With James Gray’s latest film, Armageddon Time, now in theaters, we got a chance to speak with two of the stars of the film, Banks Repeta and Jaylin Webb. While they are still early in their acting careers, the two already have an impressive track record and some very great pieces of insight from working on the film. Check out the discussion below to find out which stars of Armageddon Time love to dance, and what words of encouragement the two actors have for people of similar ages. Also be sure to check out Alex’s full thoughts on the film right here!
Alex Papaioannou
So my first question is regarding these characters being based off real people. What was the hardest part of the role to tap into?
Jaylin Webb
Definitely the stuff that Johnny was dealing with, especially from his teacher. I don’t want to spoil it, but Johnny’s relationship with his teacher is something that I’ve never experienced. So I think tapping into that was really tough.
Banks Repeta
The hardest part for me was probably the scene where Irving, Jeremy Strong’s character, abuses me. As Banks, I wasn’t scared, but as Paul, I was able to tap into the scene.
Papaioannou
A core foundation of the film is the relationship that your two characters have. How did you build that out into a friendship?
Repeta
Well, before we started filming, we had less than a two week period to get to know everybody, especially Jaylin and I. It was really special though. What made us respond quicker was that we experienced these great things that we had never seen before, and we got to do them together. We went to the Empire State Building, the Oculus…
Webb
[Picks right up from Banks’ sentence] We took the subway, we went to Times Square. We explored a lot of things in New York, and that really helped create a bond. So on the first day of filming, it was all natural. We didn’t have to act anything out. [Both smile and nod in agreement].
Papaioannou
Pretty much all the adult figures in this film are incredibly established actors. Do you have any memories or insights from when you were working alongside them?
Repeta
Well with Annie [Anne Hathaway], before we started filming, I took a walk with her in Central Park and we learned a TikTok dance together. With Anthony [Hopkins], I learned a salsa dance with him, and he taught me the importance of speaking clearly. When he walked on the set, he had such authority and wisdom that he was able to tell James [Gray] what he wanted to do sometimes. And with Jeremy, I learned that there’s different styles of acting, and his style was very unique; I really enjoyed that he wanted to stay in character. That really helped his other co-stars find out what their part was, and tap into their roles.
Webb
On my last day of filming, Annie got me this notebook with my initials carved into the bottom left corner of the book. I still write in it to this day. I only had one scene with Jeremy, but just watching him was so great, and I learned a lot that day. And for Anthony, I was nervous to talk to him because my parents told me that he was in this movie where he eats humans and that threw me off and scared me [laughs].
Papaioannou
You both have been surrounded by the arts as a whole for most of your lives. Now that you’re fully diving into filmmaking, and acting specifically, do you have any words of encouragement or advice for people your age looking to get into the field as well?
Webb
Always have patience. And don’t give up. You can always learn more as you continue to grow in whatever your career might be.
Repeta
When you’re making a film or get a role, enjoy every second of every experience. Have fun working with everybody there, even if nobody knows them. You can always learn from it and enjoy it, because nobody in the movie business knows everything about it. Nobody.
Armageddon Time is currently playing in select theaters, and Focus Features will be releasing it nationwide on November 4.