- All right,
Taylor. What is the most memorable thing
that you've ever read on a bathroom wall?
- The thing that's sticking out to me is
all the questions that would be on bathroom--
Like, when I was in school,
there would be different prompts from girls
like, "Is this person cute?
"Yes or no?"
And you'd have to circle yes or no
and you'd go in and do that.
Or just different-- There was like, always questions on the walls
that I would be like, "Oh, there's a new question.
"I'm gonna answer this today."
- I more see like, writing on bathroom walls
in train station bathrooms and things like, of that nature.
And I just always don't really care to look too long, I think.
(laughing)
- Charlie, how would you describe
'Words On Bathroom Walls'
and the title of the film?
- The story follows a young guy named Adam Petrazelli.
His life up until he's 17 has been, you know,
relatively normal.
I guess what people would call normal.
And, you know, he's at odds with his stepdad,
and he has dreams of being a chef, and all these things.
And then he experiences his first psychotic break
and episode of psychosis,
and then is diagnosed with schizophrenia.
And then he, you know, meets
Miss Taylor Russell's character, Maya,
when he goes to a new school.
And she really helps him so much
in coming to terms with his shame, I think,
and his fear in trusting people.
And also with the help of a lot of other people.
In that topic of shame
and fear of what other people are saying
and most importantly, I think
how you feel about yourself,
I think that's really where the title comes from.
And then that manifesting in the form of nasty things
that people have written on the school bathroom walls,
but that's something that I think everyone can connect with.
- And I like that they are both hiding
and for, you know, both of them,
they feel like the opportunity to step forward
on their own has been ripped away from them.
Your character comes into Maya's world and takes away
her ability to share on her own terms.
And then your character, in a similar sense, is hiding
and things are revealed in a way that
you are not comfortable with,
and it ends up bringing them closer together.
And I loved that sort of connectiveness
that feels, I don't know,
like, I've heard people talk about that before, so.
- Obviously, I think mental health is something
that's worth talking about in regards to anybody,
but why do you think, Taylor, that more in particular,
it might be good to keep the focus on young people,
specifically dealing with mental health?
- When I experienced a new emotion for the same time,
I really am fitting in it
at this point in my life
because we've experienced so much already that new feelings
feel like, colossal.
But at that time, everything is new,
so everything feels colossal.
And dealing with mental health issues within that,
it's so heightened, so heightened that it--
And also can make you feel so alone
and that you're the only person dealing with it
'cause not a lot of people are talking about it, perhaps.
At least for me and where I grew up,
it was like, very isolating.
I think it's important because it's like,
all, you know, teenagers deal with is mental health,
and protecting themselves, and trying to find the right help
and ears to listen.
So, yeah, I think it's cool to be a part of a story that
delves into that.
How did you prepare for this role and
was your preparation continuing during filming?
Or did you feel like you were at a place
that you felt confident with it?
What was that like for you?
- I talked to psychiatrists a lot
who specialize in young men, especially
who are recently diagnosed.
And that was just really insightful, I think,
in terms of gaining that knowledge
so that I could show up on the day
to the best of my ability.
Understanding that I'll never be able to know, of course,
but just making sure that I could feel like,
"Okay, when these moments present themselves,
"I have a bed of knowledge to fall back on somewhat,
"in terms of what that experience generally is."
And not really for me of like--
Like, more specifically the experience of the psychosis
and that stuff. That was just, you know,
I think anyone who hasn't experienced it,
obviously, it's really hard to imagine, so.
So, that was really helpful.
And I definitely never felt like,
"Oh man, like, now I just know everything about this
"and I'll be totally fine forever."
Not in the slightest.
The other thing that's tricky about this subject,
in particular, is there still a lot
that we don't know at all about it.
So, that's also, you know, difficult.
But, in terms of like, the actual experience of what it is
and more so the everyday of it, I felt like I did--
I was confident in having somewhat of an understanding of
that before we started.
Given the course of the story and, you know,
what the characters go through throughout,
and then where we leave them, you know.
What do you,
purely just like,
I guess, as a person who was a part of making this story,
what do you hope that people kind of
take away, genuinely, from it?
And from Maya and Adam's, you know, relationship?
- Ultimately, I think the themes that I hope
that come across and that people can connect to
would be, you know,
compassion
for a situation unlike your own,
and inspiration to be more truthful about where you're at.
Because often when we do do that,
there's so many people that are at the ready to be like,
"Me too! Me too!"
And "I went through the same thing," or "I can relate to that feeling
that you have."
So, I guess that's kind of
what I think would be beautiful if people took away.
And I'm also excited to hear what other things
that are past my viewpoint that come up for people watching.
- I think if like, generally speaking,
it can encourage people to like, what you're saying,
really opening yourself to all that's in your environment,
whether that be the people in your environment,
or really whatever it may be.
But just really opening yourself to that.
And I think naturally, you know,
when you're in a head space of fear,
it's so easy to close yourself off and to isolate yourself,
and really, you know, standing up against that feeling.
Like, I just hope that this can,
in whatever that means for you, you know,
encourage you to continue to basically just stand up to
fear. In very general terms.