In Rob Reiner's retro family film Flipped, the central, budding romance is handled in a novel way: first we see things from the perspective of aloof junior high schooler Bryce (Callan McAuliffe), and then we replay the same events through the perspective of his not-so-secret admirer, Juli (Madeline Carroll). For this edition of the Verge, then, let's check in with McAuliffe first (he's a 15-year-old Australian with a key role in the upcoming action film I Am Number Four), then hear from Carroll (already a TV and film veteran at the age of 14), two unusually self-possessed young actors.
CALLAN MCAULIFFE
So I heard you got this role in Flipped while you were on vacation in the U.S. Can you tell me how it happened?
I was actually over here to meet my manager, who I'd been recommended to, and he put me up for quite a number of auditions. The first one I did, I was lucky enough to get, but originally, they thought I wasn't right for the role because I was Australian and that causes issues with money, I didn't have my visa, I was too tall, things like that. I think I did about five callbacks before they said, "All right, he's the one we want." Rob really pushed it because I think he's the one who liked me.
What do you think it was that gave you the edge in your audition?
I have absolutely no idea. [Laughs]
Rob Reiner has shot films with young actors before, most notably in Stand By Me. Is there something about him that makes him really able to pull these terrific performances out of you guys?
He's such a beautiful man, so nice and so caring. He really tries to make the film a kid-friendly environment, and as far as I know, he works with the same people for every project, so everyone knows each other and cooperates very well. The sets are very friendly.
So tell me about I Am Number Four. I know it's been shooting for a little while.
Yeah, it started quite a while ago, and I've been in Pittsburgh -- where I am now -- for about two months. I've only got about two weeks left of my shoot, and it's been going really well so far.
I interviewed Teresa Palmer recently and she said she's been doing some insane training for the film. Have you been, too?
Not really, too much. My character is a little less adept at fighting. [Laughs] I just sort of tag along and annoy everyone throughout the journey. I'm in quite a number of action scenes, but I'm always falling over. I haven't done a lot of combat training, but I do have to keep my fitness up, because I have done a lot of running.
It's also full of actors doing American accents. You and Teresa are Australian, Alex Pettyfer is British...is that a bonding experience?
Actually, Teresa gets to keep her Australian accent. They decided that since the whole thing is about aliens who've landed, you wouldn't expect every alien to coincidentally land in America. [Laughs] So she landed in Australia.
How did you get so good at an American accent?
You know, every country needs another country to mock, and Australians seem to be pretty good at impersonating American people. Maybe it's because all the movies and music and TV you see there is from America, so we just have the knack for it. The Australian accent is sort of like going down a step in smartness, you could say, because you guys pronounce things as they're spelled. We add and abbreviate stuff.
You recently spent three months in the Australian Outback on a survival course? What did that entail?
I'm lucky enough to go to a fantastic private school, and in grade nine, every kid goes for half a year into the Outback for camping. It was so much fun. They do one intake in the first half of the year and another intake in the second half, and I was in the second intake, so we got there when it was quite hot, unfortunately. I think the hardest thing we did was a 24-hour road day when we just hiked for 24 hours in groups of kids with no teachers or instructors or anything. We just had to find markers over this huge space -- I think we walked 80 kilometers in 24 hours, or something like that? We also had a three-day solo where we just took a tent and had to make fire and shelter for three days.
So where do you spend most of your time now? Is there pressure to move to LA?
I guess so, but I don't particularly want to. I'd like to stay in Australia and come over when I'm obliged to for work. I love coming here and all that, but we'll see what happens, I guess. I think we've spent four months out of twelve in our house in Australia.
So you've had to make that punishing Australia-America flight over and over?
I actually kind of like it. [Laughs]
MADELINE CARROLL
Rob Reiner is used to directing kids, but have you ever dealt with directors who maybe don't know what to do with child actors?
Yeah, I've been in situations like that. Usually, though, they'll ask me, "Well, how would you do this [moment]?" Then you can just do it like that because they haven't experienced it, so they just hand it off to you. You can do whatever you want, so it's really nice when it's like that. [Laughs]
Callan is Australian, doing an American accent. Was there ever anything American that you had to explain to him?
We would always tease each other back and forth. He would say weird things, like, instead of saying, "I'll go get that right away," he'd say, "Straight away." [Laughs] I'd always say, "That's not how you say it!" But no, Callan is fabulous at that accent. When we tell people that he's actually Australian, everybody goes, "What? Really?" He just had it down pat, even from the audition.
Have you ever done an accent in a film?
Yeah, actually. When I was ten, I had to do a British accent in Resident Evil: Extinction. I played a computer, and it is really hard to say really big words in an accent. But a lot of the time, it feels like playing around, and I personally think it's really fun to do an accent. I had sympathy for Callan because I know it's really hard to do it over and over again, but he did it amazing.
Let's talk about Machine Gun Preacher, which you've been filming. I've only seen pictures of Gerard Butler's mullet. What is it like in person?
[Laughs] His mullet is for when he's supposed to be younger, and it is really funny. I tease him about it, but he already teases himself about it. He's a big joker on set. I actually just finished that film two days ago, but it was so much fun working with him and Michelle Moynihan. They're awesome.
You appeared on Lost a few years ago as young Ben's childhood sweetheart, Annie. A lot of people thought that character would be important and keep recurring.
Yeah! That show is so secretive and they wouldn't tell me anything, but that's what I thought, too. I thought she was supposed to be a big part of the storyline, but they didn't really touch back on that at all. I would have loved to go back, especially to go back to Hawaii. It's, like, the most beautiful place I've ever filmed.
How do you deal with auditions and rejection?
A lot of times when I was younger and I really wanted a role and got close, it would stink really bad not to get it. I would get my hopes up and it just wouldn't come through, but I always think that God has something in store for everybody, and I would just pray about it. I actually passed on a big move before Flipped and nothing had come along, so I was like, "Oh God, please let me get something." Then Flipped came, and it was really exciting and cool to be able to do a movie like this. It's been such a pleasure to work with people like Rob Reiner and John Mahoney. I hope everybody likes this movie, because these are the kind of movies I'd like to continue to make. Rob's done all these great films from Stand By Me to The Princess Bride to When Harry Met Sally to Misery, and all these movies still get watched today. It's not like they were some big blockbuster hit and then they were gone -- people are still watching and loving his movies. I hope Flipped is one of those movies.
Are you going in there and auditioning with the same actresses over and over? Is that a bonding experience or can it be competitive?
I wouldn't say "competitive"... it's just like you go in and do your best, and then they pick whoever's right for it. I definitely see the same girls over and over, but a lot of the girls, I'm actually friends with. Ever since I was six, I've seen the same people.
I'd imagine that you go up for a lot of the same roles as Chloe Moretz.
I used to see Chloe a lot, but we're two different looks. I have dark hair and pale skin and she's blond -- we look different. But yeah, Chloe's really, really sweet. I haven't seen her much lately, since usually we get called in for different things because of what we look like.
Is that frustrating, that you might go in and nail your audition, but you're not the right look?
Yeah, it's very frustrating. [Sighs] That actually happened to me a few weeks ago. Sometimes it'll come down to what they already have in their minds -- like if they have a movie that's based on a book and the character has brown hair and brown eyes, then that's what it comes down to. It's so frustrating. It really sucks.
What is it like to do a red carpet?
It's so much fun! I love it. Right before you go out on the carpet, you get butterflies -- it's really nerve-wracking because they're all saying, "So-and-so! So-and-so! Look over here!" But it's so much fun. I love doing red carpets, they're awesome.