Category: Movies

Actors, directors, and filmmakers often use real life subjects as inspirations for their works. Characters like Moe from The Simpsons, Kramer from Seinfeld, even Nacho Libre had real life inspirations. In Elijah Wood’s new role as a DJ and self-proclaimed music business mover-and-shaker in the film Come to Daddy, director Ant Timpson revealed he wanted the actor to emulate producer/DJ Skrillex.

“When Ant sent me the script, it came with a photo of Skrillex,” said Wood. “No joke. He was like, ‘This is kind of what I’m imagining.’ And I was like, Oh, f—, he must be kidding. Skrillex is fine. [But] his look is more extreme. I was like, ‘Oh s—, that is what he has in his head.’ And as we got into production, actually, his ideas got crazier. Like, Skrillex was mild in comparison. So, the costume design stuff, and the hair, and all of that, that was really a collaboration. I was like, ‘He has to be human, we have to relate to him on some level. He can’t be a total alien.’”

Come to Daddy follows Wood’s character in the film, Norval, as he visits his father (Stephen McHattie) for the first time since the latter abandoned him and his mother decades previously. As you can see in the clip below, the look Wood ended up going with is far more extreme than the Skrillex inspiration he was given.

The film released to theaters earlier this year.

“Man-child” Norval Greenwood (Elijah Wood) reconnects with his estranged father after 30 years of idealizing certain expectations and an image of his father, only to be disappointed when he discovers his father’s dark past finally catches up to them both.

When discussing his experience portray such a complex character, Wood strived to dig deep into his broad, emotional range in order to pay homage to Norval’s character and director Ant Timpson’s rather personal story.

“It was fun! I felt a great deal of pressure being there to deliver for Ant. He’s a dear friend and it was an important thing for him because it is based off, to some degree, a small degree, on his relationship with his dad,” said Wood. “Certainly for the experience he had with his dad, so that was really important to me. It was a challenging role. It was actually a heightened, emotional role. I think I was really anxious about that, and wanting to be truthful.”

Wood and Timpson first met at the Genre Film Circuit. According to Wood, Norval was an immensely multi-faceted character to portray, and he was excited to dive into the depth’s of his complexity and given circumstance throughout the film.

“It’s a rollercoaster for this character; Norval comes to see his dad after 30 years with incredible expectations that are not met, and they’re constantly subverted,“ said Wood. “He has these herring experiences that he’s going through, and it’s extremely cathartic and extremely emotional. There’s a lot. It was a lot for me to sort of tap into and deliver. It made me really anxious, and I didn’t take that responsibility lightly.”

Source: TheKnockturnal