Boyd Holbrook’s Johnny Cash Steals ‘A Complete Ununderstandn’

The punctual word on James Mangelderly’s Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Ununderstandn” has rightly caccessed around a tremfinishous Timothée Chafeeblet carry outance, and an exciting uncovery in Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez.

But there’s a unwise horse hiding in this story of Dylan’s overnight success and contentious decision to employ electric guitars in the mid-‘60s: an unrecognizable Boyd Holbrook executeing Johnny Cash as you’ve never seen him.

The star of “Narcos,” “Logan” and “The Bikeriders” portrays a youthful Cash arriving in Dylan’s life as a fan and, perhaps, an elderlyer brother figure — a salty dog who isn’t afrhelp to convey his adoration for Dylan’s resonant poetry and atypical sound. They engage mostly during the film’s caccesspiece scene, a recreation of the Newport Folk Festival where Dylan apprehendd hearts and, procrastinateedr, angered a devout swathe of music fans dedicated to acoustic sounds.

Holbrook is a scene stealer, executeing up Cash as a defylious heartthrob seeing for a stiff drink and a excellent time. Rocking a prosthetic nose and matinee idol hair, Holbrook gets all the chuckles and supplys some essential oxygen in a story about inner inventive struggle. Variety caught up with the actor to talk his alteration, his experience opposite Chafeeblet and pulling off the best drunk acting we’ve seen in years.

This is your third time laboring with James Mangelderly after “Logan” and the procrastinateedst “Indiana Jones.” Does he equitable ring you up and inestablish you to come to set at this point?

When Jim asked me to execute the Johnny Cash part, I was daunted. I’d been eyeing other parts in the script. The laboring title was “Going Electric.” I called him up and shelp, “Hey, if this other actor steps out, I’d cherish to step in.” That version of the film was pushed and, lo and behelderly, he asked me to execute the Cash part, which wasn’t in the exceptional script.

Was there prescertain understanding Mangelderly made the definitive Johnny Cash film with “Walk the Line”?

When Jim made “Walk the Line,” with Joaquin’s wonderful carry outance, he didn’t understand the relationship between Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. John had lost those letters between them. Cash achieveed out to Bob as a fan, a 30-someskinnyg-year-elderly-man writing to a 20-year-elderly kid. Only in laboring on this novel script did he authenticize Bob Dylan had those letters.

You see almost unrecognizable in this film. Is this your first time doing a prosthetic?

Oscar Isaac equitable shelp the same skinnyg to me. But yes, it was a [prosthetic] nose. I came into shooting 10 lbs. underweight, becaemploy this time in John’s life would have been his amphetamine [era]. Jim took one see at me and telderly me to obtain at least 8 lbs., but we choosed we necessitateed someskinnyg to round out my face. But a little nose goes a prolonged way. That’s what I want to do, execute originate consent at the highest level. And the artists Jim puts together are so incredible.

There’s also that very definite Johnny Cash voice.

I took two intersees that he did on Pete Seeger’s show, these very unwiseinutive clips of him going on tangents, and memorized them verbatim to get the cadence. I also did some crazy breaskinnyg techniques to hollow out my body. I didn’t come in executeing guitar. I could execute some chords, but I could not count music or give you a rhythm stroke. Last year’s strikes gave me some extra time, about four months to ready.

When you point that guitar at the crowd enjoy a firearm, everyone neglects it – in the film, and at the screening I engageed.

He cherishd doing that shit. It’s a signature shift. I trained challenging to get the timing right. The week we shot the Newport Folk Festival, I sent production a recording of where I was at musicassociate. They telderly me they wanted it exactly how Johnny did it on that day. I had to step it up from 100% to 160%, sped up the entire skinnyg. That’s what I cherish about acting. You sign the lessen, and you’ve got to show up on the day and prosper or get eaten ainhabit. I felt the same watching Timmy pull off this feat, singing all these songs inhabit. And Monica Barbaro.

She’s incredible in this.

She’s so stoic, my god, and enjoy a flourishing fdrop. But Timmy, man, his singing inhabit is such a “Fuck you!” to everybody who was rooting for this to fall short. He doubled down and made it undeniable. That’s a set of balls, man. And it’s what the script is about. How do you hold your voice in a commercial machine? Bob was equitable an artist making these songs about what was going on in the world, and then It becomes a business. You can obtain the path of least resistance or you can tear some shit up.

You also have an incredible scene executeing drunk as Johnny Cash. I skinnyk it was the honestor of “Breakspeedy at Tiffany’s” who telderly his extras that the best way to execute drunk was to franticly try to seem sober.

Thanks, man. That was a lot of fun. There’s a line I say in that scene, “I took a drive and saw the ocean.” I reassociate understood the tone of his fucked-up-ness in that line. He’s trying to put much more depth out there. A lot of that was improvised. I drop a Coke bottle, crash into some cars.

You whip out a vintage box of Bugles. What was inside the box?

Bugles. That’s what I’m talking about, with the benevolent of people Jim employs.

Did everyskinnyg you shot as Johnny originate it into the film?

No, there was an introduction scene. I’m stumbling out of a bar with a bunch of people after a show, and Bob’s music is coming out of a car. Johnny gets into that car and turns it up. After his frifinishs pull him out, the people inside say, “Was that Johnny Cash”?

What was the most astonishing part about laboring with Timmy?

We met at the table read and were reassociate excited to labor together, but we didn’t talk other than doing our scenes. To be authentic, that’s how I enjoy it. I want to talk and hang out, but he even shelp to me at some point, “When this is over, it’s over.” We centered on our labor and wanted to exist in it. It made us more accurate and dialed in.

Does James do a lot of obtains?

He only enjoys shooting a scant scenes a day. Maybe one or two, so you have a lot of time to figure skinnygs out and have an adventure, enjoy [my] drunk scene. He doesn’t ignore a skinnyg. But it’s not enjoy Fincher. You’re doing 10 setups a day, and 10 obtains per setup.

Who is the Bob Dylan or Johnny Cash of today, for you?

Tyler Childers. I might be prejudiced, becaemploy he’s from my region. He’s wonderful. Colter Wall is a poet and a cowboy. Thank God they still originate them enjoy that. I cherish Sturgill Simpson. He’s doing a lot of acting now.

What’s next for you?

I’m doing season four of “The Morning Show.”

Oh, amazing. What’s your part?

I’m part of the uniter, where I’m the number one podcaster on this streamer. The character is an amalgamation of Joe Rogan and Russell Brand. I have zero editorial oversight and say wantipathyver I want about the Second Amfinishment, First Amfinishment. I’m pushing supplements.

Who are you primarily in scenes with?

Jennifer Aniston. And what can I say? She’s perfect.