‘Euphoria’s’ Austin Abrams on Lessons From George Clooney and Brad Pitt and His Upcoming Film ‘Weapons’
Name: Austin Abrams
Age: 28
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Born and raised: Sarasota, Fla.
Big break: Abrams has wanted to be an actor since he was a kid and could sit through any movie his parents were watching, fascinated. He can distinctly recall watching Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood” in his early teens and rethinking everything he thought being an actor was.
“I didn’t know that what [he] was doing was a possible thing that you could do when it came to being an actor,” he says.
His first movie role was in the 2011 drama “Ticking Clock,” and he’s been working ever since, starring in projects like “The Kings of Summer,” “Paper Towns,” “The Walking Dead” and, of course, “Euphoria.”
“The connection that you get to have with other people is pretty amazing. The connection with the people that you have while you’re working, and then the connection with people that you have afterward or with an audience or something is a really special experience,” he says.
“I suppose that was probably what drew me to it,” he adds. “And also just a love for movies.”
Currently: Abrams can be seen alongside George Clooney and Brad Pitt in “Wolfs,” the action comedy that debuted earlier this fall.
“I got it as an audition and saw the two of their names, didn’t have a script or anything like that, and I mean, it just seemed insane,” Abrams says. “One of their names is intimidating enough, but to see both of them together is, I mean, it’s a job that I just didn’t know if it was possible. To even think that it was possible that I’d be able to do that just took a certain amount of convincing of myself.”
The movie premiered at the Venice Film Festival, an experience that gave Abrams a crash course in red carpet behavior from two of the world’s biggest stars.
“It felt like I was watching the [Chicago] Bulls play or something like that. It felt like I was court side watching them do their thing, the excitement that people have around them,” he says.
Acting skills aside, he walked away from working with the two impressed with the way they interacted with everyone on set.
“It’s pretty amazing to see the two of those guys, at their stature, at the place that they are in their career and in their lives, just see how generous they are with people and thoughtful they are, and the time that they give and how genuine they are,” he says. “They’re great role models in that way. That alone, of how you can be in this business and in this field, was really cool to see.”
Up next: Abrams will be seen in “Weapons,” from “Barbarian” writer-director Zach Cregger, who was “a dream director for me to work with.” The film costars Julia Garner and Josh Brolin. Beyond that, he’s excited for a new challenge.
“I would love to work with more European filmmakers and go into that realm. Magical realism is really interesting. Ultimately the main thing is something that is inspiring and feels creative and it feels full of life, with a director that has something to say and has questions to ask,” Abrams says. “Something in the Sean Baker realm. Something that pushes you and pulls you.”
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