Rhys Wakefield cut his acting teeth in his native Australia on hundreds of episodes of Home and Away before winning critical acclaim in dramedy The Black Balloon and moving onto James Cameron’s brand of survivalism with Sanctum. Wakefield’s profile in America grew with a villainous turn in the first entry of The Purge franchise while leading a murderous, yuppie-esque gang as the Polite Leader. It was a chilling performance that sees further shades in his newest movie, The Grand Son, in which Wakefield plays a manipulative young Hollywood man, Tod, who schemes to keep himself in dollars amid the fading acting career of his grandmother (Lesley Ann Warren).
Wakefield, who will also soon appear as a regular player in season three of True Detective, is scarily adept at playing devious characters who arrive in sharp contrast to his true personality. While speaking about his work, he’s animated, gracious, and understanding (even after the first ten minutes of a discussion go to hell, thanks to an audio-based SNAFU from yours truly). As he told me during those lost moments of our interview, Wakefield truly adores playing villains and climbing inside their head because “I have to empathize with them to do so, which I think makes me a better person in reality.”
Watching all of these terribly dissatisfied characters in The Grand Son, I was reminded of how Leo Tolstoy wrote in Anna Karenina, “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” What makes this family so unhappy?
I think it really boils down to their emphasis on material wealth and material possession and superficiality. I think when that becomes your entirety, then you become devoid of happiness and true joy. This family has too much money and not enough love, I think that’s their greatest issue, sadly.
Your character has been compared to American Psycho‘s Patrick Bateman. Did you draw any influence there?
Of course, I’ve watched American Psycho and Psycho. That my performance is being compared to those roles is such an honor. I think Patrick Bateman is such an unbelievable character. [But] I was very conscious to go in a different direction as much as I could bring something authentic in my own way that doesn’t feel like a trope of playing a psychopath or sociopath. I wanted him to feel kind of like there was this cusp of a boy who had an inability to understand the consequences of his actions that was conflicted by a man who was running on primal instincts, which is sex and violence. So there’s this kind of combating individual there. I think Patrick Bateman is a more evolved, unapologetic psychopath. This is kind of a younger iteration of that, which hasn’t fully come to realize, maybe, who he is, if that makes sense.
Your character’s motives for his violent acts mostly appear clear, but his pivotal act may or may not have been an accident. How did that ambiguity affect your performance?
I made a very distinct choice … to keep it a secret [chuckles] … and it’s for the audience to sort-of project what they think. Did he do it, or didn’t he do it on purpose? Was it an accident, or was it preordained? I would like the audience to decide.
The film is beautifully lit, perhaps to evoke some dying Hollywood glamour from a different age, but it almost plays like an Instagram filter. Do you feel that says anything about the characters?
Instagram feeds a narcissism that I feel is ultimately unhealthy … Yes I think that was very intentional [by director Robert Logevall]. There’s this theme about youth and the apathy of youth, and I think that Instagram is a personification of narcissism and superficiality and the things that are underscored by that are just the outcome of success, rather than the hard work that goes into whatever the outcome of that success is, that’s being photographed. I think that Robert wanted to create a sense of erotic beauty with this kind of Instagram filter almost undercut with the harsher, grainier, naturally lit images to remind us that though this might pretty, there’s kind of a dark and disgusting side underneath.
Of course, you are well accustomed to playing villains. We have some fans of The Purge here. Well, not the annual event but the films….
[laughs]
The first film’s entire tone, and the future success of the franchise, had plenty with your chilling performance as the Polite Leader. Did you ever imagine the franchise would continue to be such a juggernaut?
Let me just say that all of the success has been the most surreal thing, and thank you so much. I had no idea that it would continue. I thought I was doing an obscure horror film and playing a character that I loved to portray. I love Jason Blum and James Monoco. I loved working on that project. Ethan Hawke, to me, set a huge tone to how I like to carry myself as an actor and how I like to be, professionally. He’s just such a spectacular artist to really be an inspiring figurehead to a set and set a tone that is energizing and inspiring to work with. It was nothing but a wonderful experience.
Can you tell us about your upcoming True Detective role?
I wish I could. I have to be somewhat serious with that, but I had an amazing time. We filmed that in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and over numerous time periods, and so yeah, it was really fun breathing life into a new character. I think it’s going to be really special. I’m excited.
The Grand Son will release on digital platforms on August 14 and DVD on November 6. Watch the trailer below.
