Los Angeles Times - 08.09.2019

LATIMES.COM/CALENDAR S SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2019E3

Finn Wolfhard has been having a
great couple of years.
Since the 16-year-old Canadian
actor broke out in Netflix’s sleeper
hit “Stranger Things,” he’s been
heavily in demand for popular
spooky franchises including Warn-
er Bros.’ 2017 mega-hit “It” (which
surpassed “The Exorcist” to be-
come the highest-grossing horror
film domestically) and next
month’s animated “Addams Fam-
ily” movie.
Next year he’ll star in “Ghost-
busters 2020” and the horror re-
make “The Turning” based on
Henry James’ novella, “The Turn-
ing of the Screw.” But the teenager
insists his genre-heavy resume is
purely circumstantial.
“I never liked horror up until I
was like 10 years old,” he said. “A lot
of it is coincidence that I’ve done
[so much] horror. But I love horror
because what makes a great horror
movie is that it’s not just scary, it’s
[a little of] everything. In a real-life
horrifying situation there’s always
[some] comedy or something sad. I
think that’s in all the horror stuff
I’ve done because I try to make it
the realest [portrayal].”
This month, Wolfhard reprises
his role as Richie Tozier in “It Chap-
ter Two,” which opened Friday and
picks up on the second half of the
Stephen King horror tome, and he
has a supporting role in the decid-
edly non-horror drama “The
Goldfinch,” which opens a week lat-
er and is adapted from Donna
Tartt’s 2013 novel. Although the
projects couldn’t be more different,
in both films Wolfhard shares his
character with an adult counter-
part. Preparation with them var-
ied. “For ‘The Goldfinch,’ Aneurin
[Barnard], who plays older me, was
shooting first so I almost had to
work off of him,” he said. “Our direc-
tor John Crowley got soundbites
from him and saved them so I could
listen to them and [hear] how he
spoke and what his mannerisms
were.”
For “It Chapter Two,” Bill
Hader, whom Wolfhard has been a
“huge” fan of since 2009’s “Adven-
tureland,” plays an adult Richie. To
prepare, the younger actor spent a
few days hanging out with Hader,
but unlike with “The Goldfinch,” it
was mostly for Hader’s benefit. “I
felt like he could just go back and
watch the movie, watch what I did,”
said Wolfhard with a shrug.
The Times caught up with
Wolfhard during a press day for “It

videos of Russian politicians and

different people on BBC. Just

listened to those guys and read

some chapters of Russian litera-

ture so that we got the kind of flat,

honest [delivery] of the character.

And then [the dialect coach] took

me through the Russian alphabet

and what the sounds were. It was

kind of a combination of a lot of

things and just her telling me

about her childhood.

What were the differences in

shooting the first “It” and “Chap-

ter Two”?

Well, “It” was just the kids, so it

was like three months of hanging

out every single day. “It 2” we wer-

en’t in as much but still had [to

shoot] flashback scenes so it was

the same experience, just kind of

on a shorter scale. It was just as

fun, just for less time.

Was it less creepy acting opposite

Pennywise the second time?

Honestly, it’s less creepy for us

now because we know Bill [Skars-

gard]. It was pretty creepy because

we didn’t know who he was when

we first met him [on the set of “It”]

because they wanted to keep him

away from us so that we could have

an organic reaction [to his charac-

ter].

What did it feel like returning to

the role of Richie? Was it difficult

getting back into character?

No, because Richie is kind of

part of me now. I was basically just

playing myself for a summer, so it

was easy to kind of step back into

it.

What was your reaction to the

success of the first movie?

I didn’t really care if it was a big

hit or not because I had so much

fun, but I was really pleasantly

surprised.

With the popularity of “Stranger

Things,” how long do you think

the show will continue?

As long as [creators] the Duffer

[brothers] keep liking to do it, in

my opinion. We’ll go for as long as

they want to go, which could be

one, two or three [more seasons].

It’s one of those things where it’s

like the “Harry Potter” [movies]

where you want to see these kids

grow up.

What’s the most and least fun

thing about acting in movies and

TV series that are set in the ’80s?

Fun would be that you don’t

have to do a scene on your phone or

anything — a lot of it’s just like

talking to someone, which is great.

Not that there are movies now

where you don’t talk to someone,

but I mean it’s not as much [face to

face]. You’re more present. And I

guess the least fun is being in short

shorts, probably.

Do you think your character

Mike’s relationship with Elle

(Millie Bobby Brown) will survive

the move?

Oh, my God, I don’t know. In

between seasons, all the cast kind

of forms their own little conspira-

cies on what happens to their

characters, but I don’t know. I

think their bond at this point is so

prominent that I don’t know if it

can just end because she moves.

There’s got to be some more devel-

opment for sure.

Do you think something could

happen that could actually frac-

ture the friend group? It was kind

of touch and go for a while this

season.

I think anything could fracture

any friend group. But I mean at

this point, these kids have grown

up with each other. They’ve gone

through so much [together]. I

guess we’ll see. It’s all about how

we grow up, I guess.

You’ve done some voice acting for

Netflix’s “Carmen Sandiego” TV

series and up next as Pugsley

Addams in MGM’s “Addams

Family” animated feature. How

do you like doing vocal work?

It’s so funny. I think I’m really

bad at voice acting. But people hire

me for it, so thank you! [Laughs.]

It’s just really hard for me. It’s way

harder for me than acting because

you can use your face and slur your

words. But with voice acting you

have to be clear.

What can you tell us about “The

Turning”?

“The Turning” is a movie that I

did in Ireland last year with Mac-

kenzie Davis and Brooklynn

Prince, and it’s based on a short

novella. It’s about this governess

who takes care of this family on

this giant estate and she kind of

starts to go crazy. Or is she going

crazy? That is the question.

Would you ever want to join a

blockbuster franchise like Mar-

vel’s “Avengers” or “Star Wars”?

Oh, man. Yeah, of course, who

wouldn’t? I mean, I’m really inter-

ested in doing indies but totally, if

the situation arose, that’d be cool.

Chapter Two” to talk about return-

ing to Derry, playing a Russian ex-

pat in “The Goldfinch” and what

the future holds for the aspiring di-

rector.

I read that you got your first act-

ing job from Craigslist. Had you

always wanted to be an actor or

did it just kind of fall in your lap?

Well, I kind of did the math in

my head when I was like, 9. I was

like, “Well, if I want to make films”

— because I want to be a director

— “I could just go on a film set and

learn there.” And then I ended up

falling in love with acting and the

set and making friends all the time.

And so I’ve just been doing that

ever since.

When would you like to branch

into directing?

Hopefully in the next few years.

I’m trying to direct some shorts

and I have some stuff written, so

hopefully soon.

What kind of movies do you want

to make?

Indies and lots of human sto-

ries. But comedies, totally. I’d love

to make a horror movie, that’s

definitely where I want to be one

day.

Had you read “The Goldfinch”

before being cast as young Boris?

I hadn’t. I still haven’t read the

whole thing, but I read my charac-

ter’s stuff.

What attracted you to the script?

It’s like a classic ’70s kind of film,

just the subject matter of it, and it’s

a real human story, which you

don’t get a lot of anymore. I mean

you do, but a lot of them are wa-

tered down. This one is a really,

really serious and true telling of

what it’s like to grow up with loss. I

just loved how unapologetic it was

and how the characters were just

so honest.

How did you prepare to do a Rus-

sian accent for the role?

We had a dialect coach named

Christina who is originally from

Russia that lives in New York now.

And she just basically held my

hand and took me through every-

thing. It was really hard. But once I

got it [down], it was like there was

no character without the accent.

So it made me kind of a better

actor or at least a more prepared

actor.

What other ways did you prepare?

We watched a lot of YouTube

Christina HouseLos Angeles Times

FINN WOLFHARD, whose acting credits include “Stranger Things” and “It Chapter Two,” says he ultimately wants to be a director.

Horror’s ‘It’ breakout

By Sonaiya Kelley

THE SUNDAY CONVERSATION

SUNDAY CALENDAR

KEEPING

TABS ON

‘LITTLE

THINGS’

RUNNING THE
SHOW, E8

THE WEEK

AHEAD

INCLUDES

RETURN OF

‘THE DEUCE’

WHAT’S ON TV, E9

As a hypochondriac with

a fear of setting off a series of

Rube Goldberg-like events

leading to hospitalization, I

was skeptical when I heard

downtown’s Two Bit Circus

had concocted a medical-

theme party game.

Goofy absurdity may

underlie many Two Bit Cir-

cus experiences, but an op-

erating table is still an im-

posing sight, even at a place

that has a robot mix drinks.

Would I really want hospital

room vibes on a night out?

Then I learned the

game’s doctor is a puppet.

Underused in the age of dig-

ital effects, puppets indicate

a handmade but other-

worldly quality, of this world

but foreign. Puppetry lets us

break down our imaginary

walls and venture elsewhere,

be it the fantastical elegance

of Netflix’s “The Dark Crys-

tal: Age of Resistance” or the

wide-eyed insanity of the

Muppets. So sign me up.

Let’s play.

“Dr. Botcher’s Minute

Medical School” certainly

conjures Muppet vibes. It’s

sort of like stepping into a

life-size “Operation” game

only we don’t extract items

from our patient; we try to

give this puppet-like man of

plastic life by connecting

him with IV bags full of, say,

sparkly unicorn blood.

But that’s just one of

many games inside “Dr.

Botcher’s Minute Medical

School,” which includes a

microscope that through

the eyepiece reveals itself to

be an arcade game in which

we must blast away viruses.

Tablets on the patient’s side

act as scanners, requiring

teamwork from players.

Two Bit calls these expe-

riences “story rooms.” The

goal isn’t to find random

clues to escape but to play

along with a fast and silly

narrative. There’s a lot of

connecting tubes to sensors

or finding the right tool for

the job. It’s hide-and-seek

designed for comedic col-

laboration. The game lasts

about 25 minutes and re-

quires three to six people.

“With every story room,

the interactions should be as

simple as possible,” says

Two Bit co-founder and

game designer Eric Grad-

man. “This is not about solv-

ing puzzles. When people fail

to solve puzzles they will get

frustrated. This room will

carry you along.”

And if it won’t cure you of

your medical phobias, it

likely won’t trigger them.

“Throughout the design

process, we asked people,

‘Does this gross you out?’

And if people got grossed

out, we replaced those with

the opposite funny things.”

And yet no unicorns were

harmed.

Two Bit Circus, 634 Mateo

St., Los Angeles. Runs

continuously throughout

operating hours (vary by

day). $20. (213) 599-3188

WHAT TO PLAY

Scalpel’s

in your

hand for

this game

By Todd Martens

A PARTY game lets you

conduct puppet surgery.

Two Bit Circus