Every director Will Poulter is desperate to work with: “I’m completely shameless, I will beg”
He might still have the babiest of baby faces, but Will Poulter has been in the acting game for the better part of two decades.
From his movie debut in Garth Jennings’ Son of Rambow to appearances in the critically-acclaimed The Revenant to big roles in franchises like The Chronicles of Narnia, The Maze Runner, and Guardians of the Galaxy, he has slowly worked his way to the top of the industry ladder. As he’s still only in his early 30s, there’s plenty of time for him to further bolster his legacy.
The live-action Sid from Toy Story hasn’t just been in some huge movies; he’s worked with some of the great directors of the age. His snivelling performance in Ari Aster’s Midsommar made him the most hated character in a film full of skin-wearing cultists. He recently appeared in Alex Garland’s harrowing anti-war film, Warfare, and, on TV, he was directed by the great Barry Jenkins in his adaptation of The Underground Railroad. However, there’s always room for more.
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Poulter revealed a long list of filmmakers he is keen to collaborate with. Actually, maybe ‘keen’ isn’t a strong enough word. “I’m completely shameless,” the young star said, noting, “I will beg for roles in things from people that I love. I’ve got fanboy energy, I can’t hide it. There are people that I’m desperate to work with, and I can’t contain it.”
Poulter went on to reveal some of the names he will be begging for work in the next few years. While he didn’t mention Scorsese or Spielberg, some of his picks were still of high calibre. Perhaps the most acclaimed is Sir Steve McQueen, the mind behind 12 Years a Slave and Small Axe. There was also Adam McKay, the former comedy stalwart who has pivoted to drama in recent years with Vice and Don’t Look Up, and Lynne Ramsay, who brought us We Need to Talk About Kevin and You Were Never Really Here.
The other two names he highlighted aren’t as famous as those other three, but are certainly interesting. Poulter picked Reinaldo Marcus Green as someone he admired, whose best-known works are Bob Marley: One Love and King Richard, the tennis drama that was somewhat overshadowed by star Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars. Finally, Poulter named his fellow British director Andrea Arnold, critically acclaimed for features like Fish Tank and the recent Barry Keoghan-led Bird.
It might not seem particularly dignified for an actor to try and get work this way, but Poulter sees things very differently. “Life is short and I think there is a need to [give] people their flowers while they’re here,” he explained. “I try and kind of justify my fanboy energy with that. I feel like if I’m a fan of someone’s work, I really want to communicate that as much as possible.”
These comments were made in 2023, and, at the time of writing, Poulter has yet to work with any of the names he listed in this interview. Nevertheless, as established earlier, he is still disgustingly young, so there’s plenty of time for him to beg some more until they finally give in.
