ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with Our Hero, Balthazar star Noah Centineo about playing a life coach in the dark comedy movie. Centineo discussed his role, how he’s producing more, and the film’s young stars. Our Hero, Balthazar is out in theaters today in New York and on April 3 in Los Angeles.
“A headlong race through a world where success can be measured in likes and tragedy has become content, Our Hero, Balthazar follows two neglected teens thrown together by a chance online encounter. Privileged yet lonely New Yorker Balthy (Jaeden Martell) Malone dreams of becoming a hero, while struggling Texan Solomon Jackson (Asa Butterfield) seeks recognition by posting violent threats. When Balthy, in an act of misguided heroism, travels to Texas in an attempt to befriend Solomon and avert a possible tragedy, he is drawn into a dangerous and thrilling new world. Despite their differences, both find refuge from their crushing loneliness in each other’s company, but for all Balthy’s good intentions, his decisions are driving them close the precipice of disaster,” says the official synopsis.
Tyler Treese: Noah, congrats on Our Hero, Balthazar. I really enjoyed the film. You play a life coach. That subject matter is really interesting to me. I’m sure there are some that are helpful, but there are definitely people who try to take advantage of those looking for help. What was your approach to finding that character in the film?
Noah Centineo: Thank you. Cool question. Anthony’s definitely the latter. He is a life coach that is really only interested in himself. He’s super self-involved. Yeah, I think he preys on lonely people and people that really need others. I think for me, I just talked with Oscar, our director, and Ricky, his writing partner. I let them really lead me on that, you know, it’s cool showing up and kind of day playing on a film that really is Jaeden Martel’s and Asa Butterfield’s.
Jaeden, my scenes are with him. He led the charge, man. He was so, God, he was so chaotic, but he was also almost like an iceberg. There was so much happening that you couldn’t really gauge. He was like a wounded animal, and then he would just lash out outta nowhere.
So, for me, with Anthony, it was really just kind of solidifying. Yeah, he’s a life coach that’s extraordinarily selfish and preying on rich people. He needs Balthazar way more than Balthazar needs him. Coming at it from that kind of perspective, I just let Jaeden kinda throw his fuel on the fire, and I just responded accordingly.
Yeah, I’m glad you mentioned Jaeden because he’s such a great talent. This performance is really intense, and I like that you mentioned how unpredictable he can be. He is kind of bursting at the seams in this film. What kind of just stood out about him as a scene partner to you?
I mean, just that. Just that, and it’s playing that chaos, having it kind of behind a thin veil, one and then two, the commitment. He has this really admirable ability to give himself to his emotions and his feelings. That was kind of redundant, but his feelings and the fire that comes from them in a way that he just lets it out, you know, he is like a volcano. It’s very eruptive. And that’s what I think, you know, I admire the most about him is that he’s not afraid, or rather, he’s brave enough to go there, and to allow himself to feel the extremes.
You’re in a really cool career spot right now. You’re getting these big dream movie roles like Ken Masters, and you’re playing Rambo, which is insane, but you’re also an executive producer on really thought-provoking films like this and Union County. Can you speak to finding that balance? Because it’s really interesting that you have these blockbusters, but you’re also producing these really thoughtful films.
Noah Centineo: One feeds the other. I started acting when I was eight. I’ve always wanted to act. It’s always been something that I loved. You know, I was very fortunate to have the success that I’ve had. I still am fortunate to have it, you know, but pretty young, working on a show when I was 18 and having, you know, a contract that went longer than a week, you know, like it was… I was locked in for seasons of a show, and so that success early on, you know, I got anything. I got what I really like always had ever envisioned myself to have.
So, that kind of made me think like, “Okay, what else is out there other than, you know, achieving these aspirations that I set for myself when I was a kid?” You know, I started when I was really young. I’ve found that in many different things. But producing over the last four years, that to me is extraordinarily fulfilling because with the, you know, the blessing and the good fortune that I’ve had to be in films that…
I’m gonna pause that thought. Go to this thought and come back to that thought. You know, the thing about indie filmmaking is you’re not really trying to raise anywhere near as much money as mid-tier filmmaking or even, you know, obviously spectacle films, you’re trying to raise a comparatively small amount of money. If you’re an actor that has had success, when you join a film like that, you can help get financing for it. There are so many young up-and-coming filmmakers or just up-and-coming filmmakers that just need someone to come in and help get funding for their projects. Because their voices matter. Their voices are sharp, electric, different. And they’re saying something that I think is worth listening to.
So, then going back to being fortunate, having it, that was the bridge I built. Essentially, I realized that I was in a position that I might be able to, you know, put a dent in independent filmmaking and be fulfilled by not just taking the roles that continue to allow me to be an actor and do really fun, incredible projects, but on a large scale.
But to be able to take that and funnel it back into art and conversations and starting conversations and supporting people that are starting conversations that I deem worthy of listening to.
Thanks to Noah Centineo for taking the time to talk about Our Hero, Balthazar.
