- Hi, I'm William Jackson Harper.
And I'm in studio with The Hollywood Reporter.
(upbeat music)
- Can you tell me something that will
make a scaredy cat like me be able to see this movie?
- Yeah.
You know, it is less of just like a straight
up and down horror film in that way.
It's more of like a psychedelic nightmare.
And so in a way it sort of subverts, for me,
I think it just subverts like expectations about
like what's supposed to happen.
And it's also deeply driven by the relationships.
Or this, essentially the central relationship of the movie.
And so for, I don't know, for scaredy cats
I think it's, you know, it's like you'll
probably be like emotionally terrorized.
But I think it's, you know,
it plays with issues of commitment,
and codependency, and mental health again, you know.
- Right. (laughing)
- I mean it is frightening.
I think more than anything, like for me,
I think the most frightening thing
is the fact that it's people making choices, you know.
I think when it comes to being in a cult,
or any issue of belief, it's something that you can't
reason away when you're dealing
face to face with a person.
And so it's like, I think that it's,
that's really frightening to me, you know.
But it's less about the inevitability of not
being able to overtake this supernatural thing, you know.
So, yeah, I mean he does drive it to a very
like sort of uncomfortable place.
And he does drive us, you know, crazy
trying to make all these moments work
that are just like really, really grisly
and sort of tough to play, but.
You know, I think it's effective.
I think that that's, when you're dealing with people,
and the choice that they make to sort of deny
your value as a person, you know.
That's frightening.
But I think the inevitability is
a little bit more in question.
And I think it makes for more interesting watching.
- So tell me a little bit about
the process of filming Midsommar
because it does take place in bright open spaces.
Like, unlike when you usually sign on for a horror movie.
Maybe you've got a dark set,
maybe you're doing a lot of night shoots.
This is in the daylight, in Sweden.
- Yeah, yeah.
- So what was that like?
- Well, we actually shot in
just outside Budapest, in Hungary.
Which, I guess, looks a lot like Sweden.
But, like bad things can happen anytime of day, you know.
- That's true. - There's nothing about,
you know it's, like I feel like it sort of leans into
the idea of something being frightening,
to have everything be very dark,
and have things take place at night.
And, of course, it's just like, you know,
one of our senses is deeply impaired at night.
Like we can't see as far, we can't see as much.
But, I think, you know, having it be in the daytime
it just sort of subverts all your expectations.
And now it's like nothing can just like
sneak up on you, you know what I mean?
It's not like you're gonna open that door
in that dark room and all of a sudden,
you know, a demon's gonna pop out.
So it's not that kind of thing.
It's, you know, everything is very much right there.
And I think it's like you're off-center
because you're not sure what
you're supposed to be looking for.
You know, as far as like a clue as to
something being wrong, or off in some way.
And I think when you have everything,
like all of your faculties are working,
and still, you know, there's nothing
that's just like a red flag right off the bat.
That, you know, then you're sort of just,
I think it amps up the anxiety.
- Can we talk about some happier things?
- Sure, yeah.
- Let's talk about The Good Place.
- Okay.
- So recently Michael Schur said that
the fourth season would be the last.
So how did it make you feel to hear that kinda go public?
Like to have that be out there in the world?
- Well, good.
I mean, like I feel like,
I mean I could do this show for decades.
I mean it's a great group of people.
And I really have a good time.
And, you know, we have a vibe.
There's no assholes on set, you know like,
that's sort of our thing.
And so it's a lot of fun.
But I do feel like it's the right thing.
And I think that, you know, for fans of the show
it will get to exist as a piece of art
as opposed to just a device for advertising
to be delivered into our homes, you know.
This is, we're trying to make a story
and be honest with ourselves, and be honest with the folks
that have invested so much in watching the show.
That we want them to see the story that we wanted
them to see, rather than we're out of ideas,
and now we're just treading water
until, you know, until people are tired of us
and the story that we're trying to tell
is no longer relevant.
So I, yeah, I feel good that it's out there now.
I mean, it's incredibly sad for me, personally.
But, you know, it's time.
It's time.
- It must be so exciting because the best is yet to come.
I mean, the fourth season is gonna be bananas.
- Yeah, yeah.
And we're actually, you know,
getting close to wrapping up production
on the fourth season. - So you know all the secrets.
- I know all the things.
(laughing)
I know all the things.
It's so good to know things.
- What happens, tell me!
- Oh, I'm not gonna tell you.
I'm not giving you anything.
You know, for the longest time it was just like
let me not share these secrets so I keep my job.
But now it's just fun for me to just withhold, you know.
But yeah, I'm really excited for people to see this.
And I know how it ends.
And I'm so curious to see how people respond to that.
- Wow.
So are you saying that you are coming out of The Good Place
feeling like you can make better choices
and be a better person?
- I mean, I feel like I always could.
But I just think I am more like--
- I was a good person before The Good Place.
- I mean I always could, but I didn't do it, you know.
And I still don't, I mean,
I'm still trash for most of the time.
But like, I think it's just sort of,
just being a little bit more conscious, I think.
Especially in sort of the climate that we're in right now
where, you know, people are making decisions
based on their fears and their hatreds for other people.
You know, to sort of lean into the opposite.
Like, really sort of examining that
and trying not to give that paradigm
any sort of credence, you know.
Like trying to like, rather than saying like, oh,
well people are upset, and they're afraid,
and they're doing all these really awful things.
But they're also upset and afraid,
and we need to understand them.
It's like, well sure, but also there does
need to be a penalty for being a dick.
And so that's something that I'm hoping
that the show has sort of inspired for people.
It's like, let me just not be a dick.
- Does it mean a lot to you like, the character of Chidi?
Does it feel good to be able to be able
to take on a role like that?
Or to have that role be part of your career?
- Yeah.
I mean, you know, I'm pretty different
from him in a lot of respects.
I mean, we're both anxious, you know,
we're both pretty neurotic.
But this has been the best job
I've ever had in my career, you know.
And it's, I feel really privileged
to have gotten to do it.
And yeah, it'll be sad leaving it behind.
But I'm really looking forward to like,
you know, doing some other stuff.
- And you have a future project on the horizon
with director Todd Haynes.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Can you tell me a little bit about that?
- Yeah.
It is, I mean, I don't think it actually
even technically has a title yet.
But it's about Robert Bilott,
who is a lawyer from Cincinnati who fought DuPont.
He was actually a corporate defense lawyer.
And he found out that DuPont had been
poisoning the water in this West Virginia town.
And he took 'em to court.
And it's sort of about that whole fight
to deal with Teflon, and you know, sort of these chemicals.
And like, it's also about corporate responsibility.
And, I think also, very much about
progressive vigilance, like what you actually have to,
what it takes to actually affect positive change.
When you're dealing with people that are,
you know, putting money over people.
And it's, I'm super excited about it.
And yeah, I mean, Mark Ruffalo's in it,
Anne Hathaway's in it, Tim Robbins is in it.
You know, it's like one of those things
where like, man, how'd I get in here?
(laughing)
So I'm really excited about that one.
Hopefully at the end of the year, I think.
But, who knows.
- Excellent.
Very exciting.
Well, thank you so much for being here.
And everybody go out and see Midsommar in theaters,
if you dare.
It's out right now.
(whooshing)