Did you know that Logan Lerman starred in two of the bigger hits of 2014? Do you even remember? The two films were Darren Aronofsky’s “Noah” and David Ayer’s “Fury.” And don’t be discouraged if you don’t recall, in the six years since Lerman took a chance on a couple of indies that simply didn’t leave an impression. Bluntly put, it’s been a while since he’s popped on a screen. Now, at just 28, Lerman is having something of a comeback with the new Amazon Prime series “Hunters” and Josephine Decker’s “Shirley,” which just earned rave reviews at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
Set in 1977, “Hunters” centers on Jonah (Lerman), a 19-year-old New Yorker whose only remaining relative, his grandmother, is mysteriously killed in their shared apartment. He’s soon shocked to discover that she had a secret life tracking down thousands of surviving Nazi’s living in the United States under nefarious circumstances. Her partner in that effort is Meyer Offerman (Al Pacino), a Holocaust survivor who is putting his wealth to good use funding a covert operation to take down these Nazis before they end up infiltrating the U.S. government. Jonah joins a team of unique characters played by notable names such as Carol Kane, Josh Radnor, and Saul Rubinek. Executive Produced by Jordan Peele, the series has a tone reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino or Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” (which Peele also produced).
Set in the 1950s, “Shirley” won a Special Jury Award for Auteur Filmmaking at Sundance and centers on a young couple (Lerman and Odessa Young) who temporarily move in with famed writer Shirley Jackson (Elisabeth Moss) and her husband Stanley (Michael Stuhlbarg), a well known English professor. NEON acquired the drama for a release later this year.
Lerman jumped on the phone this week to discuss both projects and, most importantly, that out of the blue dance number in “Hunters.”
_____
The Playlist: What made you want to do this series? What about the pitch got you interested?
Logan Lerman: I guess originally it starts with the cover letter of an email in which I saw Alfonzo Gomez-Rejon’s name. I’m a huge fan of his and I saw that he was directing the Pilot as well as Jordan Peele [as an executive producer] and I thought, “This is an interesting group.” And I read the script and I loved that and fell into the character. But when talking to David and Nikki [Toscano], the showrunners, we had a conversation about the entirety of the series. And what I thought was interesting was exploring this question about morality and about whether or not it takes evil to fight evil effectively. If you have to become a bad guy in order to effectively fight the bad guys and using a comic book execution and framing device for morality and playing against that with this situation I just thought it was really interesting and there was something to explore here.
In this first season, it’s effectively Jonah’s “hero” arc. He’s learning how to become a hero and a fighter. Was that sort of the thrust of the character?
Yeah, I mean it’s definitely present for the first season. But whether or not you view him as a hero is debatable in terms of the moral question at the center of it. You see Jonah’s transformation from the beginning of the season to the end. It’s an interesting place that we go to and explore.
The show has these fun little vignette moments that sort of pop in specific episodes. One of them involves you, the Bee Gees’ “Staying Alive” and a dance number. Were you surprised when you saw it in the script?
I did not see that in any [pilot] script. [Laughs.] When I first signed on that was all that was written at the time. So, the blind commitment is a scary thing and it’s kind of exciting to not know what’s going to happen next and to try to problem solve and make it work. But one of the things that came up was a dance number and I thought it was really fun. I mean, I hated doing it because I’m a terrible dancer and I don’t feel comfortable learning those things very well and I didn’t have much time to learn it, I had less than a day. But I thought it was justified in the story. I thought it was fun and I was excited about it, but I remember I was a little crabby when we were shooting just because I want everything to be great and I think prep and rehearsals make things better when you give enough time to it. You can fully realize what you’re doing. But I didn’t have much time, so I was pretty frustrated when filming that sequence. But I hear it’s a really good part of the show. I hear people really like that.
Wait, have you not watched the available episodes yet?
No, I haven’t seen any of the series yet.
Is that because you don’t like to see yourself on screen or is it just because you’ve been busy?
No, I just think I feel more comfortable doing this job, the press work and the release without having seen it yet, without having an opinion on it. It’s liberating for me. I don’t have the burden of an opinion. So, I can just go and talk about the experience, which for me was great. I loved working on the show and I love the writing and the actors and the crew. So yeah, for me I just avoid watching if I can.
Obviously, the show revolves around a team and some of the actors in the group are just legends like Carol Kane and, obviously, Pacino. Can you just talk about what it was like sort of hanging around the set?
It was so cool. I mean, this whole cast is full of legendary actors. Even the ones that would pop up for like an episode or so, I mean, I know that you’ve only seen five episodes, but later on in like the eighth episode, we have a great sequence with Judd Hirsch in it. So, there’s a lot of really good actors is what I was trying to say. It was really cool to work with them and to explore this material with actors that I appreciate so much. But Al Pacino, in particular, was quite exciting for me. I mean, the prospect of working with Pacino was an exciting one when starting this process. But throughout the experience, I just found myself lost in moments with another actor who was present and there and the icon kind of washed away quickly in my lens of looking at him. I saw my partner and went to work. He has a really disarming presence when you’re around him. Humble, sweet, hardworking, and made it easy for us just to do our work together.
You’ve been acting since you were a kid, but it’s been a while since you’ve done a TV series. Was it difficult getting into in the rhythm of working so long on one project or did it feel like doing a “Percy Jackson” movie where you shot for three or four months?
It was kind of similar to that experience in some ways, but for different reasons. I remember “Percy Jackson” was just a mess that didn’t have a finished script. So, when doing that, you’re constantly getting new pages every other day, every day, and when you’re on set and trying to figure out how to make sense of it, make it better. And that’s kind of what a TV show is like because none of the scripts are ready. So we’re constantly getting scripts last minute and problem-solving last minute and trying to find the best version of what we’re doing, which was a fun process for me. I actually really enjoyed that. You’re on your toes and you’re kind of just going with the flow. A lot of prep goes into the pilot and then everything that follows is kind of this mad rush to get all the episodes done and there’s just not a lot of time for prep work and stuff. We just tried to find moments to rehearse and go through the script, Al and I and David and Nikki and tried to fully realize it before we got to set. But oftentimes we’d be on set and trying to figure it out on the day. It was a challenge.
I know David said that when he pitched the show, he had a timeline for it and sort of where it would go. Would he talk to you about it? Has he said where he sees Jonah going in subsequent seasons?
Yeah, I know everything. I can’t say anything. You know what’s horrible it’s like the burden of knowing the details and keeping it a secret is really tough. No, actually it’s not that tough. [Laughs.] It’s only hard when the other actors don’t know and they’re my comrades so I have to tell them everything. So, I tell them. But no, I do know where this goes. I got a three-season layout from what I know. But hopefully, fortunately, I mean [hopefully] we can earn a season two and explore these directions.
I saw “Shirley” at Sundance and I was so impressed with it. You mentioned that you haven’t watched “Hunters,” but have you seen “Shirley?”
I did watch “Shirley,” actually. To be honest with you, I watch whatever it is usually when I’m assessing how much I should be involved in promoting it. So, I watched “Shirley” just to see if they cut me out of the film or not.
Having seen it, how would they cut you out of that movie? I don’t even know if that’s possible, but anyway, go ahead, I’m sorry.
Yeah, they definitely could. No, but I mean I know that “Hunters” is Jonah’s story, but “Shirley” is really Odessa’s film. She’s the main character. It’s really her story. I was curious to see how they edited the film and where they chose to live in terms of perspective. And for me, I was kind of gauging whether or not I was a part of it enough to feel comfortable getting behind it for publicity and advertising purposes. So for me, it was more of an assessment of what the film turned out to be and what my involvement was. And that’s the only reason why I would watch it, otherwise, I’d be like “Nah, I’m going to wait until after it comes out and we get some people’s reactions.” But I’m proud of that film overall. My main reason for doing it and the reason why I love that movie so much is because I love Josephine Decker, the director, and wanted to support her vision really on anything that she does. I was so taken by her work on “Madeline’s Madeline” and thought this is one of those, bold, cool, new, voices in cinema. So I was excited and will hopefully continue to make films with her as well. But just to support her vision was important to me.
You’re absolutely correct, Josephine is an amazing filmmaker. “Shirley” in particular is one of the few that’s really stuck with me from the festival.
Thank you.
What does Josephine bring to a set as a director? Does she have a signature style or technique that maybe other directors don’t have?
I think that with all art you really are trying to put your feeling into it. And whether or not you know how to do that or you have the tools to do that well it’s about trying to translate feeling into whatever that medium is and she has a unique approach to it. And when she’s free, when she feels comfortable and supported, she has such a unique way of exploring her feelings through the medium or through the collective mediums. Really innovative ideas. Funny enough, she incorporates dance and different art forms into her storytelling. I think it really just aids the visceral, emotional connection to what we as audiences are watching. She’s just a bold voice and really a deeply felt person. I think that her sensitivity is seen on screen.
“Hunters” arrives on Amazon Prime Video on Friday. “Shirley” will be released sometime in 2020.