While many horror fans know Charlie Heaton as protective older brother and monster hunter Jonathan Byers from Stranger Things, moviegoers can see a different side of the actor in his new role as Stephen, the paralyzed son of Naomi Watts' character in Shut In. With the new thriller now out in theaters, Daily Dead had the chance to catch up with Heaton, who discussed the physical challenges of playing Stephen and also talked about beginning production on Stranger Things Season 2.
Coming off of Stranger Things, this was a different type of challenge with you playing a character that is paralyzed. What attracted you to the role and what kind of research did you do to prepare?
Charlie Heaton: This was my first main feature. I was in LA and I was reading, at the time, a lot of scripts, and this one came through kind of last minute and they'd been casting on this one for a while. My agents were just like, "Look, can you get this out to us as quickly as possible?" So, at the time I read it, I was thinking that the script had [The] Shining or a Hitchcock feel.
It was page-turning and gripping, and it was very interesting that it didn't go for those cheap scares or thrills. It was bathed in these characters that felt very real. Stephen is in a vegetative state and playing a character where you have to do so little but try and convey a relationship was an interesting challenge to take on.
As an actor you're trying to use your tools, mainly your eyes, to try and express as much emotion as you can, or use your body language or your voice, but lacking those, it's like, where do you look?
I watched a French movie called The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, which is about a man with locked-in syndrome. Locked-in syndrome is where you don't have function of your body, but your mind is still awake. Then just physicalizing it was a big part. Watching these videos and almost trying to replicate what they were doing, spending time in front of a mirror really loosening and relaxing my face.
What was the hardest thing on set was to try and make it seem like there is nothing left inside this body, [being] vacant behind the eyes and how they move. The tiny little details that all make up this physicality of the character.
You and Naomi Watts have these very physical scenes, especially towards the last third of the movie. Can you tell me about the practicing you did together and the filming? How intense was it? How much training did you have back and forth? Any interesting stories from when you were filming?
Charlie Heaton: We shot the first half in Montreal, where we shot all the exteriors, all the forest scenes, and all [of] the end. It was minus 35 degrees, and we were really cold, and credit to the crew and everyone, but we were in normal clothes and Naomi [was] running and falling on the ground and really taking these falls and hitting it.
We shot in a lake in Vancouver in March and I had a wet suit on, but I was in the water for quite long periods of time. When we originally shot it, we had a hot tub to throw me in and then one of the nights I went into shock because the conditions of the film were really physically taxing.
Of course, our readers are really excited for Stranger Things Season 2 and I know that production just started. What can you tell me about it?
Charlie Heaton: So, we're back in production. We just read episodes one through four, and are about to start shooting. I'm very excited. We're returning to these characters a year later and we're back in the familiar town of Hawkins. We're back in the world with the characters that we know and love so much. The scope feels bigger and everyone making it is so happy to be back. Hopefully, we're going to be able to create the magic that we created in season one.
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