Lots of British actors are good at American accents. Many American actors are good at British accents. And, of course, there are just as many whose attempts are simply cringeworthy. One of the shocking aspects for many viewers of Mike Mills’ critically acclaimed new drama “C’Mon C’Mon” is that Woody Norman, who plays the nephew of Joaquin Phoenix in the picture, is actually British. His accent and demeanor scream Brooklyn or Silverlake raised tween. Sort of remarkable for a young actor born in 2009.
READ MORE: ‘C’mon C’mon’: Mike Mills’ Sublime, Micro-Traumatic Family Drama [Review]
“I did vocal training a few years before I think the film was even conceived,” Norman says. “We did it for another job that didn’t end up happening. And I just kind of, I found it quite easy, because it’s like, it’s more similar to my accent than many people think. It’s just; you have to move a lot of the words to a different part of your mouth. If you know what I mean. It’s very forward, instead of backward. I had to do that, so I can actually realize where it is. It’s more forward, but the English accent’s very back in your throat. It’s very at the back.”
During the course of our interview, Norman discusses working with co-stars Phoenix and Gabby Hoffman and his upcoming Dracula thriller, “Last Voyage of the Demeter.”
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The Playlist: I just have to ask the most obvious question. How did you learn how to do such an authentic amazing American accent? Every time I tell anyone that’s seen the movie that you’re not from the U.S., they don’t believe me.
Woody Norman: I guess it’s really; I did vocal training a few years before I think the film was even conceived. We did it for another job that didn’t end up happening. And I just kind of found it relatively easy because it’s like, it’s more similar to my accent than a lot of people think. It’s just; you have to move a lot of the words to a different part of your mouth. If you know what I mean. It’s very forward, instead of backward. I had to do that, so I can actually realize where it is. It’s more forward, but the English accent’s very back in your throat. It’s very at the back.
Are you surprised that you get asked this question a lot?
I would’ve thought, because I have answered the question a lot, I would’ve thought a lot of people would’ve known, but I understand it’s very confusing. I just watched “Spencer. “When I found out Kristen Stewart’s American, I was really surprised.
What did you think of “Spencer,” by the way?
I loved it.
It’s a very good movie.
It holds a lot of significance to many English people because Diana obviously was like an English icon.
100%. And she plays her just so wonderfully. But going back to “C’mon C’mon.” Do you remember auditioning for this role and what you were thinking about when you got the sides or heard about it?
Honestly, when we first heard about it, I didn’t know much. It was just such a relief that it was a beautiful script, so obviously, I wanted to do it. So, we auditioned a few times, but we didn’t audition, I think that much. I think it was only a few auditions, and we got flown out to do an audition with Joaquin, and we got it. It was amazing. It was so relieving to have such a genuine script come on us.
When you did the audition with Joaquin, did you think you landed the role or were you unsure?
I was not sure. It was just an audition for me, really. I have obviously had that thought that you know whenever you do something that you could get it or you couldn’t, you always think you’re not. But it was one of those things where I actually felt confident that I did really well in the audition. An audition is the loosest word for it. It was just us talking, us getting along, us becoming friends, us running a few scenes, us improvising a lot, and us just playing.
Were you intimidated at all before sitting down with Joaquin? Because he does intimidate many people and not just because of his roles.
Well, he rocked up in his pajamas for one, and he is the loveliest guy. I don’t know why sometimes he portrays himself as not being to press. He is the sweetest, caring, genuine guy you can meet.
Let’s talk about working with Mike. Did he have any specific overall direction for you in playing Jesse outside of what was in the script?
The only real big direction he had for me was my accent sometimes could be off, like, I’d say a word wrong. And other than that, it was all equal. We were all directors. We were all scriptwriters in that, in the sense that we all added so much to the script. All our characters are our own. All our characters were kind of written in a sense by us. And I think it’s fantastic that Mike had such a good depiction of a single mom. Because obviously, Mike is not a single mom. He portrayed one so well and so beautifully and so caringly. This is one of the only films that really went into how sometimes moms can get fed up with their children.
It’s very true.
It’s like, they’re always so lovey-dovey and always so … There’s always moments where sometimes you could get tired of each other, but it always never lasts. And always, you could find each other annoying at times, but no film ever does that.
You mentioned the fact that Mike allowed everyone to do some improvising. Was there anything that made it into the film that surprised you?
When we were filming, nothing I ever filmed I thought would actually make it into the film. I never thought when I was filming that any of it would get released or people would watch it. I never thought I was filming a movie.
That never comes to my mind that what I’m filming is going to get released. So, when I was watching the film, it was always like, “Oh, I remember filming that,” for every scene. But there were so many scenes. There are too many I can’t even name that I didn’t think would make it because it was just us kind of being stupid. It was like five seconds of one, where Gaby randomly wrapped the entirety of “Shoop” by Salt-N-Pepa. And a tiny bit of that made it in. There was so much of us just playing and us just kind of not realizing that cameras are rolling that made it into the film.
I know you’ve been acting for a good number of years. What made you want to be an actor, and what do you enjoy about it?
I’m going to be honest with you. I just kind of asked if I could try it. My entire family’s been in the business. My aunt was quite a big television actress in England. Her husband’s a big script editor. I just asked my mom, like straight up. And I don’t know. I can’t really tell you everything I enjoy about it because it’s like words can’t even describe it. I just love becoming a character. I love being a character. I love being able to meet these fantastic people. I love everything about it. And if I wanted to describe everything, we’d be here for days.
I believe you! Absolutely. So I wanted to ask you though, but before I let you go, I know you recently shot a new movie, “Last Voyage of the Demeter,” a Dracula story. Are you on the boat in the film? Are you part of that, part of the story?
Yes. I’m in a lot of it. I’m in quite a bit of it. That film is a chapter from “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” the big book. And kindly, when we were filming that job, we got gifted the book. And it’s a massive book. It’s giant. I think it’s going to be a two-hour long film, I think. I’m just guessing. I play the captain’s grandson, but I don’t think my mom and dad are there. No, they’re not in the film. They are present, but I’m just on the boat a lot. So yeah. I just play that character. I think that was such a different thing than filming. “C’mon C’mon” because they’re so different. I filmed two quote-unquote horror films [the other being “Cobweb” with Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr]. I think “Last Voyage of the Demeter” isn’t a horror film. It’s way more of just a kind of psychological. We filmed with an excellent actor, Javier Botet, the guy that played Dracula. He’s the loveliest guy ever.
It wasn’t like a sort of scary production? Was it just fun?
Yeah. There were so many scenes that were great, just amazing to film. And all the scenes where Dracula was there were so fun to films. I can’t say much, but all the scenes that Dracula’s there are terrifying. The film’s so suspenseful, so out there. It’s so great. I’m so excited for people to finally see it a couple of years when it comes out. It’s going to be so cool.
“C’Mon C’Mon” is now playing in limited release.