In the new Mike Mills film C’Mon C’Mon, Joaquin Phoenix plays a radio host named Johnny who’s touring the country interviewing children about their hopes and dreams for the future. (Ira Glass is shaking.) When his sister Viv, played by Gaby Hoffman, has to unexpectedly care for her husband, Johnny takes his young nephew Jesse along for the ride.
That would be Woody Norman, a 12-year-old actor who more than holds his own across from Phoenix and also provides a needed effervescence to the film. C’Mon C’Mon is, like all Mills’s films, tender and open-hearted. It’s also, like all Mills’s films, perfectly calibrated to make audiences suddenly break down weeping. (One particular scene involving a children’s book destroyed both my face mask and my spirit.)
Here, Norman talks to GQ from his London home.
GQ: Hey Woody! Congrats on the movie. What made you want to be an actor in the first place?
Woody Norman: Well, I was five years old and my whole family has worked in the business. My auntie was quite a big actor. So I just asked if I can try it. So we went to try out to audition for some agencies and then we just started to do auditions and then it got to the place where I am now.
Why were you interested in playing Jesse?
I just thought Jesse was a very interesting character. He’s very, I want to say, quirky. He’s very cool. And also very challenging to play. So I really thought it would be very fun to get into the character of Jesse.
Are you similar to him in any way?
Not really. I’m very extroverted as a person and Jesse’s very introverted. So it’s a really big challenge to get into someone that’s quite different than I am.
What are some of your favorite things about him?
I just like how many questions he asks, because that’s something that I do [too]. I ask a lot of questions. But he asks like a lot more than I do. I like how just outwards he is and very to the point. He will just ask something and he’ll just say something if he is genuinely thinking it. Never not say it because he thinks it’s not the right time or anything like that.
But you’re a little more discreet.
Yeah. I wouldn’t just, the first time meeting someone, ask them really personal questions, but I think Jesse might.
How did you like working with Joaquin Phoenix? You have a very natural bond onscreen.
He’s lovely. It was so fun to work with him. And he’s very generous with his scenes because he never wants to take the spotlight from anyone who he’s working with, supporting actors or background characters or anything. Everyone’s just as important in his eyes.
Which was your favorite scene to film?
I’m going to have to go with the wrestling scene. That might have been like the funnest to film.
I was surprised to learn that you’re actually British. Was it difficult for you to do the American accent for the role?
A couple years beforehand, I did some voice training, but that was for another job. And it’s been like a second accent for me for ages because of how it’s quite similar in a lot of ways that a lot of people don’t see. But it’s just the Rs and the As, and vocal inflections that are different.
Have you gotten to see the movie yet?
Yes. We’ve seen it a few times. We recently went to a film festival to see it. We went to London Film Festival to see it. And that was amazing just to see it with a bunch of people that I didn’t know and see what their reaction is.
Did it make you emotional?
I’ve never cried to something I’ve been in, but I bawled the entire time. I just cried. I was weeping the whole time.
I cried a lot too, especially in that scene where Johnny reads the book to Jesse.
When I’m making a film, it’s never in my head that this is going to be released. It’s just thinking that I’m making a film. So to see it with a bunch of people, like I’m at a cinema, it’s mad to me and it just made me cry.
Was everyone else in the audience also crying?
Yes. Yes.
What do you like to do in your free time when you’re not acting?
Well I love music. I can play three instruments and I’m trying to learn how to play the keyboard, but it’s very hard. I play guitar, the bass, and ukulele. I collect vinyls as well. Anything to do with music I love. I don’t know any music theory because I find I’d rather know how to play a song than know what a diminished fifth is.
What’s your favorite band?
At the moment it’s Nirvana. And I’m not one of those people that say my favorite Nirvana and only know one song. My favorite band is actually Nirvana.
Awesome. How did you get into them?
Well, I had a phase where I loved just heavy music in general. I’m still kind of in the phase, but it’s more just, I listen to it along with everything else. But then more recently, I started to actually listen to all their music and get familiar with all the albums and they might be one of the most interesting bands that I know of.
Shh, shh, shh. Sorry that’s my dog growling. Sorry.
Oh, what kind of dog do you have?
He’s a mix of everything. He’s a street dog from Armenia. We recently adopted him. He thinks there might be a person in the house and he does not like new people.
What’s his name?
His name’s Walter. I got to name him.
Great name. What’s your best story from the set?
I’ve never heard that. Whoa, that’s a good question…
[Woody’s mom off camera: What about Joaquin dancing?]
Oh yeah! When we were in New Orleans, Joaquin just burst into song and he started to sing James Brown songs. Very funny. And it was just out of the blue, from nowhere.
In the movie, Johnny goes around asking children about what their thoughts and hopes for the future are. What would your answer to that question be?
Mine would probably be the same as Jesse’s, just denying the question at first. But then I’d say the whole, well, in my actual opinion, I think the world isn’t going to end soon. I think we’ll sort everything out, all the bad stuff is going on. I think it’ll get sorted out. So I’m putting a lot of faith in the people that will hopefully stop it. But I think as people, we should just stop overly worrying about it, ‘cause that’ll make it worse. We need to stop worrying and actually do something. If we just do something, it’ll get fixed in a few decades.
This conversation has been edited and condensed.
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