I got the chance to meet Alden Ehrenreich of Beautiful Creatures during his press stop in San Francisco. This is a big year for the young actor - he will also be in Stoker alongside Nicole Kidman and in Woody Allen’s next film. However, he couldn’t have been more charming during our interview, often joking around and peppering responses with his distinctive throaty laugh.
Alden greeted me with a firm handshake and a friendly smile, despite having spent the entire day holed up in a hotel conference room answering more or less the same questions to a lineup of journalists about his latest project, Beautiful Creatures (out in theaters February 14). In his black slacks, charcoal sweater, and black rimmed glasses he took on and off, he looked more like an earnest graduate student rather than the star of what could be the next Twilight craze. San Francisco was one of his many stops after a week of travel, including Moscow, Los Angeles, and Mexico City. We talked about what it was like doing his first big movie press tour, working with big name Oscar-winning actors, the correct way to pronounce Mia Wasikowska’s name, and getting discovered by Steven Spielberg. Despite his 23 years, I noticed a few gray strands in his wavy dark hair. This junket must really be taking its toll! Or his non-stop working since Beautiful Creatures.
Beautiful Creatures is the film adaptation of the best-selling first book in the young adult series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Ethan Wate, a teenager in small-town South Carolina, falls in love with Lena Duchannes, the mysterious new girl at school who turns out to be from a magical family that possesses supernatural powers for good and evil.
Before I even begin with the questions, he immediately exclaims, “What a ring!” I tell him I just got married and moved to San Francisco and he enthusiastically congratulates me and commends my husband on his choice of diamond ring.
Did you have a coach to learn the southern accent? In the book, Ethan’s character doesn’t have one, unlike most of the rest of the characters.
What drew Richard (LaGravenese, the director) to this movie was that there was such a specific culture in the story. The way my character was constructed in the book was a comment on the idea of a southern gentleman. To really hit that, especially when watching it, he thought my character having a distinct southern accent was more fun and would put an idiosyncratic twist on the genre than to just have him be from a generic place.
Had you read any of the books in the series before you got the part?
I found out I got the part a week before shooting and then I started reading the book. After shooting, I would read the first book at nights, and then go to sleep and begin again the day after. So it felt like there were probably only about five minutes of my day not working.
You filmed in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana. When you got there, did you feel like you could hone your accent better in New Orleans?
Actually, the dialect coach told us not to listen to the accent because it was quite different, especially since New Orleans has this amazing confluence of culture and the accent has this mix of Cajun and French to it.
How did you like filming there?
Oh, it’s incredible there...though I didn’t really get to see very much. I felt like I was there for four days but I was there for about two and a half months. But I probably only got to see the same amount as someone that was there for four days.
I am going there this weekend but I’m just mainly going for the food, I am not actually going to the Super Bowl.
That sucks for me too! Because i was in a movie and had to stay in shape, especially running around wearing those short shorts. When you go there, everyone says you’re going to gain 10 pounds, but I lost weight because I just ate soup everyday.
Did you really get discovered by Steven Spielberg?
Yes! Me and my friend Johnny used to make these stupid videos videos just to make ourselves laugh. His cousin’s friend asked us to make one for her bat mitzvah. First we showed it to our parents and they said we looked like idiots. They showed it at the bat mitzvah - I wasn’t there but Spielberg was and thought it was funny. We got a call from Dreamworks the next week to have a meeting there and that’s how I was able to get my first agent.
That’s when you started getting your television roles?
Yes, that’s when I was 14. I got one episode on a TV show and then another when I was 16 on CSI. Then I got my first movie when I was 18.
So you always knew you wanted to get into acting?
I always had a feeling this was what I wanted to do but I definitely didn’t plan on doing it until much later. I didn’t want to be a child actor. When I imagine doing all this stuff I am doing now as a 14 year-old, it’s like stunting your emotional growth. To do it to a six year-old just seems wrong. I didn’t really work that much for a long time so I was able to have a pretty normal childhood, as normal as growing up in LA is.
Do you have aspirations to write and direct since you started out making your own videos?
Oh yes, I’ve always done that. My school had a great video production program. Right after Beautiful Creatures, I filmed a movie that I wrote and directed and acted in.
Is your buddy still involved?
Not anymore. At the same time we made the stupid video, I was also making a really serious short film. But when you see the video, it’s pretty evident we weren’t that serious about it and it’s pretty crazy that my whole career started with it. It’s about me having a crush on the girl who was having the bat mitzvah. I break into her house and sing a song about her in her room and try on her clothes. But yeah, it’s really pretty silly and goofy.
Kind of like the funny videos on Youtube that everybody watches now.
Exactly. If Youtube was around, this probably wouldn’t have happened - now there’s too much competition!
But you said that after Beautiful Creatures, you made a short film?
I wrote it during the last couple weeks of filming and then made it right after.
Are you already planning on the sequels for Beautiful Creatures?
If the movie does well. If we totally bomb, then no. But if the movie is successful, I am signed on for two more.
When you found out you would be acting next to Emma Thompson, Jeremy Irons, and Viola Davis, were you intimidated...excited?
I have amazing admiration for all of them, especially Emma because she has two Oscars and one of them is for writing. Then when you actually get to work with them, everybody is just an actor on a set and they are all trying to figure out the same stuff you are. They were all super supportive of Alice and I. When you work with people of that caliber, you step up your game. Getting to see them work, that’s what I look for in my work - am I working with people I can learn from?
Let’s talk about your upcoming projects. You’re in Stoker with Nicole Kidman and Mia Wasi...
Yes, it’s actually “Va-sha-kov-ska.” But nobody knows that. Everybody calls her “Wa-si-kow-ski.” But it’s “Va-sha-kov-ska,” she’s Polish. So I’m in Stoker and then Woody Allen’s next film.
So someone’s doing well. How do your parents feel about you acting? Are they in the industry?
Yeah, it’s been a really good year. They are really excited. Nope, no family in the business.
With that, we said our goodbyes and Alden was off to a meet and greet. One of many to come in what we foresee as a bright future for this charming and talented actor.
Alden greeted me with a firm handshake and a friendly smile, despite having spent the entire day holed up in a hotel conference room answering more or less the same questions to a lineup of journalists about his latest project, Beautiful Creatures (out in theaters February 14). In his black slacks, charcoal sweater, and black rimmed glasses he took on and off, he looked more like an earnest graduate student rather than the star of what could be the next Twilight craze. San Francisco was one of his many stops after a week of travel, including Moscow, Los Angeles, and Mexico City. We talked about what it was like doing his first big movie press tour, working with big name Oscar-winning actors, the correct way to pronounce Mia Wasikowska’s name, and getting discovered by Steven Spielberg. Despite his 23 years, I noticed a few gray strands in his wavy dark hair. This junket must really be taking its toll! Or his non-stop working since Beautiful Creatures.
Beautiful Creatures is the film adaptation of the best-selling first book in the young adult series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Ethan Wate, a teenager in small-town South Carolina, falls in love with Lena Duchannes, the mysterious new girl at school who turns out to be from a magical family that possesses supernatural powers for good and evil.
Before I even begin with the questions, he immediately exclaims, “What a ring!” I tell him I just got married and moved to San Francisco and he enthusiastically congratulates me and commends my husband on his choice of diamond ring.
Did you have a coach to learn the southern accent? In the book, Ethan’s character doesn’t have one, unlike most of the rest of the characters.
What drew Richard (LaGravenese, the director) to this movie was that there was such a specific culture in the story. The way my character was constructed in the book was a comment on the idea of a southern gentleman. To really hit that, especially when watching it, he thought my character having a distinct southern accent was more fun and would put an idiosyncratic twist on the genre than to just have him be from a generic place.
Had you read any of the books in the series before you got the part?
I found out I got the part a week before shooting and then I started reading the book. After shooting, I would read the first book at nights, and then go to sleep and begin again the day after. So it felt like there were probably only about five minutes of my day not working.
You filmed in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana. When you got there, did you feel like you could hone your accent better in New Orleans?
Actually, the dialect coach told us not to listen to the accent because it was quite different, especially since New Orleans has this amazing confluence of culture and the accent has this mix of Cajun and French to it.
How did you like filming there?
Oh, it’s incredible there...though I didn’t really get to see very much. I felt like I was there for four days but I was there for about two and a half months. But I probably only got to see the same amount as someone that was there for four days.
I am going there this weekend but I’m just mainly going for the food, I am not actually going to the Super Bowl.
That sucks for me too! Because i was in a movie and had to stay in shape, especially running around wearing those short shorts. When you go there, everyone says you’re going to gain 10 pounds, but I lost weight because I just ate soup everyday.
Did you really get discovered by Steven Spielberg?
Yes! Me and my friend Johnny used to make these stupid videos videos just to make ourselves laugh. His cousin’s friend asked us to make one for her bat mitzvah. First we showed it to our parents and they said we looked like idiots. They showed it at the bat mitzvah - I wasn’t there but Spielberg was and thought it was funny. We got a call from Dreamworks the next week to have a meeting there and that’s how I was able to get my first agent.
That’s when you started getting your television roles?
Yes, that’s when I was 14. I got one episode on a TV show and then another when I was 16 on CSI. Then I got my first movie when I was 18.
So you always knew you wanted to get into acting?
I always had a feeling this was what I wanted to do but I definitely didn’t plan on doing it until much later. I didn’t want to be a child actor. When I imagine doing all this stuff I am doing now as a 14 year-old, it’s like stunting your emotional growth. To do it to a six year-old just seems wrong. I didn’t really work that much for a long time so I was able to have a pretty normal childhood, as normal as growing up in LA is.
Do you have aspirations to write and direct since you started out making your own videos?
Oh yes, I’ve always done that. My school had a great video production program. Right after Beautiful Creatures, I filmed a movie that I wrote and directed and acted in.
Is your buddy still involved?
Not anymore. At the same time we made the stupid video, I was also making a really serious short film. But when you see the video, it’s pretty evident we weren’t that serious about it and it’s pretty crazy that my whole career started with it. It’s about me having a crush on the girl who was having the bat mitzvah. I break into her house and sing a song about her in her room and try on her clothes. But yeah, it’s really pretty silly and goofy.
Kind of like the funny videos on Youtube that everybody watches now.
Exactly. If Youtube was around, this probably wouldn’t have happened - now there’s too much competition!
But you said that after Beautiful Creatures, you made a short film?
I wrote it during the last couple weeks of filming and then made it right after.
Are you already planning on the sequels for Beautiful Creatures?
If the movie does well. If we totally bomb, then no. But if the movie is successful, I am signed on for two more.
When you found out you would be acting next to Emma Thompson, Jeremy Irons, and Viola Davis, were you intimidated...excited?
I have amazing admiration for all of them, especially Emma because she has two Oscars and one of them is for writing. Then when you actually get to work with them, everybody is just an actor on a set and they are all trying to figure out the same stuff you are. They were all super supportive of Alice and I. When you work with people of that caliber, you step up your game. Getting to see them work, that’s what I look for in my work - am I working with people I can learn from?
Let’s talk about your upcoming projects. You’re in Stoker with Nicole Kidman and Mia Wasi...
Yes, it’s actually “Va-sha-kov-ska.” But nobody knows that. Everybody calls her “Wa-si-kow-ski.” But it’s “Va-sha-kov-ska,” she’s Polish. So I’m in Stoker and then Woody Allen’s next film.
So someone’s doing well. How do your parents feel about you acting? Are they in the industry?
Yeah, it’s been a really good year. They are really excited. Nope, no family in the business.
With that, we said our goodbyes and Alden was off to a meet and greet. One of many to come in what we foresee as a bright future for this charming and talented actor.