Interview: Karl Glusman

Please Baby Please, the third film from director Amanda Kramer, is best described as West Side Story by way of Baz Luhrmann‘s Moulin Rouge if it was directed by David Lynch. An intoxicating, spellbinding takedown of gender roles and societal expectations, it follows newlyweds Suse (Andrea Riseborough) and Arthur (Harry Melling), who become the dangerous obsession of a greaser gang, led by Teddy (Karl Glusman), that awakens a sleeping quandary into the couple’s sexual identity.

Please Baby Please is another fantastic addition to Glusman’s eclectic filmography – the actor has worked with everyone from Gaspar Noe to Nicolas Winding Refn to Tom Ford in his relatively short career so far. When asked what draws him to these projects, Glusman says the opportunity to work with these incredibly talented directors makes him want to sign up for them. “In all honesty, it starts with the filmmaker,” he says. “Is it someone whose work I really admire? Oftentimes the answer’s been a huge yes. And then it’s, ‘have I done something like this before?’ I always want to try things I haven’t done so that’s another yes. Then it’s, ‘is there something in the project that sort of scares me?’ Which usually feels like a good sign because I feel like if I’m too comfortable, I’m probably not challenging myself in the right way. I have yet to be super comfortable doing anything I’ve worked on, by the way!”

Please Baby Please, which was also written by Kramer alongside frequent collaborator Noel David Taylor, features scenes filled with lyrical dialogue, as well as showstopping monologues that are best described as flowery prose that sometimes feels like long-form poetry, which could be disorienting for audience members who have no idea what they’re getting themselves into. “When I read it, I wasn’t quite sure what I had read,” Glusman agrees. “But it almost felt like I was reading a play that was going to be filmed. Amanda has this wonderful voice that is prevalent throughout the film. I wasn’t familiar with her work until after I had read the script, and then I watched Ladyworld [Kramer’s first film] and that felt like something different, you know? So I kind of felt like [Please Baby Please was] either going to be amazing or it was going to be terrible. And I definitely think that it leans more towards amazing, especially with the budget that she was working with. I think Amanda did a tremendous job, as did all the departments that she brought in.”

In addition to their initial wild encounter, a series of charged proceeding meetings with the greaser gang makes Suse and Arthur question everything they thought they wanted in a relationship, and Kramer uses her characters as vessels in her effort to skewer gender roles and the socially-accepted concepts of masculinity and femininity. “The world of men is one of comparison and measurement,” Arthur utters at one point during the film, signaling his inner battles with gender expectations. “Am I enough of a man?” When asked about his thoughts on how the film approaches gender, Glusman says he finds it “pretty groovy.” “I think about male friends of mine who have a hard time talking about their feelings, or who are scared of being tender or vulnerable,” he says. “And I think that Amanda’s movie kind of dissects that attitude. She has her own story because I asked her, ‘what motivated you to write this?’ And she told me why she wanted to tell this story. But basically, we still have these sort of old-timey ideas of what a man and a woman are, and I think Amanda just takes that and sort of flips it upside down, and says, ‘Hey, these characters can act however they want and still love each other. They can still be together.”

'Please Baby Please' (Music Box Films)

Glusman’s Teddy, the ringleader of the gang, all of whom are dressed in full leather, is at once intimidating and vulnerable, seductive and sad, with the actor, best known for his performances in 2015’s Cannes Film Festival entry Love and this year’s well-received festival favourite Watcher, bringing a soulful edge to what may be his best performance to date. As Teddy gradually begins seducing the uptight Arthur, slowly coaxing him out of his tightly-wound shell, Glusman manages to simultaneously peel back the layers of his character, bringing some pathos and nuance to what may have easily been a one-dimensional character in another actor’s hands.

When asked about how decided to approach his character, Glusman says it all started with the script. “The first time you read a script is a really precious time,” he explains. “I try to limit as many distractions as possible and read the script in one go because some of those first ideas you have, those first feelings or instincts, can be some of the best ideas you end up having.” In the film, Teddy delivers a speech about entomologist William Wheeler and his efforts at documenting the behavior of male wasps. “He watched the male wasp for ever and ever and found nothing,” says Teddy in one the best scenes of the film. “No behavior. I mean it, no way of being at all.” To Glusman, that was the key to figuring out the essence of his character. “Teddy has this masculine body but a tender voice. He’s violent but also soft, you know? Just unpredictable is what I wanted him to be. I was always trying to be this mixture of hard and soft, scary and tender, sharp but warm. That’s what I was going for.”

Up next for Glusman is upcoming Netflix thriller Reptile, a guest spot on The Weeknd and Sam Levinson‘s highly anticipated HBO series The Idol, and a role in Jeff NicholsThe Bikeriders, which features a phenomenal ensemble cast that includes Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer and more. “It’s pretty cool,” says Glusman of the project. “We’re doing this 1960s biker gang movie. It’s based on a book by the same name, The Bikeriders, and it’s sort of snippets of their lives stitched together. Tom Hardy is a powerhouse actor who I’ve admired for decades now, and Austin Butler is on this meteoric rise at the moment. It’s crazy what he’s experiencing right now in his career. And Jodie Comer is extremely talented. I’m definitely familiar with her work as well. They’re all really lovely people, which is a major plus. And then we also have Boyd Holbrook, Emory Cohen, Toby Wallace, Michael Shannon, Norman Reedus… I mean, the cast is incredible and it’s pretty amazing to be around them.” While full plot details have yet to be revealed, one thing is for sure; it will be another wonderful addition to a daring, eclectic filmography that has cemented Glusman’s status as one of the most exciting actors working right now.

Please Baby Please is now playing in theaters in the US.