Boyd Holbrook Interview: Bringing the Humor to 'Logan', the Charm to 'Sandman' and His New Film 'Vengeance'
The Kentucky born Holbrook learned his work ethic from the small town where he grew up, and is now becoming one of the hardest working actors out there today.
Holbrook in Vengeance Courtesy of Patti Perret / Focus Features
When asked about his hometown of Prestonsburg, Kentucky, a town of only approximately 3500 people, there was a noticeable change in demeanor. Not negative by any means, but certainly contemplative, and perhaps even guarded. Boyd Holbrook, now costarring in B.J. Novak’s dramedy Vengeance is going to be in a metric ton of massive projects coming out in the next year or so. Right around the corner, he’ll play the deliciously snake of a nightmare, The Corinthian in Netflix’s highly anticipated adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, but if that wasn’t enough, Holbrook will help bring to life the tale of another Kentuckian legend in Elmore Leonard’s Justified: City Primevil, a sequel to neo-western series following lawman Raylan Givens. If that still isn’t enough or if you’re more of a bigscreen kind of media consumer, Holbrook is featured in an all-star ensemble for next years’ Indiana Jones 5.
It would seem that his hard work is paying off, as the veteran actor is now in larger and larger projects, and more importantly, experiencing things within his profession for the first time. He and the rest of the Sandman cast attended San Diego Comic Con only days before he sat down to chat with us at FilmSpeak. An experience Holbrook says he is a professional ‘whirlwind’. Yet if you’ve never seen Holbrook interviewed, he is intensely humble. While others would kill for the experiences Holbrook has obtained throughout his career, he still takes nothing for granted. He realizes how lucky he is, and perhaps part of that was his formative years in Prestongburg.
“It's predominantly a coal mining town” Holbrook says, “My father was a coal miner for 30 years, which provided me a better life than he had. So from a very young age, I understood work ethic and grit in life. I spent a lot of time with my great grandmother growing up, who [taught] in a one room schoolhouse, and walked three miles to work every day when she taught and, and so there's a voracious type of person that it takes to pioneer an area like Appalachia. I just think that this has absolutely informed me in ways that I just continued to discover”. While that certainly explains the effort he puts into his art (which also includes poetry, photography and sculpture) it doesn’t necessarily explain why Boyd felt the need to get out of Prestonburg, or continue carpentry as he did at a young age. Yet there is another need, other than to put in the work that Holbrook holds dear. He has to keep evolving.
Holbrook (left) and costar, writer and director B.J. Novak (right) Courtesy of Patti Perret / Focus Features
“For a long time, it was like I had a Ferrari engine in a Prius.” This journey of self-discovery which many actors go through can take many forms, but Holbrook tried to ensure he challenges himself by taking on roles he’s never had the opportunity to try. His role as ‘Ty Shaw’ in Vengeance is a perfect example. The actor, so far, is not known for his comedic roles as his filmography has leaned towards steadfast villains or altruistic protagonists. Holbrook certainly shines in his comedic effort as Ty, giving the film a lot of energy and life, but certainly not creating a one-note stereotype of rural Texans. A balance which gives what could be a one note caricature a lot of depth, and gives insight to another core belief of the actor.
“It’s a danger if the character is one note. I always look for an array of colors. If there's not, then I think something like ‘how can I inject some humor into the character?’ I think that's probably why I won the Logan audition because, there was a sense of humor that I could see in there. Film is a reflection of life and life is never one beat.”
Having to constantly evolve has lead to some extremely interesting roles for the actor, and a kinship with writer/director B.J. Novak as well. The two developed a kinship when working on The Premise last year; a serial of topical vignettes that showed Novak’s wide range as creator. Holbrook says choosing not to “stay in one lane” keeps him young. “It's something that really motivates me, and puts just the right amount of pressure on me to embody these characters. To me, that's a fascination that I just love. Going down the rabbit hole.”
Vengeance is in theatres now.
Be sure to check out the full video interview, below:
