Jacob Tremblay Explains How He Prepared For That Traumatizing Doctor Sleep Performance
It's a moment no Stephen King fan will forget any time soon.
The new movie release My Father’s Dragon is a Netflix original that tells the story of a young boy, a perilous journey and the dragon that ties both together. Jacob Tremblay provides the voice of Elmer Elevator, the young man at the heart of it all, which is a far cry from earlier projects that have seen him put through the emotional ringer. One of the most memorable parts in that regard has to be Tremblay’s traumatizing appearance in Doctor Sleep, and the actor had some special memories about how he prepared for such a horrifying scene.
As I spoke with both Jacob Tremblay and director Nora Twomey during Netflix’s press day for My Father’s Dragon, the subject of the Room actor’s earlier career came up. So, of course, while discussing the heavier roles that prepared Tremblay to tackle animated adventure, writer/director Mike Flanagan’s legacy-quel to The Shining had to come up.
After asking how his 12-year-old self could have prepared for such a moment, Jacob Tremblay told CinemaBlend about his process on Doctor Sleep. The answer was as method as you would have thought, as this is what he had to say:
It’s amazing what childhood imagination can do for an actor trying to get into the right headspace. Nowhere is that more true than Jacob Tremblay’s gruesome birthday celebration, in which the True Knot cult brutalizes his character, “Baseball Boy” Bradley Trevor. Led by Rebecca Ferguson’s Rose the Hat, it’s a sustained scene of blood, screams and steam - the life force these pseudo-vampires feed on to stay young.
Before I go any further, you really need to watch this scene, as it cannot be understated that Tremblay put in a performance so raw it actually freaked out everyone else on set. If you don’t mind some fictional child endangerment and want to truly get a feeling for what Jacob Tremblay did with his big scene in Doctor Sleep, here’s that clip:
While some might argue that pretending to be a Jedi, especially a youngling Padawan, is the right experience for this scene, it’s another brilliant performance from Jacob Tremblay that shows his acting talents. By tackling this sort of darkness at a young age, Tremblay noted that he was ready for roles like the one in My Father’s Dragon that embrace childlike adventure with a more serious edge.
Still, the young man understood just how important it was to shake off his horrific fate once the take was in the can. As he further explained the day on set, Jacob Tremblay discussed how using the skills that helped him pretend to die a cruel and unfair death also helped him know when it was time to give his dad a high five and brighten the mood.
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One could imagine the career that Jacob Tremblay has ahead of him, especially when getting comfortable with some really dark stuff. As he admitted, honing one’s craft on such things only makes playing lighter, but still bittersweet animated roles all the easier.
You can hear the results of such an approach when you watch My Father’s Dragon, which is currently streaming for those with a Netflix subscription. Meanwhile, if you want to watch Doctor Sleep, which is always something worth suggesting, you can stream the theatrical cut with an HBO Max subscription.
Mike Reyes is the Senior Movie Contributor at CinemaBlend, though that title’s more of a guideline really. Passionate about entertainment since grade school, the movies have always held a special place in his life, which explains his current occupation. Mike graduated from Drew University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, but swore off of running for public office a long time ago. Mike's expertise ranges from James Bond to everything Alita, making for a brilliantly eclectic resume. He fights for the user.