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Mix Tape Interview With Jim Sturgess & Rory Walton-Smith
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May 19, 2025
Ahead of its premiere at SXSW, Film Inquiry spoke with stars Jim Sturgess and Rory Walton-Smith for Mix Tape! Film Inquiry: http://www.filminquiry.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/filminquiry Facebook: http://facebook.com/filminquiry Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZfz4DP48M8uZxO46Go30lg
View Video Transcript
0:03
hi
0:05
I'm how are you both doing we're doing
0:08
good doing good Rory I'm good very very
0:11
good thank you all right awesome um so
0:15
congratulations on the show I'm really
0:16
enjoying uh what I've seen so far I look
0:18
forward to to finishing um so this this
0:22
must be exciting it's interesting to
0:24
interview two people playing the same
0:25
character in different times in their
0:27
lives I think that's the first for me um
0:29
so can you tell us a little bit about
0:31
what the kind of process was as far as
0:34
were you spending a lot of time together
0:35
were you kind of creating the character
0:36
together or Rory were you kind of
0:38
following Jim around and trying to mimic
0:41
him you know I'm just curious about the
0:43
process yeah he was like he was like my
0:45
better looking taller Shadow no don't be
0:48
silly don't be silly I um yeah I didn't
0:51
get to spend too much time with with Jim
0:54
um unfortunately I did get to to watch
0:57
him literally a day before I started
0:59
filming um and that was very important
1:02
but I was just saying before we kind
1:05
of the way we were we were playing Dan
1:08
was kind of similar anyway so I I didn't
1:11
feel like I really needed to kind of
1:12
stalk him and kind of follow him around
1:15
and it would have been nice obviously
1:16
but um I feel like we were we were
1:18
already kind of there with it um so yeah
1:22
that that helped a lot really for me
1:25
yeah it's one of those things like that
1:27
Rory wasn't we were already filming I
1:29
was was over in Australia shooting the
1:31
Australian bits um when Rory got cast as
1:35
as
1:36
Daniel you know and Lucy the director
1:39
was was kind enough and generous enough
1:43
to bring me in on the sort of casting
1:45
process and and say you know who do you
1:47
think feels like your version of Daniel
1:49
you know who do you feel connected to
1:51
when you watch these audition tapes and
1:53
there great tapes and so many great
1:56
pairings of different actors and we both
1:59
youan we were both just like Rory Rory
2:02
100% Rory I just loved what he was doing
2:05
with Daniel and I I felt an instant
2:08
kinship with with my version and his
2:10
version um there was a sort of
2:12
gentleness and this sort of kindness
2:14
that maybe wasn't there in some of the
2:16
other
2:17
performances uh and yeah I just sort of
2:20
thought that H it was a no-brainer for
2:23
me it was you know it was just it was go
2:26
Rory all the way appreciate that love it
2:30
it's gonna be and it was great that me
2:32
and Lucy had had because there were like
2:34
I said there was some really other great
2:35
you know obviously there's so many
2:37
talented great people out there but we
2:39
both you know even with um with Florence
2:43
as a young Allison it was just seeing
2:45
those two together it just felt just
2:47
felt really exciting you know so J had
2:51
you already filmed all of your scenes
2:52
because I'm just curious if that shape
2:54
tell you your performance at all once
2:56
Rory was casted no we just done a few we
2:59
just started in Australia so we were
3:00
doing the kind of Australian bits of
3:02
that um that's predominantly sort of
3:05
Theresa's story and her world and her
3:07
sort of landscape and then I sort of pop
3:10
into that at one particular time so I
3:12
wasn't there for a huge amount of time
3:14
enough to get jetlagged and then fly
3:16
back again and be even more jet lag we
3:19
started on the other end um but yeah
3:23
yeah we we were sort of in it and then I
3:25
was very aware of sort of Rory and that
3:27
he was getting cast and you know it was
3:31
it was much more about just feeling when
3:33
I saw the performances whether that felt
3:37
right because you know when you when you
3:38
watch the show it isn't just here's the
3:40
young story then we all grow up and
3:42
here's the old story The Young and the
3:43
old story are literally bouncing back
3:45
and forth and intertwining all the way
3:48
through the show so to cut from one face
3:50
to another that had to sort of feel
3:52
believable that these were the same they
3:54
were coming from the same you know Soul
3:57
you know essentially so yeah felt felt
4:00
important to get it right you know yeah
4:02
that's nicely put um did you both read
4:04
the book before getting started was that
4:06
a big part of your prep yeah I I read
4:10
the book I it was weird for me because I
4:13
had already got an idea of how I wanted
4:15
to play down and then I read started
4:17
reading the book and everything I wanted
4:19
to do it wasn't quite lining up so then
4:22
I started stressing myself out thinking
4:24
do I keep reading this and kind of just
4:26
figure out how I'm going to balance it
4:28
or do I just go with how I I wanted to
4:30
do it anyway and I did end up reading
4:33
the the rest of the book and I feel like
4:36
I definitely took stuff from the book
4:39
that I didn't think I was going to take
4:41
and um it was just a very good insight
4:43
into that whole world because obviously
4:46
you know there's only so much you can
4:47
get into the show um so so that
4:51
definitely really helped me but I was a
4:53
bit scared that uh that I was thinking
4:55
about it the wrong way for a bit how
4:58
about you Jim yeah the same you I always
5:01
sort of make sure I just focus on the on
5:03
the script you know because that's what
5:05
we're making you know that's the story
5:07
that we're telling and uh yeah focus on
5:09
that but always if there's a book
5:11
attached you know always read it and
5:13
excited to read it mainly to sort of
5:16
find little clues or little nuggets that
5:18
you might not have thought about or
5:20
little things that might inform you
5:22
somehow that didn't that isn't you know
5:24
because a book can always go deeper than
5:26
a than a screenplay you can so yeah I
5:29
sort of felt comfortable with what was
5:31
going on in the script and then looked
5:33
into the book to sort of dive a bit
5:36
deeper I think yeah yeah so something I
5:39
love obviously about this story is the
5:41
element of a mixtape I think you know
5:43
music is obviously a huge part of the
5:44
show I just think it's a huge part of
5:46
all of our Lives it's kind of a romantic
5:48
Rel you know language in itself um just
5:51
curious have you ever made anyone a
5:52
mixtape or has anyone ever made you one
5:55
I have
5:56
definitely I'm a bit older than Rory
5:59
you're doing sptify
6:00
playlist I'm it is interesting the
6:03
difference between a playlist and a
6:05
mixtape you know because essentially
6:07
they are the same thing there are a
6:08
collection of songs that mean something
6:10
to you that you share with somebody else
6:13
but there is and anyone that sort of was
6:15
around in the 80s and the 90s there was
6:18
this extra layer of sort of you know you
6:22
had to put in quite a lot of work to
6:23
sort of make the tape and you know just
6:26
the pure nature of it being a physical
6:28
thing that you would have to give to
6:30
somebody do you know what I mean as a
6:31
present as a gift you couldn't just sort
6:34
of send it over on an email or whatever
6:36
you know it's it was it was a real thing
6:38
and yeah I was sort of Obsessed in it I
6:40
would make loads and loads of mixtapes
6:42
and draw kind of covers for them and
6:46
write all the track listings down and
6:49
definitely used it as a sort of romantic
6:51
uh romantic tool shall we say at times
6:56
um yeah so I I did definitely it was a
6:58
big part growing up you know yeah yeah
7:02
the old cassette tape was especially was
7:06
just so meaningful um so have you ever
7:08
made a a Spotify playlist
7:11
R I actually haven't no I'm yeah I know
7:14
I need to I think I think we need to
7:17
just bring it back we just need to bring
7:18
mixtapes back that is something we need
7:21
to do because sending someone a link or
7:22
sending someone one a a Spotify play is
7:27
definitely not the same I remember
7:28
filming one of the scenes where I was
7:30
actually having to kind of put together
7:32
a mixtape it was so embarrassing I
7:35
couldn't do it to save my life I was
7:37
trying to figure out how to go forward
7:40
go back and someone actually had to sit
7:42
there and talk me through it um I was
7:45
just like oh God I'm so young I should
7:47
know how to do this um but we need just
7:49
need to bring him back because that that
7:51
it's a lot to do that and especially if
7:53
you're designing covers and all that
7:56
that's very romantic do do people do
7:58
that though in your age group do people
8:00
send each other I I haven't heard any of
8:02
my friends doing that really so you
8:03
don't share music in that way of like
8:06
these are the songs that mean something
8:07
to you yeah but not like you know a
8:10
mixtape we've just sent Spotify playlist
8:12
and name it you know but you would do
8:15
that though you would put a load of
8:16
songs together and send it to that you
8:18
had a crush yeah that's not it works it
8:23
works it does it
8:25
does um that's a funny conversation
8:28
because it really does show the
8:29
difference in in time um and how you
8:33
know things evolve and change but but
8:35
maybe we can bring it back with the show
8:36
because I think it really um the the
8:39
sweetness of it does come through and I
8:41
think I think our relationship to music
8:43
in general can really be um very
8:46
indicative of like what part of our
8:47
lives that we're in and so I'm just
8:50
wondering um Rory since you you know
8:52
were interested not never made a mixtape
8:53
before did you find any new music
8:55
through this show that really spoke to
8:57
you yeah I I I I created a playlist with
9:00
literally like 80 songs and I I would
9:02
make it yeah exactly I I would make it a
9:05
mission to get through as many as I
9:08
could a day and I'm awful at names uh
9:11
but I do it was yeah it was it was
9:15
interesting kind of discovering this
9:17
whole world that I'd
9:18
never I kind of knew it was there but I
9:21
hadn't really dug into it and I'd like
9:24
just go about my day I couldn't go
9:26
anywhere it was like Dan I couldn't go
9:28
anywhere without my headphones in
9:30
and making sure I educated myself on on
9:33
some of the the Tunes back then and um
9:36
there's just so many that that have
9:37
stayed with me um so it was such an
9:40
amazing experience um and I feel like
9:43
I'm when someone asks me now about the
9:45
kind of edgy or Indie 80 stuff I can be
9:49
like yeah I've uh I've done my research
9:52
so I I made Rory a mixtape I made him a
9:55
mixtape and I sent it to the wrong Rory
9:59
the music supervisor of the entire show
10:02
who's like the Oracle of knowledge when
10:04
it comes to music I sent it to him I
10:07
sent I got the wrong email address and I
10:09
put a lot of work into it I didn't make
10:10
a front cover and all that but I did put
10:12
a lot of work into it and um can you
10:14
forward that to me Jim I I'll try and
10:16
find it for you man I will but I was so
10:19
heartbroken that Rory didn't get it and
10:20
I didn't know until after we'd finished
10:22
because I sent it off onto this email
10:24
and i' sent it to the music supervisor
10:26
going oh you should listen to this band
10:28
this will be
10:30
you know explaining to a man who knows
10:31
probably more about music than I do
10:33
about um you know various bands of the
10:36
80s and 90s great yeah I'm sure he was
10:40
he thought that was yeah thanks Jim yeah
10:42
appreciate that yeah yeah good job gim
10:45
yeah um lastly I guess um Jim so you
10:48
obviously you're a m musician and you've
10:50
worked in a lot of film and uh that
10:54
intersects music um was that a big part
10:57
of what kind of made you interested in
11:00
this story or was there anything in
11:01
particular about the script that caught
11:03
your
11:04
eye yeah it was a bit of both it was the
11:06
music definitely sort of was a sort of
11:08
the initial kind of intrigue but I I was
11:11
actually quite wary of the music and
11:13
wary of doing a show about mixed tapes
11:15
of music I think being involved in music
11:19
you know I was like what if the music
11:21
doesn't match my idea of what is
11:23
interesting about music you know it
11:26
could actually be quite a detrimental
11:28
thing um if it's not sort of done right
11:31
but I was really sort of Taken and drawn
11:33
by actually the relationships all
11:35
different all three relationships you
11:37
know the Young Daniel and Allison and
11:40
the The Nostalgia of young love and but
11:43
I for me because I was playing the older
11:46
Daniel I was really kind of connected
11:48
and interested to
11:50
investigate the the relationship that he
11:53
was in when you find him in the show
11:55
which is sort of complicated and
11:59
and maybe has sort of run its course but
12:02
you know two people that were once sort
12:04
of in love and once sort of connected
12:06
now feel quite disconnected were they
12:09
ever really in love did they just sort
12:10
of go through the paces and raise a
12:12
family all those sort of questions were
12:15
I thought it was really really well
12:16
written it was as much as it's a
12:18
romantic show it's also quite tragic and
12:21
quite real and quite
12:22
painful um and that definitely when it
12:25
comes to making a romantic film that
12:28
that feels really important to me that
12:29
it feels real you know that it's not
12:32
some heightened kind of lovey love
12:34
affair you know thing it's that these
12:36
are real people in a real situation
12:38
struggling with life and and uh yeah
12:42
that definitely was the the initial draw
12:44
on on on my side I
12:47
think okay well um I think I'm out of
12:49
time so thank you very much for talking
12:51
to me uh congrats again and I hope you
12:53
guys have a wonderful day or night where
12:55
you are thank you thanks bye
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