ol' Mr. Beaks once he's hit the big time.
Before jumping into the interview, I should direct your attention to the super8secret website, where something significant is apparently about to go down. The reference to #mint is actually specific to Charles, so perhaps we're about to learn Griffiths will be playing Khan in STAR TREK 2. I'm sure that's it!
And now, here's Mr. Griffiths!
(Photographed by Brian Higbee)
Mr. Beaks: So have you done many interviews?
Riley Griffiths: These have been my first interviews.
Beaks: Well, I'll take it easy on you. This is a tough movie to talk about because there's so much that we don't know. I'm sure you've got an armed guard sitting next to you making sure you don't give the movie away.
Griffiths: (Laughing) Yeah, it's very secretive.
Beaks: Let's start with something that won't get you in trouble. How did you get cast in the film?
Griffiths: It was a nationwide search. I sent in a tape, and three months went by, so I thought I didn't get it. Then they called me down for a callback. When we went to the actual audition in Los Angeles, of course there was acting [involved], but a lot of the audition was just hanging out with the other kids auditioning, and seeing how we all got along. It was a really fun audition.
Beaks: At what point did you realize it was starting to get serious, that you were really in contention for the role?
Griffiths: Probably about the third callback, when I was the only one auditioning for my part. That's when I started getting suspicious.
Beaks: (Lauging) That's good. When did you first meet J.J.?
Griffiths: I met him in the first callback. He was there at all the auditions, he spoke us through what the scene was about and what he wanted us to do.
Beaks: Do you get nervous doing this stuff?
Griffiths: I was super nervous at first, but once I got in the room and let loose, I gave it my all.
Beaks: It sounds like you've been acting pretty much your whole life. Your bio was impressive. You played Malvolio in TWELFTH NIGHT, which is one of my favorite Shakespeare characters. How did you get into acting?
Griffiths: I was in first grade, and we were doing A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, and one of the local theater directors came by; he was just telling us what the play was about, and he cast me as Bottom in it. Ever since then, I had a blast. I just loved acting. I was doing plays and everything. I just wanted to take the next step, and go into film and television.
Beaks: Prior to SUPER 8, had you done much acting in front of a camera?
Griffiths: No. That was my first [performance] ever in front of a camera.
Beaks: How long did it take to get comfortable in front of the camera?
Griffiths: The character was so fun to play, and J.J.'s such a great director. He's such a great guy to work with. Everybody made us feel really comfortable. The cast and crew was like one big family, so it didn't take long.
Beaks: How does J.J. direct? How does he talk you through a scene or give adjustments?
Griffiths: He's very hands on. He's always out there between every take giving us ideas. He let us ad lib quite a bit, and just let us interpret the character as we wanted to. He's very serious about his work, but he does it in such a fun way that it doesn't feel like work.
Beaks: In getting to improv, what was one of your favorite things that you brought to the character?
Griffiths: Probably just looking at J.J., and how he directed. My character plays the director of the zombie movie, and I would just watch how J.J. directed and I'd put that into my character. That was probably the funnest part.
Beaks: What did J.J. think of you playing him in the movie?
Griffiths: It was really cool, I guess. He'd give me pointers, and I'd just watch how he set up the shot. It was super fun.
Beaks: Given the secretive nature of the film, did you have a full screenplay?
Griffiths: We did once we started filming, yeah.
Beaks: Did J.J. have you watch any of the movies that inspired SUPER 8? This film is tapping into a nostalgia that guys my age have for these movies.
Griffiths: Well, I really loved all of those movies before I [started on SUPER 8], so I already knew what they were about. My favorite movies are probably STAND BY ME, THE GOONIES and E.T. He didn't have us watch them, but he definitely would refer to them while we were filming. Because those are his favorite movies, so he'd tell us about them.
Beaks: In a certain shot, would he be like, "So this is like in STAND BY ME..."?
Griffiths: Yeah, he'd tell us what that movie was about, and why he liked it, and all of that.
Beaks: Without getting in trouble, what was your favorite scene to shoot in the movie?
Griffiths: Probably just all of the explosion scenes, because we got to do all of our own stunts. It was really cool. It's probably every teenager's dream to run through explosions and jump over stuff. That was really fun.
Beaks: How close were you to the explosions?
Griffiths: We were not dangerously close, but we were close enough to see them out of the corner of our eye. Everything was super safe. They made sure they had our stunt doubles go before. But it was just enough to make it look cool.
Beaks: Did you get to meet Steven Spielberg while shooting the film?
Griffiths: I did. Joel [Courtney] and I were doing this scene, and I saw him walk in and I was trying not to break character. Then after the scene cuts, I'm like, "Joel, that's Steven Spielberg!" So we kind of shuffle over there and introduce ourselves. He talks to us, and tells us that the film looks really great, and we're doing a great job, and shakes my hand. It was an unforgettable experience.
Beaks: Did you get to talk to him much? Did you tell him what your favorite film of his is?
Griffiths: I told him that I really love HOOK. I'm a huge Peter Pan fan, so I love HOOK. That's one of my favorite movies.
Beaks: Did you get to do much with Kyle Chandler in the movie?
Griffiths: Kyle's an amazing actor. He's really fun to talk to. We had scenes together, and he's a really fun guy to talk to in between sets. He'd just tell us stories about everything. Actually, at our hotel, one night, when all of the principal kids came home from filming, we decided to ding-dong ditch his room. We ran down the hall, and he chased us all over the hotel. It was a blast.
Beaks: So was this something you were doing to everyone on the set?
Griffiths: Yeah! We'd ding-dong ditch our friends, and we'd ding-dong ditch all of the crew. We were all in the same hotel, and it was just awesome.
Beaks: Did you ever get J.J.?
Griffiths: We never did get J.J. because we knew how hard he was working. Our main targets were each other. I'd ding-dong ditch Joel, Ryan, Zach and Gabriel... pretty much our doors were always being knocked on.
Beaks: Have you seen a cut of the film yet?
Griffiths: I've seen twenty minutes of it.
Beaks: Having gone through the process of making the film, how does it feel to watch yourself on screen?
Griffiths: It's really cool just watching the scenes and remembering what you were doing on that day, and how you felt during that take. It's really cool to see which takes they put together. It's really amazing.
Beaks: If you could have one actor's career going forward, whose would it be?
Griffiths: I'm going to have to say Tom Cruise. I really like how he's so diverse. I just really like him. He's super funny in TROPIC THUNDER; his TROPIC THUNDER dance is hilarious.
And thus concludes what I'm sure will be the first of many Riley Griffiths interviews on AICN. I wish him the best of luck, and hope he stops growing one day.
Over the next couple of days, I'll be posting interviews with Kyle Chandler and J.J. Abrams. And you'll finally get to solve the SUPER 8 mystery this Friday, June 10th!
Faithfully submitted,
