Tina Kakadelis
The list of prior nominees of the Independent Spirit Award for Best Breakthrough Performance reads like a who’s who of rising stars. Twenty years ago, Anthony Mackie picked up a nomination and now he’s carrying the shield as Captain America. Paul Dano, Anna Kendrick, Jeffrey Wright, and Renée Zellweger all count themselves as part of this storied group of nominees. The award category was discontinued from 2006 to 2021, but returned in 2022. The nominations for the 2024 Best Breakthrough Performance are Isaac Krasner of Big Boys, Katy O’Brian of Love Lies Bleeding, Mason Alexander Park of National Anthem, René Pérez Joglar of In the Summers, and Maisy Stella of My Old Ass.
After its award-winning festival run and ahead of the Independent Spirit Award ceremony on February 22, Isaac Krasner sat down with Film Obsessive News Editor Tina Kakadelis to discuss the long journey of Big Boys, his character’s endearing awkwardness, and growing up along the way.
The transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Film Obsessive: It’s been a long time since you shot Big Boys, about three years now.
Isaac Krasner: (laughs) It’s been a minute.
Has your perception or understanding of anything about the film or your character changed? What’s different from when you first started and where you are now?
Definitely. I think a lot has changed. Even more so than someone who is in their 40s and is talking about a film they did three years ago. I even have a hard time knowing who the person is on the screen that’s in that film, you know?
One thing that will never change is my belief about the character. That sad, little confused boy who was just trying to navigate himself. I relate to that now. A lot of the time, I still find myself trying to figure out life to that degree.
Your character transcends time in a way. There’s something so sweet and so genuine about him. That character comes from writer/director Corey [Sherman] about himself. Did you feel any sense of pressure about portraying this guy who’s also directing you?
Yes and no. The yes side of it is the concept itself. That this is a story about him. I felt like, okay, well, if I’d made a story, I would want the actor to do a spectacular job. I had a little bit of that pressure, but at the same time, to a degree, Corey and I co-created this character. He created the concept of the character and we would have conversations about Jamie. Would Jamie do that?
I spent a lot of time with the character before we actually started filming. There was a whole week of rehearsal. Thank goodness! Corey was kind enough to get basically the entire cast together, with the exception of a couple of actors, to rehearse for almost a full week. Rehearsing lines, rehearsing blocking. I was able to form relationships with all of the people in his script, and that made me feel more confident. It was a family, so I felt confident about it.
Will, Dan, and Jamie all outwardly display their understanding of masculinity in very different ways. How do you feel this camping trip impacted their ideas of what masculinity is?
I think it’s important to touch on that. Jamie, especially because of how his brother acts, exists in an environment at home where it’s hard to say if it was completely shunned, but masculinity was not something people talked about. For him to have this crisis is a complete mind screw. Like, is this who I am? His internalized homophobia creates a major dichotomy and disparity between what he knows and what he’s going through.
The camping trip alters everyone in that group. I mean, Dan has to confront this young kid who is basically confessing his love. Then there’s Allie (Dora Madison Burge), Jamie’s cousin who’s thinking “my cousin’s in love with my boyfriend.” Jamie’s brother is like, my brother’s a homo, what’s up with this? It’s all sort of crazy, you know?
You bring up one of my favorite scenes in the movie, which is the moment between Jamie and Dan in the car at the very end. It’s the culmination of everything. A lot of movies like this would have a big coming out moment that’s very dramatic, but Big Boys’ moment is simple. Why do you feel this was the route that Corey decided to go, instead of kind of the more grandiose version of a coming out moment?
That’s a good question because, to my knowledge, the way that scene was originally written was more comedic. It was going to be lighter and more grandiose and a more, hi, I’m gay, sort of thing. The team made a nice executive decision to focus on how awkward it was and how, I mean, gosh, if you try and put yourself in Jamie’s shoes, he’s someone who’s figuring himself out. At the same time, he’s about to tell this older man that he feels a romantic attraction to him. That’s such a deep thing. It’s not to be messed with. It’s not to be played with. I think capturing the sweat on my face in a situation so tense was absolutely critical.
As you mentioned, Jamie is very endearingly awkward. Awkwardness naturally comes from uncomfortable situations, but you had to manufacture that uncomfortable, awkward nature on set. Did you find that to be difficult?
No, because I worked with, and I will touch on this til the day I die, I worked with a group of people who were so facilitating of an environment for Jamie. David is a mind-bogglingly good actor who is a method actor to a degree. He helped me stay grounded. He helped me stay in that awkward mindset where it almost felt like I was, or was trying to, admitting my love to David Johnson.
So much of your role is word vomiting, but then you have these really sensitive moments where you have to convey so much without words. A similar question to my last one – how do you make that shift so effortlessly?
I think I live in a place where my opinion isn’t always the opinion. Portraying how I really feel in concise, small facial movements and physical expressions is something I’ve been able to become very comfortable with. I related to Jamie in that way.
As someone who has come out and lived the whole awkward teenage queer experience, this movie struck quite the chord. I imagine, during the whole festival circuit, that you’ve had a lot of people come up to you and talk to you about what this film has meant to them. Do you have any favorite stories from that? What’s it like to be on the receiving end of that sort of appreciation?
That’s a great question. I’ll start by saying in the beginning, when I first started going to all these festivals, it was very overwhelming. I was a little bit younger and yes, I resonated with the role, but I was still like, okay, I’m done with this and I’m gonna go back to my normal life.
Then there were people 50+ years old weeping at my knees saying you told a story that I’ve never seen, that’s never been told to me. At first I didn’t know how to react. Now I wish I could go back and cry with them. It’s such a special thing to have been able to be a part of that.
There’s nowhere else in my life I can recreate something like that. All I can say is I’m so beyond grateful to have been able to tell a story that has meant so much to so many people.
You have a very exciting few weeks ahead of you. You’ve got the Independent Spirit Awards and you’ve got a film going to South by Southwest. Are you going to Austin?
That’s up in the air!
I’m very excited for your upcoming film Holland. What are you feeling right now? What are you looking forward to in the next couple of weeks?
I went to the Indie Spirit Awards brunch a couple weeks back and that was good, but I went by myself, so I was a little lonely. I’m going to the awards ceremony with my family this time, so I’m very happy about that. I can’t wait to share this experience with them. I’m so beyond thrilled to have been nominated for something I don’t quite fully comprehend yet. I’m still getting over that. I’m sure that’ll hit me.
In terms of South by Southwest, there couldn’t have been a better place for this film to premiere. The people on that team worked so hard. Mimi Cave worked so hard on that film. It was like a well-oiled clock. I’m so happy it’s finally getting the recognition it deserves. Hopefully I do go, but I’m not sure yet.
Thank you so much, Isaac, and good luck! Congrats on everything! I really enjoyed the film.
I’m so glad! Thank you for having me.
