Exclusive Interview: Brian Tyree Henry Talks ‘Causeway’

Releasing in theaters on October twenty eighth earlier than premiering on Apple TV+ on November 4th is the brand new drama ‘Causeway’ from Lila Neugebauer (‘Room 104’).

The movie stars Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence (‘Silver Linings Playbook’) as Lynsey, a U.S. soldier who reluctantly returns residence to New Orleans to dwell together with her alcoholic mom (Linda Emond) after she suffers a traumatic mind damage throughout a tour in Afghanistan.

As Lynsey struggles to regulate to civilian life, she meets James Aucoin (Brian Tyree Henry), a automotive accident survivor and amputee that blames himself for a household tragedy. Soon, Lynsey and James turn out to be mates and assist one another address their grief and attempt to transfer on with their lives.

First gaining consideration for his position on the favored collection ‘Atlanta,’ Brian Tyree Henry has gone onto seem in such profitable movies as ‘If Beal Street Could Talk,’ ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,’ ‘Joker,’ ‘Godzilla vs. Kong,’ ‘Eternals,’ and ‘Bullet Train.’

Moviefone just lately had the pleasure of talking to Brian Tyree Henry about his work on ‘Causeway,’ his character’s grief, the challenges of taking part in an amputee, James and Lynsey’s friendship, and dealing with Jennifer Lawrence.

Brian Tyree Henry in ‘Causeway,’ premiering November 4, 2022 on Apple TV+.

You can learn our full interview beneath or click on on the video participant above to look at our interview with Brian Tyree Henry.

Moviefone: To start with, are you able to speak about your method to taking part in James, and embodying the grief and remorse that he feels on a day-to-day foundation?

Brian Tyree Henry: My method? Well, I first needed to only determine a bit of bit about who he was, and the place he got here from, and why that grief was part of his life. James, as you recognize, is from New Orleans. He was born and raised there, and suffered an amazing loss, and stayed there. I at all times needed to essentially determine what that was for someone who suffered a loss that was of their residence, or a spot that they name their residence and why they select to remain there.

Is it as a result of they really feel like they need to undergo this, that they need to have these reminders, or is it that there was no different manner? I feel that James is a bit of little bit of each. I feel that we discover James on this place feeling like he deserves to remain the place he was, particularly with the loss that he suffered of shedding his leg, which made it a bit of more durable to run and go away. So, I feel that I actually needed to only determine that out and get to the guts of what that meant for someone who endured an amazing loss like that and selected to remain.

(L to R) Brian Tyree Henry and Jennifer Lawrence in ‘Causeway,’ premiering November 4, 2022 on Apple TV+.

MF: As an actor, are you able to discuss in regards to the challenges of taking part in an amputee?

BTH: Well, most amputees dwell their lives of rehabilitation attempting to stay the identical manner they have been earlier than they have been an amputee. So, I did not need there to be an enormous motion of James at all times being uncomfortable strolling, as a result of that is not how he needed to be handled both.

So, what I actually needed to find was what it was like for him to masks it greater than to showcase it? What does it appear to be for somebody to attempt to transfer like that? Because I feel many of the instances after we undergo nice tragedies, we do that big factor of attempting to masks it and canopy it. We don’t need the scars to point out. I feel that that is the place the reality shines via essentially the most, is which you could see via that.

So, for me, I needed to only be sure that James felt like he was standing on his personal two toes. That he felt like he was the identical individual he was earlier than he suffered that tragedy, so I actually leaned into that. Now, when it got here to eradicating the prosthetic and shifting about with that, I did discuss to a couple individuals. I talked to a couple amputees to be sure that I knew that I used to be placing the sleeve on the best manner and issues like that. But I feel in essence, actually, it was about him shifting in a standard manner.

MF: Finally, are you able to speak about Lynsey and James’ relationship, why they gravitate in the direction of one another and what it was like working with Jennifer Lawrence?

BTH: Well, there is a factor referred to as trauma bonding that is been quite common, particularly after all the things we had gone via in 2020. There’s a factor that we began relating to one another in a manner of evaluating traumas. It was this factor of actually linking to someone, this bizarre codependency that we created in {our relationships} via trauma. You see that in an enormous manner on this film between James and Lynsey, however what we additionally needed to point out is what the opposite facet of that appears like. Because we did not wish to simply present the one facet of those two characters steeped of their trauma, and that is all it’s.

We actually needed there to be a showcase of a connection and hope of what might be on the opposite facet, which is an precise friendship. That was part of a variety of the conversations that Jennifer and I had, as a result of we realized that our connection was rising rather a lot in between takes. We realized that the sinew of what the film was, was primarily based on how we have been connecting with each other, how we referred to as one another out on our stuff, how we talked about all, it was about us. So, we found that, that’s in essence what we needed to see between James and Lynsey as nicely.

(L to R) Brian Tyree Henry and Jennifer Lawrence in ‘Causeway,’ premiering November 4, 2022 on Apple TV+.

Causeway

“Begin again.”

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R1 hr 36 minNov 4th, 2022