We talk punks and assassin’s with ‘Green Room’ actor Callum Turner

Callum Turner Interview for Green Room

Green Room is easily one of the highlights of this cinema year. The film sees a punk-rock band pitted against an army of neo-Nazi skinheads after an unfortunate incident. Directed by Blue Ruin helmer Jeremy Saulnier, the film is an intense, brutal and bloody battle for survival. With it arriving on home entertainment platforms this week we highly recommend you give the film a watch if you missed it at the cinema.

We caught up with the lead singer of the movie’s band, ‘The Ain’t Rights’, Tiger aka actor Callum Turner. Turner shared information about his preparation for the role, the film’s handling and violence, and why he was uneasy on set.

Callum Turner Interview for Green Room

What was it about the script that made you want to be a part of Green Room?

It was how free and fearless and the bravado that all the characters had the first twenty five pages of the film. Then it’s how scared and petrified they become. It was that change from having the bravado and being punks, not caring about anything, and then when there’s actually real-life danger they just completely crumble. That was what excited me about Tiger. It was that he had all of that, and was really going at it, and then just straight away crumbles completely.

On top of that, the main reason was Jeremy Saulnier. I saw Blue Ruin and I just think it’s a masterpiece. That word doesn’t really get thrown around lightly, but he’s just one of the most interesting filmmakers around at the moment. I just 100% wanted to work with him.

Callum Turner Interview for Green Room

Tiger is in the band, how musical were you before the film? Had you played before, or did you have to learn for the film?

Well I’m a lead singer so I didn’t have to learn any instruments. I did a lot of research into punk – The Damned, The Misfits, Minor Threat, Black Flag, and just listened to it constantly while we were filming. Just to keep that vibe, it was my driving music, my outdoor music, my at-home music. I didn’t have to learn any instrument, just how to sing. Which is interesting because it’s more of a physicality and an energy and an attitude.

Each front man has their own persona, were there any in particular that you took influence from?

Well Henry Rollins would be a main one. Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat, Johnny Rotten from The Sex Pistols, also Mick Jagger. I really like the way that his body is completely effortless. I know it’s not a punk thing, but it worked with the atmosphere. I also watched a load of punk documentaries. There was one that Jeremy sent to us about punk rockers that were interviewed in the eighties, and there’s this one kid called Eugene. He’s got a bald head and is fourteen, and he just didn’t care about life. He hated everything. In the interview he’s asked what he hates about the city and he’s like – ‘the buses, old people’ – that kind of attitude.

Callum Turner Interview for Green Room

The film is pretty graphic with its violence. How difficult were those scenes to shoot?

There were some times when I didn’t want to go back into the room. Just because it was so heavy. But saying that – it was a joy being there with everyone. We all knew we were onto something special and interesting, and I think unique. The violence is quite, for me objectively watching it, I quite enjoyed the violence because it’s not indulgent. It’s very quick and sudden and it takes you out. The film continually lures you in and makes you want to be with these people. So when they leave the room you’re like – ‘are they going to make a break for it?’ ‘What’s going to happen?’ Then BAM – people die. The violence is quite sudden, I don’t think it’s indulgent.

The violence definitely leaves an impression.

I think that that’s because the characters are real. You’re watching real people. You invest in them the first twenty five minutes/thirty minutes, and then you’re with them in this room. They’re not superheroes, they’re not action figures, they’re genuine people who are just stuck in this situation which is a complete cluster-fuck. There are continuous moments where they could get out of this before they get into it and they don’t. You’re with them completely and that makes it harder to stomach when things start happening.

Did you have to do much research into the neo-Nazi movement?

Well it’s something that I’m sort of aware of anyway so not really. To be dropped into the environment seemingly unaware, just having a vague knowledge of it, was much more interesting for me. The set was insane, the walls have words like ‘white power’, ‘fuck this,’ ‘fuck that’, then there was the confederate flag up there. It does start to seep into you, that’s what I was touching upon with the violence, but also being in that room was horrible. There was so much negative energy coming off of the walls. Ryan Warren Smith and his set people built that room. It wasn’t a room that they found, we were in a studio for that. Credit to them because they really did a beautiful job.

Callum Turner Interview for Green Room

The Ain’t Rights comes across as really believable in the film, how much time did you guys have before filming to work on the band dynamic?

Well Joe [Cole], Anton [Yelchin] and Alia [Shawcat] were there a week before, but because of my Visa I arrived the night before. I arrived at like 11:30PM and we were shooting at 6AM so I didn’t get much time. I didn’t know Joe, the other English guy, at all so I didn’t have much time. They had a lot of time.But the truth is everyone in the film, we all got on like a house on fire and loved each other very much. We did a lot of band rehearsals too which was quite an exciting thing for me. I’d never done anything like that before.

Callum Turner Interview for Green Room

You have a very big film coming up…is there anything you can share with us about Assassin’s Creed?

It’s incredible. It’s a huge blockbuster. It’s Fassbender at his best, and Justin Kurzel at the helm who did Macbeth and Snowtown. Fassbender is one of my favourite actors, I couldn’t wait to work with him. He’s also one of the nicest guys, the same with Justin. He’s just a brilliant, brilliant director, and so much fun to be around on set. He makes everything really relaxed.

You couldn’t get two more different films, this small indie thriller and then this big massive epic blockbuster.

Exactly. But also Justin is an independent director. This is his first step into this kind of thing. It felt very much like it was coming from an independent film angle, I don’t know if that would change with a different director. I feel that his [Justin’s] history and background, and the same with Michael’s too, I didn’t feel that I was venturing too far away from that.

Green Room is available to own on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download now.