The star and directors assemble for a new installment of EW’s Around the Table video series.
Holland, 24, admits.
Below are edited excerpts from that conversation.
Paul Abell/Apple TV +
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What about Nico Walker’s book made you want to make this movie?
[We’ve had] a lot of friends and family suffer at the hands of this crisis.
It was a very personal, very important issue for us to examine.
The book encapsulated the voice behind it in a way that we hadn’t seen before.
You let the material speak for itself.
The opioid crisis is something I really didn’t know much about.
I hope we’re able to shine the light on a problem that’s happening on everybody’s doorstep.
The character makes very difficult and unlikable choices throughout the film.
Tom helps you stay invested.
That’s when it all lined up for us.
Tom, did you have any hesitation about tackling such a dark role?
HOLLAND: Of course.
And I think if you didn’t, there would be something slightly wrong with you.
I, to be honest, didn’t think that I could do it.
Cherry’s tone can be extremely bleak, but it can also be romantic and even comedic.
How did you make a run at find the right balance?
Joe and I think of ourselves sometimes as alchemists.
Did you speak with Nico Walker?
JOE RUSSO: I had two conversations with Nico.
He was incarcerated at the time that we were shooting the film.
The first was in obtaining the rights to the book, and the second was just a follow-up conversation.
He wasn’t intrinsically involved, obviously, considering the circumstances.
But we did talk to a lot of consultants: soldiers who were suffering from PTSD, former addicts.
The title character changes over the years.
Tom, you gained and lost weight to play him at these different points.
What was that physical preparation like?
Peter Parker has a kind of boyish way he moves, and I wanted to steer away from that.
The thing I found really difficult was finding a different version of who that character could be.
As far as preparation goes, losing the weight was the biggest thing for me.
Do you remember, guys?
JOE RUSSO: Yeah, this was very physically demanding on you.
You almost broke your ankle at one point, and you almost broke your nose at another point.
We’ve known him for almost a decade now, and you want to protect him.
HOLLAND: There was a great moment where Cherry is kind of losing it in the car.
But this looks amazing.
Do you want to go again?"
I was like, “I’m fine.
Just roll the cameras.
Let’s go.”
ANTHONY RUSSO: At the time we were very focused on what our immediate needs were.
You didn’t predict that we’d be making a PTSD drug movie later?
It was like an epiphany moment that “Wow, he’s it.”
It’s one of those pinch-me moments.
A version of this story appears in the March issue ofEntertainment Weekly,on newsstands now andavailable here.
