Actor Jared Gilman Reflects on Moonrise Kingdom, Working With Wes Anderson, and His Burgeoning Career
On-set photos courtesy of Jared Gilman.
Over the past five years, my love and appreciation for Wes Anderson's films have continuously grown over the years. Before this, I had only watched a select few, like The Grand Budapest Hotel, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Moonrise Kingdom. All three of these films have a special place in my heart as they were essentially the films that made me fall in love with Anderson's highly original movies and made me want to seek out more of his filmography. Recently, I reached out to Jared Gilman, who plays Sam Shakusky in Moonrise Kingdom, to chat about his experience working on the film, as well as many exciting upcoming projects, including a feature film and multiple short films, and some of his favourite Wes Anderson films.
Reflecting On Moonrise Kingdom:
Some spoilers ahead… proceed with caution.
On-set photos courtesy of Jared Gilman.
Set in New Penzance, an island off the coast of New England, Moonrise Kingdom follows twelve-year-olds Sam and Suzy (played by Kara Hayward), who fall in love, make a secret pact, and decide to run away together. As the residents, local authorities, and Khaki Scouts set out on a search mission for the two, a violent storm is fast approaching.
Moonrise Kingdom was Gilman's breakout role. He auditioned for the role of Sam because he was a kid interested in acting. “Moonrise I think was my second or third audition that I ever went on so at that point I was just like ‘I have no idea what’s gonna happen. I just want to try this out and see if anything happens because I just love acting,’” he recalls.
On Moonrise Kingdom Gilman shares the screen with many iconic actors, including Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, and Jason Schwartzman, among others. He explains Anderson did a fantastic job of accustoming the young cast members to working on a movie set beforehand, which made it less nerve-wracking when the big names started showing up on set. “The first few weeks of the shoot were just me, Kara, and the other Khaki Scout actors, so when the bigger names started showing up, I had already gotten used to the schedule and the way things were,” he says. “I already watched a bunch of Bill Murray’s movies, so I was really excited to be working with him. I saw Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World when it was in theatres, so I was really excited to be working with Jason… There were almost takes on set where I almost broke because he was so funny. I wish he were in more of the movie. I am always a little sad when his final moment comes… I saw the first Narnia movie for my sixth birthday, so I have known about Tilda since I was a little kid. I didn’t see her very much, but just seeing her the couple times I did on set was very exciting. We danced at the afterparty, which was a lot of fun.”
Gilman shares that there were definitely moments of him being a kid on set, including the scene when Sam and Suzy first meet Cousin Ben (played by Schwartzman). “We’re chewing gum in between every take, and everyone is doing the right thing and taking one and chewing it. I’m doing the Jared thing and grab a handful of gumballs and stuff them in my mouth. Sam’s spitting out the gum, we all do that, and everyone has tiny things, and I got a giant wad of gum that I spit into Jason’s hand, and he immediately tosses it because God almighty that thing is gross. If you pay attention to that, you’ll see it. That’s a Jared thing I snuck in. I feel like if Wes knew, he probably would’ve changed it, maybe he liked it though.”
While filming, Gilman says that he was constantly chewing Double Bubble, leading to a funny moment when shooting the original ending. “We were shooting the final shot of the movie, the binocular POV of me looking back at Suzy, and it's supposed to be a very beautiful, sad, bittersweet moment. We go to shoot the first take, and I go and smile at the camera because originally Sam is supposed to smile, and my teeth are all pink because of the fucking Double Bubble. Wes is like, ‘Jared, I think you've got to go brush your teeth.’ I had a bunch of those little pocket toothbrushes with a little bead of toothpaste, and I was using those every day. I grabbed one of those and just went to work for like ten or fifteen minutes getting all the pink off my teeth. I went back and ended up not even needing to smile like that for the next take ‘cause we ended up finding a different thing that worked for that moment.”
On-set photos courtesy of Jared Gilman.
One of Anderson's trademarks is the breathtakingly stunning sets and astonishingly beautiful production designs of his film, which instantly transport the viewer into those worlds, especially in films like The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch, and Asteroid City. Moonrise Kingdom differs slightly, as it does not have nearly as many sets; however, it achieves the same result: immersing the viewer in a vibrant and unique environment. “It's like taking his world but going out into the wilderness with it,” says Gilman. There are still some gorgeous set pieces in Moonrise Kingdom. One of Gilman's favourite sets was Suzy's house. “Every room of that house was its own thing. That was pretty amazing to get to walk through.” Filming in the church was another fond memory for Gilman, especially the scene with the huge storm. “It was pretty insane to shoot. I had to deal with my fear of heights, climbing up the steeple on a harness. In the shot when we’re dangling on the harness, we’re hanging ten feet in the air, which doesn’t sound very high, but for me it was like ‘Oh my gosh!’ I have never hung on a harness like that before or since.”
On-set photos courtesy of Jared Gilman.
A significant reason Moonrise Kingdom continues to resonate with audiences is the endearingly heartwarming relationship between Sam and Suzy. Early in the script, the dynamic between Sam and Suzy had more tension. “The relationship between Sam and Suzy, I think, was maybe even sweeter because there were moments of friction between the two of them in the script that ended up being ironed out,” he shares. “They were written [with this idea of being] funnier.” An example of this is the scene when Snoopy the dog dies. “That scene was initially written where Suzy sees the dog and starts panicking, and then Sam, utilizing his scout training, lightly slaps Suzy to snap her out of it. Not the right thing to do, obviously. So, he slaps her, and then she looks at him and socks him in the face… It got changed, and that’s the version that you see in the film. It’s a lot simpler and ultimately better for the pacing of the movie.”
Another example of cutting the friction between Sam and Suzy is the wide shot scene where they discuss the marriage, with the kid jumping on the trampoline in the background. “The idea was Sam was going to say something that pissed off Suzy, and then she put him in a headlock… We were doing rehearsals, trying to figure out choreography for it, and then Wes was like, ‘I think it just might be better if it is not violent like that.’”
Still, over a decade later, Moonrise Kingdom continues to mean a lot to Gilman. “It’s always been one of the most special experiences of my life, and I've always had that view on it, and that itself has never changed, and if anything, it's strengthened over the years,” he smiles. “It speaks to the experience itself, the fact that so many things from it remain in my head after all these years.”
5 Days At Zooblin’s Bar And Steakhouse:
Recently, Gilman worked on a feature film called 5 Days At Zooblin’s Bar And Steakhouse. The film was written and directed by sisters Annie and Isabelle Rose Farrell. Gilman plays the dishwasher in the film. As of now, the film is in post-production. The release date is still to be determined. “Annie and Izzy are using a lot of their experiences when they worked at a restaurant for the script,” says Gilman. “It was a really fun shoot. It’s one of those titles that explains the movie. It’s five days over the course of a few years and pretty much entirely takes place at this bar and steakhouse that is kind of run down and not doing so well. You’re just following the hapless employees. We got to shoot it in 16mm, which was fun and microbudget shooting for very, very little money, so every take had to count. Every day you're rehearsing, and rehearsing, and rehearsing, and then we’d shoot to make the most of it.”
Gilman worked with his friend and Moonrise Kingdom co-star Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick on the film as well, but in a slightly different way. “He has ended up doing more behind-the-scenes stuff, and was the sound guy on the Zooblin’s shoot,” explains Gilman. “The directors didn’t tell us that they had hired both of us, even though they knew we knew each other. They were like, ‘Let’s just let them find out on set.’ The night before the first day of the shoot, I was just looking at the call sheet… I see his name, and I nearly screamed in the fucking bathroom in the cast room. He hadn’t looked at the call sheet, so then the first day of the shoot happened, and I’m showing up on set looking for him, and I see him, and he sees me, and his mouth drops because he has no idea that I’m signed up for this.”
While Gilman was reconnecting with Davey-Fitzpatrick, Addison Knies, who did the sound for Before Anything Happens, came up to him at the same time to chat. Knies also helped with the sound for 5 Days At Zooblin’s Bar And Steakhouse. “He walks up to me while I’m having this moment with my buddy Seamus, and I totally miss him, and I feel really bad in hindsight,” continues Gilman. “Finally, I look and see him, and I've totally forgotten what short I worked with him on. Luckily, I'm someone who takes a lot of photos when I’m on set, as long as I'm allowed to… I had taken photos for Before Anything Happens, and I saw him and was like ‘That’s’ it.’ When you are working on a short film that’s only a couple of days of shooting and a lot easier to forget who is from where, versus a feature is like several weeks, where you really have enough time to plant everyone's faces in your memory. Ultimately the shoot went really well and great to see my buddies Seamus and Addison.”
Short Films:
Lately, Gilman has been working with his friend Samantha Joia on multiple projects. “We’re college buddies, so she has been very kind in casting me in the shorts that she has made,” he says. One of these is Before Anything Happens. It was filmed last year, and Gilman hopes it will be able come out soon. “That one was fun. It’s a little comedy about two people on a date at the guy’s house. They are trying to have an experience, but then the guy goes to the bathroom, sneezes, and bangs his head open… I won’t spoil the rest.” Gilman mentions he also has a small cameo in Joia’s other short film, In Pursuit Of Butterflies, which has yet to be released. It is a period piece inspired by the life of Maria Sibylla Merian. “Maria was like one of the people who discovered metamorphosis in caterpillars and butterflies, which is fascinating. Sam wrote a little short about it. It’s sort of a fictional story based on the emotional experience of the thing that happens in the short between her, her husband, and her pet butterfly.”
Gilman is also shooting a short film titled She’s Gone with his friend Charlie Kessler. They reconnected during a Moonrise Kingdom screening in Long Island, which Kessler helped coordinate Gilman to do a Q&A at. “He wrote a short and got me, one other actor, and his buddy to shoot it; just the four of us in random places throughout New York City,” comments Gilman. “Since it is shot across so many different parts of New York City it has taken a long time for us to do because we’re only shooting Sundays and Tuesday nights from like 7-10ish, so only a few hours because ultimately it is really only what we need for each location and spot because it goes really fast once we start.”
Favourite Wes Anderson Films:
Before we end the interview, Gilman shares his favourite Wes Anderson films or ones he is most looking forward to rewatching.
2020s: Asteroid City
“On the second and third viewings, it really hit me with what it was doing. As an actor and somebody who worked with Wes, that one spoke to me.”
2010s: The Grand Budapest Hotel
“I can’t say Moonrise because I’m too close to that one to have an objective opinion. Budapest is the quintessential Wes movie, or at least one of them.”
2000s: The Darjeeling Limited
“I love Darjeeling, but I want to rewatch it because it’s been many years.”
1990s: Bottle Rocket
“Bottle Rocket, I think, is the one I saw the longest ago. I want to rewatch it because it’s Wes before all the stylistic traits began to appear.”