Boyd Holbrook in conversation with Alexis Maida
How did you first get into acting?
Boyd The very first thing I did was send a script I loved to Gus van Sant, naively thinking I would direct it. We then had an executive meeting with Larry Clark and later on, Gus who was shooting Milk at the time, offered me a Where’s Waldo part in Milk—a glorified extra basically.
So you were writing scripts before you even started to act?
Boyd Yeah, I’ve been writing shorts and skits and overall immoral ideas for a while. That’s what really interests me. I went to drama school, did some courses in NYU and then went on to Columbia for some writing.
Once you did your Where’s Waldo part in Milk did you know you definitely wanted to pursue the acting side of the industry first?
Boyd Absolutely. We didn’t have many theatres where I grew up, so it never reallywas any kind of means to me till I moved to NY and got into classes and became more of an actor. I was in drama school at the time, so after seeing Sean Penn work, I figured it might be best if I stayed.
Recently you premiered two films at Sundance. Was that your first big festival experience where you were showing and promoting films?
Boyd I had two films there this year, Little Accidents and The Skeleton Twins, but my first experience was with Higher Ground, directed by Vera Farmiga. I thought it was this really nerdy festival so I drove up and sat in traffic for a few hours while trying to get into town, peeing in water bottles.
So how is the festival experience, especially this last one where you’re premiering two films?
Boyd The Sundance Film Festival is pretty wild. It has a bit more running around. I only got to see one other film! I was basically just run- ning around and taking interviews, but yes, I didn’t get to see a lot of films, which was a drag.
Obviously you’ve already worked with an impressive list of actors. Were you ever intimidated going on set for the first day or meeting these people?
Boyd I think if you really can’t have a conversation with someone, you’re probably not going to be able to work together and be a good fit. However, I do prefer to get in these environments that allow me to be a better actor.
So you feel like when you work with each actor, you take something out of the experience and absorb something from everyone you worked with?
Boyd Absolutely. I don’t think that it’s a good thing to be able to gauge other actors you’re working with. It’s not good to be aware of their work while you’re with them because it’s besides the point. It doesn’t benefit anyone in your cast, being aware of that, just like to work with people rather than away from them.
“Go with the flow and have a sense of humor about yourself and not be so
cemented in any of my ideas.”
When you’re going into a character for a new project, do you have some sort of style or a method to your preparations?
Boyd It’s important to learn new tricks. You’re always trying to reeva- luate stuff. I’ve been seeing a physical therapist out of NYU, just under- standing the neurological science behind strokes. We spent a couple months working on a character for Little Accidents and what carbon monoxide poisoning will do to you, kind of knowing the makeup behind everything. To me, preparation is almost the best part of my job. I didn’t shoot dope for Cardboard Boxer or anything like that, but I got to smoke cigarettes outside a methadone clinic and meet people coming and going.
Wow. What would you say has been the hardest role to immerse yourself in?
Boyd Some movies were a little more particular than others; Little Accidents was really important because I spent so much time with the project. It was a little mining town. I grew up in a similar place. It’s pretty close to me. I just wanted to give that same voice. It probably left the biggest impression on me, just the preparation I did, having to try and understand what this guy would go through, that rollercoaster of emotions of losing your coworkers and friends, and the weight of the world on you from a community and town, depending on coal to put food on the table.
Where did you grow up?
Boyd Eastern side of Kentucky called Prestonsburg and went to college in Louisville at UPS — they had this program called Earn to Learn, that was great. They pay your tuition, but the catch is you had to work the shift no one else wanted to work. So you went in at 11 pm, midni- ght, and got out at 8 in the morning and then had to go to class at 9 or 10. That lasted about a year.
Nothing like really working for your education.
Boyd Exactly, it was a great program — it was a good thing that pushed me out. There really wasn’t anything really interesting I was studying at college. I liked psych class, though I didn’t really have anything there, so it was a good motivation to split.
That kind of work ethic and experience I imagine is very helpful in digging deeper into your past and what you have to pull from as an actor.
Boyd I really believe you have to live your life. It’s very easy to get caught up in the rat race, talking about work and actors, actresses, filmma- kers and cast. That drives me nuts. You can talk about it all day, but I’d rather possibly have fun while making a fool of myself. A bit of patience, but you go on with your life.
Do you have brothers and sisters?
Boyd I have a gorgeous sister. She’s back in Kentucky doing social work, helping kids out. It’s kind of rough on her but what she does is a lot better work than I do and I have an older brother that’s ace.
In my experiences interviewing people in similar positions as yourself, it seems like siblings are the grounding effect. They certainly influence your life, especially as things get more successful in a world like Hollywood.
Boyd My sister isn’t letting me get away with anything, that’s for sure. I really value her opinion most, again relating back to the fact that she has nothing to do with the industry, so she is very honest about her opinion and it’s really kept things best for me.
Outside of acting, do you have any other artistic passion you would do if you weren’t acting?
Boyd I used to apprentice for a couple years to a sculptor, an amazing artist called Fernando Mastrangelo. I was making my own work and had a show and then a group show. It’s a crazy little circle and to make a living at, even if for a few years is a feat. I love sculpture, casting and mold making. I will fiddle with it when I get a bit more space. I think once work pans out and I get more time, it’s definitely something I would want to come back to. I also have a feature film that I’ve been developing during two other films.
Is it your first film that you are making on your own?
Boyd No, I just shot a silent Sam Shepard short story about 15 minutes long. I adapted it from his short story, which was only a paragraph of amazing writing. It’s about a man and his dog and these peacocks that fester into their lives. It’s dark, it’s funny and very surreal. I adapted it into a snow globe world. We shot it in Syracuse with 3 feet of snow and it got to -22F at some point. I think the crew almost left me. It was a lot of fun. I had done some other film in school, but this was my first proper short film with a crew and budget and good material, which is always the key. After having worked with Sam a couple times, I started reading all of his work I could get my hands on. Then I got his number from a friend and ended up calling him while he was fly fishing somewhere and he said yes, go for it. I worked with him again on Out of the Furnace. He wrote it when he was probably my age. I think the book came out in ’74 — his first publication. He wrote it about when he was a kid in southern California. I wasn’t sure if I was going in the right vein or not but he gave me his blessing. Uncle Sam is the next feature that I’ll do, then I have two other scripts after that, which I would like to do.
So you are definitely very interested into moving fast into directing?
Boyd I think I’d like to do a few before I’m in the dirt. That would be fun.
Do you ever write yourself?
Boyd Yes, everything I write is my own stuff. Uncle Sam is an original. I have another script, The Vacancy of Your Heart, which is another original, and then I have another project that’s also an original.
Do you have any muses or inspiration you look to in your career or artistic endeavors? Who has been influential in your path?
Boyd My fiancé. She’s magic.
Where did you meet her? On set of the film you were in?
Boyd Yes, we’ve worked together. Close combat.
Do you think you will ever work together again?
Boyd It’s just about finding the right stuff to work on together.
As far as your future, is there anything you are looking forward to — a specific role? Something that’s a goal you want to tackle but don’t have the opportunity yet?
Boyd There are a couple things. Right now it’s about getting into good parts I want. I have this series coming up called Narcos, which will be two seasons we’re going to do on Netflix about Pablo Escobar. I play a DEA agent, Steve Murphy, who tracks down Pablo Escobar, so it’s kind of the iconic story about Pablo. I’m working with José Padilha, he’s a Brazilian director who’s phenomenal. So that’s what I’m intere- sted in right now. We’re going to do some DEA training so it’s quite exiting and I have some projects looming around for next year.
Do you try and stay away from big blockbuster roles or is it something you are open to?
Boyd It’s really about the material and the character — those are the things that are really interesting. I don’t think that anything changes — you’re still working — the craft services are a bit nicer and better treatment, but I’m not opposed to anything.
After you are done with a role or a film, do you have any feeling you could have done anything better or different?
Boyd That’s one reason I like to do a lot of preparation, so I don’t have that situation arise. But you can’t really control things so you have to go with the flow, have a sense of humor about yourself and not be so cemented in any of my ideas. I don’t like to play that way. I like to be loose and see where things happen, but that is a bit of the downside of small films vs. bigger films—you just don’t have much time. I’ve been in many films where they get the performance they want in one take or two and then they move on. It’s so different.
Read the full interview on Muse Issue 38.
