“I think we are fascinated by the extent someone can delve into their own darkness”: Justice Smith on Sharper

Sharper is the new Apple TV+ film directed by Benjamin Caron that is infused with the sophisticated thrillers of old, having drawn on movies such as 1971’s neo-noir Klute. Rescued by Julianne Moore from the dreaded pile of scripts that risk never seeing the light of day, an excellent cast – from Sebastian Stan to John Lithgow, Justice Smith to Briana Middleton – join her in rounding out a complex web of characters and stories, mostly connected through a common thread of greed and deception.

The Upcoming had a fascinating chat with the charming Smith, a 27-year-old actor who has shot to fame since starring in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in 2018, as well as in the live-action take on Pokémon, Detective Pikachu, and opposite Elle Fanning in All the Bright Places. He told us about his role in the film, its themes and genre influences and working with his fellow cast, from Moore to Middleton. We also discussed his upcoming projects, including the much-anticipated Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Amongst Thieves.

Could you kick off with a brief introduction to Sharper? For people who don’t know anything about it, what can they expect?

Sharper is about four New Yorkers who intersect in various ways, through their pursuit of money and power and love. It’s a real snapshot of how infectious money can be in our relationships.

Considering the journey the script and the film have been on, it seems like it might never have been made if it hadn’t been pulled out – both by the screenwriters and then picked up by Julianne Moore. What did you think when you first read it?

I couldn’t put it down. It’s very hard for me to read a script in one sitting, but I couldn’t put this down; I was always excited to see what was going to happen next. And every time I thought I knew it was going to happen next, it would change again. And, eventually, I had to just relinquish control and let it reveal itself to me. I highly recommend audiences do the same – they go in blind and just trust that we’re going to take them on this ride, because they won’t be disappointed. It’s a crazy film; it’s a really, really thrilling film.

Could you say a few words specifically about your character, Tom? As the movie opens, the audience is lulled into thinking they’re watching a romcom – there’s something sweet and hopeful about it, particularly the setting of the bookshop. How did you see your role and how did you prepare to play it?

You know, I’ve played characters who are desperate for love and connection before, and so I knew that this character was going to be in my wheelhouse. But what I found interesting about Tom, specifically, was that he had this relationship to… he had this disgust [about] the echelon that he was born into, and a shame that I think was eating at his happiness, specifically about coming from this wealthy family. And that was something that I noticed in kids my age growing up; I wasn’t particularly wealthy, but I went to a school where there were a lot of wealthy kids, and there was a very similar shame or guilt, or, you know, “Oh, I’m not like other rich people,” and I was always curious why that was, why people with so much could feel so empty on the inside. And, for Tom, money has always been this obstacle for him towards human connection, and so I think that he’s primed to kind of hate that aspect of his life. And, when he meets Sandra, he hopes that she’s going to take him away from that – that shame and that fear.

Speaking of Sandra, tell us a bit about Brianna. She is just extraordinary in this! Without giving anything away, the twists and turns mean that everyone is almost playing a double character, acting being an actor in some ways, which she nails. What was it like working opposite her?

I mean, you said it: she’s incredible. She is phenomenal; this is her movie, she’s so great. And what she showcases in this movie is… I don’t know many other actresses who can do what she does. And, on top of it, she’s a real, dear friend of mine. She is kind and funny and relatable and down-to-earth. And there’s a lot of trust that has to be had between me and her because of the scenes that we have together. From the first day of meeting her, I knew that I could trust her because not only was she professional and prepared, she was invested in nurturing our personal relationship so that we could use it on-screen. And that’s something I always try to do when I act opposite someone I’m going to be intimate with – use whatever personal connection I have with them and amplify it. She understood that aspect too. We’re still friends to this day, we still FaceTime and stuff. She is preternaturally talented. 

It’s also an ensemble cast that features so many incredible actors, from Sebastian Stan to John Lithgow and, of course, Julianne Moore. What was it like for you having her on board?

She’s the reason I did the movie. I mean, I wanted to work with her so bad – Boogie Nights is one of my favourite movies ever. It was a masterclass watching her, she’s unafraid to actually do the work in front of people. She makes choices, and she tries new things, and she shapes her performance out loud. There were instances during our rehearsal process where she would say the line and then try to say it again in a different way, and then explain to herself why she was saying it in a different way, and we all got to bear witness to that process. And it really freed me up in my own process, because there is this culture that actors have to be very private about how they get into character, and do it behind closed doors, but you become a vessel when you just let it go, and you just let the creativity flow through you, wherever you are. I was inspired to do that [by] her because she was unapologetic in taking time and space to really craft a performance. On top of that, she’s incredibly nice and sweet and funny. She loves to talk to people in between takes. Yeah, I love her. I love her to death, I really do.

Something else that really comes through is how New York is a character itself: through the chapters, we see it in different guises. Was that interesting to play with? With the themes of wealth and class and the fact that the city has everyone, from rich to poor, but everybody’s hustling in their own way – is NYC integral to that, too?

Yeah, it is. I mean, New York is a perfect backdrop for this film because everyone in New York is incredibly individualistic: there is a “move out the way” mentality to New Yorkers that I love. I once heard this thing online that was like, “New Yorkers are those kind of people that will tell you to move out the way or call you an idiot, but then help you get onto the subway”, like, they have a heart of gold, but in a hard shell. Whereas people in LA have a very soft shell, but a hard heart: they’ll be nice to you to your face but then won’t give the homeless man a dollar when passing him – things like that. And I identify with [New Yorkers] so much, and that’s why New York is like a second home to me. But New York is a perfect backdrop for this film because New York is this giant bookstore in itself. There are so many different narratives that are happening in the city, and every single New Yorker believes that they are the protagonist, and our film kind of highlights that through its framing structure. It’s a perspective-based film; there’s not a clear antagonist and protagonist, we show the justifications behind each character’s actions. It’s a more proper reflection of the human condition that way.

There seem to be many different questions raised by the film. For example, living in an era of fake news or social media, are we all pretending to be someone else to some extent? No matter one’s character, can we all be polluted by money? How does human greed change us? What do you think the themes are?

I mean, you’re spot on. I think that’s why movies like this are so popular or why we’re so fascinated by – I think we are fascinated by to what extent someone can delve into their own darkness. We all have darkness within us, and we all like to believe we would be good people under different circumstances, but we are attracted to people who don’t play nice because we recognise the parts of us that inhibit our own ability to not play nice. I think it’s the same reason why we are fascinated by serial killers, people who murder, and there are all these documentaries and TV shows and podcasts about them – because we recognise the parts of ourselves that could potentially be that, they are just as human as us. And that’s kind of scary to think about. But it’s also interesting, like how far the human brain can actually take you. So, in a similar dynamic, the reason why we’re so invested in people who go after what they want and will step on anyone to get it is because we recognise the parts of ourselves that inhibit those instincts.

The other thing that stands out is the old-school feel to Sharper, in terms of the thriller aspects and the way it’s shot. Did that also strike you when making it, or were there films you grew up watching that it reminded you of? For example, The Game with Michael Douglas, or thrillers like that – we don’t see them often anymore.

Yeah. Ben Caron, our director, he had Klute as a big cop for this film, with Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland. I had never seen it before, but I watched it for this and it’s an incredible film. They’re very similar in tone, but also in aesthetic. He also had Viva la Vie, which is an old French film. Ben was really invested in not only honouring the city in all of its forms, but watching movies that honoured New York in a similar way, and kind of painting that and adopting that aesthetic and using films that honour thrillers and honour those kind of genres, and painting the film with a similar aesthetic. But, yeah, it does have an old-school feel to it. It has a “Golden Age of Cinema” feel to it – like 1970s kind of film grain – and, obviously, we shot on film. I always loved those kinds of movies. And I’m happy that there’s an investment and returning to… I don’t want to say the basics, but to that era, to what made those films so great.

You’ve had quite the rise to fame through a plethora of TV, theatre and blockbuster film roles – can you tell us what some of the highlights have been for you and also what you’ve got coming up? For Dungeons and Dragons in particular, what can people expect?

Oh, Dungeons is a very fun ride. It’s incredibly funny; it doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is good, but it’s not afraid to be vulnerable. I find that a lot of people these days find it difficult to take anything seriously. I don’t really know what that is, if it’s a social media thing or whatever, but it’s like everything is something to laugh at, for some reason. And Dungeons manages to be funny, but it’s not laughing at the IP – we’re all laughing together. The directors, who also wrote the script, honour the lore, they honour the fact that this game means so much to so many people. And so we’re never making fun of the fact that – “Oh, here’s a Birdman” or “There are dragons flying” – we’re all in the world together. And we find the humour together. But, anyway, it’s so exciting – I can’t wait for people to see it! It’s all the things: it’s action, it’s comedy, it’s drama… it’s all the things. It’s just a great film.

Do you have any bucket list filmmakers you’d love to work with, genres you’d like to try? Something that you’ve not done yet?

Oh, yeah. I mean, I would love to work with PTA – Paul Thomas Anderson – and I would love to work with Jeffrey Wright. I would love to work with Viola [Davis], who just got her EGOT. And what else? Genres? Oh, horror. I’m a big horror movie fan; I would love to do more horror. I have one horror thing coming out, maybe, soon – I can’t talk about it! But I would love to do more of that. Yeah, I have a whole list of my phone but I can’t remember all the things that I have on that list. But yeah, hopefully, I get to do it all soon.

We’re out of time, but thank you so much for sharing all that with us. We really can’t wait for everyone to see Sharper!

Thank you so much.

Sarah Bradbury
Photo: Dave Bennett

Sharper is released on Apple TV+ on 17^th February 2023. Read our review here.

Watch the trailer for Sharper here: