Jimmi Simpson Talks 'The Starling Girl' and working with Eliza Scanlen
Moviefone speaks with Jimmi Simpson about 'The Starling Girl.' "The script is so beautiful throughout, but Paul was a real firm draw for me," the actor said.
Opening in New York and Los Angeles theaters on May 12th, and expanding to additional theaters on May 19th is the new drama ‘The Starling Girl,’ which was written and directed by Laurel Parmet (‘Spring’).
What is the plot of ‘The Starling Girl?’
Seventeen-year-old Jem Starling (Eliza Scanlen) struggles to define her place within her fundamentalist Christian community in rural Kentucky. Even her greatest joy of dancing with the church group is tempered by worry that her actions are sinful and she is caught between a burgeoning awareness of her own sexuality and her religious devotion. With the return of Owen (Lewis Pullman), an enigmatic youth pastor, Jem soon finds herself attracted to his worldliness and charm. Slowly, he draws her into a dangerous relationship that could upend their entire community.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Starling Girl?’
‘The Starling Girl' stars Eliza Scanlen ('Little Women') as Jem Starling, Lewis Pullman ('Top Gun: Maverick') as Owen Taylor, Jimmi Simpson (‘Under the Silver Lake’) as Paul Starling, Wrenn Schmidt (‘Nope’) as Heidi Starling, Austin Abrams (‘Gangster Squad’) as Ben Taylor, and Kyle Secor (‘The Purge: Election Year’) as Pastor Taylor.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jimmi Simpson about his work on ‘The Starling Girl,’ his character’s journey, the pain he feels, his faith, his relationship with his daughter, and working with actress Eliza Scanlen.
Jimmi Simpson in Bleecker Street's 'The Starling Girl.' Credit: Brian Lannin, Courtesy of Bleecker Street.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Simpson, Eliza Scanlen, Lewis Pullman, Wrenn Schmidt, and director Laurel Parmet.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about the pain Paul is in, how he’s tried to replace alcohol with faith, and your approach to playing the character?
Jimmi Simpson: I mean, the script is so beautiful throughout, but Paul was a real firm draw for me because like Paul and like most humans, I've found that my life was unfulfilling, and then you hear society or groups of friends, because as humans we're all rudderless, we need these guideposts sometimes and well, this one works. So, instead of unpacking why he is medicating, I wanted to be emotionally available telling these stories when he's clearly meant to be a musician. Instead of unpacking why he's got to medicate, he's just like, "Okay, so that doesn't work, so I'm going to go here." It's a pretty universally prescribed way to save yourself, this one in particular, and it crushes him. What was so relatable to me was, yeah, I've done that. You put yourself into this position that starts crushing you, and as you're diminishing, it's painful and you're like, "Oh, it's hurting. It must be working. This must be the right thing." In reality, you just put yourself in the position that you're not supposed to be in because it's so universally prescribed, but sometimes it's a diet or a cult or just an affinity for a thing. But in this situation, 20 years later, the love of his life, Gem, I think he believes if he just gets to her sooner, it will work, which is so sweet, sad and incorrect. So, his subtext to her is like, "Babe, maybe I haven't impressed the elders, but I swear this is better than the other path." What he's doing throughout the story, and Laurel just articulated it so perfectly, he's saying with his words what she should be doing, but he's showing her with his actions, what exactly she should not be doing. She knows how much he loves her and she loves him too so much. I think they're very kind of intimately connected spiritually, and I mean spiritual in a human sense. So, having that bond with so much weight, and he's giving himself to all these things and all she sees is that's me, and that can't be me. Ultimately, that is me. I don't want that for myself, and I think humans, we have this fear of change because it's so hard and it causes so many questions. I think the movie is just kind of offering to folks this feeling that you're not where you should be. Listen to it. Isn't it beautiful the way that it's not judging religion, not all of it. Most of us would be like, "This is so patriarchy, I can't stand it," but it's not about that.
(L to R) Jimmi Simpson, Eliza Scanlen, and Wrenn Schmidt in Bleecker Street's 'The Starling Girl.' Credit: Brian Lannin, Courtesy of Bleecker Street.
Related Article: Actor Lewis Pullman Talks Romantic Drama ‘Press Play’
MF: Finally, can you talk about the father/daughter relationship between Jem and Paul, and working on that relationship with Eliza Scanlen?
JS: It's that quiet kind of unbreakable bond of, again, extremes to tell the story of the two prisoners who aren't at freedom to talk about how uncomfortable this is, but what they do is they see each other's pain. Again, that's just human propensity to be like, "Oh, there's others. Now I feel a little less alone. I feel more connected." In it's really strict circumstances like this or prison, you can't sit there and chat about it, but you do have each other. Then, on set, Eliza is a blessing of a human being, and you wouldn't think knowing her that she's going to step in front of the camera and both completely disappear, yet retain every ounce of soul and humanity that she has, and that was that. So, we became instant, great buddies effortlessly, and so we were able to just kind of bring that care for each other in the kind of text free exchanges that we have. I think you can kind of feel the love that's not articulated with words.
(L to R) Jimmi Simpson and Wrenn Schmidt in Bleecker Street's 'The Starling Girl.' Credit: Brian Lannin, Courtesy of Bleecker Street.
Other Movies Similar to ‘The Starling Girl:'
- 'American Beauty' (1999)
- 'The Virgin Suicides' (2000)
- 'White Oleander' (2002)
- 'Thirteen' (2003)
- 'Pariah' (2011)
- 'Black Swan' (2010)
- 'Little Women' (2019)
- 'Stillwater' (2021)
- 'Press Play' (2022)
Buy Jimmi Simpson Movies on Amazon
‘The Starling Girl’ is produced by 2AM, Pinky Promise, and Sons of Rigor. It is set to release in New York and Los Angeles theaters on May 12th, and will expand to additional theaters on May 19th.
