![Callum Turner On ‘Eternity,’ Time-Frozen Romance & Classic Rom-Com Obsessions [Interview]](https://cdn.theplaylist.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/04121245/https___cdn.sanity.io_images_xq1bjtf4_production_26b45010f6e913715517488d0cdb142636b15dfb-8192x5464-1.jpg "Callum Turner On ‘Eternity,’ Time-Frozen Romance & Classic Rom-Com Obsessions [Interview]")
You’ve been cast in this era a lot — World War II here, “Masters of the Air” and “The Boys in the Boat.” Why do you think that keeps happening?
Honestly, I think it’s my hair. I think the hair is a period style, which makes it an easy switch. It’s funny that I did “The Boys in the Boat” and “Masters of the Air” back-to-back — I’ve spent a lot of time in that era. But for me, it’s directors, and it’s teams. If George Clooney had said, “Hey, let’s do a movie on Mars,” I’d have been there; that just happened to be the movie he wanted to make next, so I wasn’t going to say no to that.
Your character’s been frozen for decades and dropped into the present. How did you approach playing someone from the past in a modern world?
Totally. Luke is 27 years old, right? He hasn’t even started his first Saturn return; he hasn’t entered that stage of his life. I was thinking about when I was 27, 26, 25 — who I thought I was versus who I really was — and I was really finding myself at that time. I think that period of discovery was taken away from him. So what was imprinted onto him instead? Montgomery Clift is mentioned, but Clark Gable and Gary Cooper — those were the movie stars at the time, the matinee idols, the idea of what it meant to be a man, the predispositions of that era; those were the things I really went into. There’s something almost shell-like about him — he’s an undiscovered human being inside himself, he hasn’t worked it all out yet — and I think that’s part of the journey.
He waits all this time because he thinks that’s the thing to do. After all, that’s what he would have seen in these movies, and that’s what he thinks real love is, without actually knowing what real love is. Maybe an older man would have said, “No, this is what it really is,” and known himself a bit more. That was something I held on to — the confusion of that, the confusion of what the right thing to do is, especially for a man at that time. And I think that’s part of the journey: without spoiling the movie, for her to set him free is a true act of love. That’s true love, that’s the kindness; that’s the thing she doesn’t realize at the beginning but realizes at the end — “That’s what I have to do, that’s our connection, that’s our friendship, I have to let you go.” And he was never going to let her go. I think that’s the heartbreaking thing, but also the beauty in their romance.
People love you in this period lane, but you also feel like someone who could do a big modern movie musical. Does that appeal to you at all?
Not “Singin’ in the Rain” but “Guys and Dolls” definitely. Sky Masterson is a part I would love to play. They did a production in London; I saw it about a year and a half ago, and Danny Mays played Harry the Horse, I think his name is, and he was spectacular. That kind of thing would be a lot of fun. I’m not a great singer per se, but that would be something I’d love to lean into and have a riot with.
You’ve also got a very filmmaker-driven slate coming up with “Neuromancer,” “Rosebush Pruning,” and “Rose of Nevada.” What can you share about those?
Yeah, it’s always filmmaker-driven. “Rosebush Pruning” is a project we created about a year ago in Barcelona with Karim Aïnouz; Efthimis Filippou, who wrote Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Dogtooth” and “Alps,” contributed to it. It’s got that Yorgos-esque thing to it — a family drama really laced with darkness and a twist that I think is maybe quite funny. I haven’t seen the movie yet; they’ve just finished it. Then there’s “Rosa of Nevada” from Mark Jenkin, which we made in Cornwall just over a year ago; he shoots everything on a Bolex 16mm, no sound, and he’s a great filmmaker. And “Neuromancer” is a big adventure sci-fi that starts on Earth and ends up in space — it’s a real journey, that thing. I think they’re cutting it together, and they want it out by September. I’m proud of all of them for different reasons.
You talk a lot about filmmakers. If you had a dream top-three list of directors you could work with, who would they be?
Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson, Nolan. The holy triumvirate. All of them, all of them, all of them.
This movie effectively reinvigorates the high-concept romantic comedy genre. Do you have favorite rom-coms you go back to?
I actually love romantic comedies. They’re a great way to relax. “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” is a favorite. “Notting Hill,” “Pretty Woman,” “Legally Blonde” — I really dig them. I have a funny story: I was staying at my cousin’s house one time, and he was sick. I was meant to meet someone. I went downstairs, and he had “Notting Hill” on; I was waiting for my bus, checking the app, just standing there watching it. The bus went by on the app — it just went — and I was still standing there. Then I ended up on the arm of the sofa, and eventually I lay fully on the couch, and I just watched the whole movie. I couldn’t leave; it was that good. I was like, “All right,” 45 minutes late or whatever it was, but I loved that movie so much. For me, that’s a north star of rom-coms. That’s a beautiful movie. It’s a perfect movie, I think.
“Eternity” is now playing in theaters.
