There’s being “discovered,” and then there’s being discovered by Steven Spielberg. The iconic director spotted Alden Ehrenreich, and the rest was supposed to be history. Some years ago, Spielberg told all his buddies, which include some of the biggest directors in the world, that he had come across a young new talent in a bat mitzvah video. Word got around Hollywood quickly, but Francis Ford Coppola had already pounced, casting Ehrenreich in his 2009 Cannes entry “Tetro” alongside Vincent Gallo. It was supposed to be the beginning of Ehrenreich’s ascent, but while he delivered a knockout performance, the trajectory to true breakout stardom was delayed.
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While Ehrenreich’s name was thrown around casting shortlists for several months after “Tetro,” he never bagged any roles, and the heat he had accrued from the one-two punch of Spielberg’s recommendation and “Tetro” soon cooled. In fact, Ehrenreich seemed to incur the curse that befalls many actors who are prematurely touted as the next big thing (for example, see Gretchen Mol; we did an entire feature on actors whose buzz peaked too soon). Nabbing the lead in the potential YA franchise “Beautiful Creatures” was a decent break, but the movie fizzled immediately, and the actor was once looking for an appropriate vehicle.
While Ehrenreich was up for some big parts, including the lead in “Akira” and “The Amazing Spider-Man,” it wasn’t until this winter’s Coen Brothers’ “Hail, Caesar!” that his career was reignited. He finally landed one of the most sought after roles in Hollywood at the moment, leading Phil Lord and Chris Miller‘s young Han Solo movie.
We thought we’d look back at five roles that defined Ehrenreich’s career that are worth tracking down before you watch him jump into the Millennium Falcon.
“Tetro” (2009)
Ehrenreich’s first film after being discovered by Spielberg was Francis Ford Coppola’s “Tetro,” a family drama set in South America regarding an estranged pair of siblings. He plays the younger brother trying to find the big bro he looked up to (Gallo); at the heart of the film is a buried family secret. One would assume a newcomer would be subsumed by Gallo’s caustic personality, but Ehrenreich holds his own and defines himself against the more experienced actor by delivering a moody performance. “Tetro” isn’t perfect: shot in gorgeous black and white, it has color-resplendent animated sequences that feel ill-conceived. But it’s easily the best of the late Coppola movies, and Ehrenreich is a big part of why it succeeds.
“Blue Jasmine” (2013)
It’s possible you either forgot Ehrenreich was in “Blue Jasmine” or you blinked and missed him. While it’s a small but critical role, it chiefly shows that directors like Woody Allen wanted to work with this young talent. In the film, he plays Cate Blanchett’s estranged stepson Danny. In the throes of a breakdown, Blanchett’s Jasmine character carries on several lies and delusions, but there’s nothing like family to disabuse you of the airs you put on. Danny is part of Jasmine’s many deceits, which include lying to her fiancé about her past life. He’s only in a handful of scenes, one in the Hamptons and one later on in Oakland, but when he admonishes her in the later scene, telling her he never wants to see again for her various betrayals, he cuts to the bone.