Paranoia star Lucas Till’s character, in many ways, holds the key to the entire thriller not coming off the rails and completely ruining the life of Liam Hemsworth’s character. He portrays the computer whiz kid who knows the technology of the phone business, inside and out. The film, check out our Paranoia review, is out now and Till phoned Movie Fanatic for an exclusive chat.
We talked about the finer points of lead Hemsworth, who he says could be a movie star by just standing there and “looking good.” Till also lets us in on how appearing in Paranoia will make his mom and aunt happy, and where he is in the shooting process of X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Movie Fanatic: You and Liam Hemsworth had such a great chemistry, we need a spin-off movie with you two...
Lucas Till: That would be awesome!
Movie Fanatic: What was so great about him as a volley partner?
Lucas Till: He's such a super nice, super chill guy. All Australians are [laughs]. He’s not like some D-bag who doesn’t want to be there or work through a scene. He’s there and open to whatever it is that you’re doing. I talk a lot when I’m nervous [laughs], which helped me playing Kevin. And he likes to be chill and quiet. He’s just a big stud who stands there and looks good.
Movie Fanatic: This movie, it's scary how timely it is with the NSA cell phone tapping news. When you first read the script, what spoke to you the most?
Lucas Till: I could find a relatable nature in a cockroach. But, with Paranoia -- first and foremost -- it was the cast. I looked at the cast and was like, “Whoa, I get to be a part of this.” I had just seen Limitless, and I wanted to be part of a movie like that -- ones that have a sense of impending doom. That’s one of the best parts of Paranoia. It’s so relevant with what is going on with technology in our time. I can’t go anywhere without everyone knowing where I am. If you have your phone set to notify Facebook about your location, people can follow you everywhere. What does that say about people who want to know where you are? That seems like it’s easy as breathing to get access to that. It’s dangerous. There is no privacy anymore. At what point does our privacy outweigh our security and vice versa?
Movie Fanatic: Robert, your director, has such a firm command of the material that was evident from the very first Paranoia trailer. He was thrilled to get away from romantic comedies to the genre that you’re talking about -- thriller. Could you tell that he had this joy of working in a subject matter that was so different than the romantic comedies he had done before?
Lucas Till: I didn’t have to audition, so I automatically liked him a lot [laughs]. He also was open to improvising, doing whatever I wanted. Overall, he just makes it look easy. I had just seen 21, so I knew what he could do with this type of story. But also, I have a mom and an aunt who have seen Legally Blonde like a thousand times. So, I knew that would make them happy.
Movie Fanatic: What do you look for in a role and a part… how do you say, “yes?”
Lucas Till: Sometimes it’s as simple as, “You’re shooting in Ireland? I’m in! It’s a prison rape movie… whatever!” [Laughs] Timing is important and if I get a feeling about something, I’m game.
Movie Fanatic: Can you tell us much about X-Men: Days of Future Past?
Lucas Till: No, I think Bryan Singer would kill me [laughs].
Movie Fanatic: How’d you get time off to talk about Paranoia?
Lucas Till: I’ve been in and out shooting X-Men. I’m pretty sure I’m done shooting.