Justice Smith talks 'All the Bright Places,' Post-it Notes, more  

Asking for a hug in a job interview isn’t exactly standard protocol, but that’s what Justice Smith did in his audition for the new Netflix film “All the Bright Places.” And it worked.

        Amazingly, it doesn’t sound nearly so creepy or weird when you hear him explain it.  

The up-and-comer — previously seen in “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” and the Pokémon film “Detective Pikachu” — co-stars with Elle Fanning in this new romantic drama, premiering Feb. 28. The film is based on the bestselling young-adult novel of the same name, though director Brett Haley was determined to craft a film that’s more than just an angsty teen tearjerker, Smith says. It follows the unlikely friendship (and romance) of popular high-school student Violet (Fanning), grief-stricken after losing her sister in a fatal car accident, and class “freak” Theodore Finch (Smith), who’s gripped by demons of his own. The film explores tough issues — from mental illness to lame (or so they think, at first) social studies assignments — while showcasing Smith’s laid-back charm.

A Los Angeles native with eight siblings, Smith, 24, spoke by phone with Newsday contributor Joseph V. Amodio.

Your character, Finch, is a runner. What about you?

No. (He laughs.) But I did start running right before we started shooting. I went from running zero miles to running five miles a day. My body was like, you can’t do that. So I reduced to like three miles, then slowly worked my way back up to five.

Smarter approach.

You really feel it in your legs. Like, your calves burn soooo much. But I wanted to make sure I understood what it felt like to run, and what that does to the body, and how Finch externalizes his pain, through running. It’s metaphorical for how he pushes through his obstacles, the way he pushes through his pain, and how he does that alone — no one can do that for him. I got all of that from running.

In many of the running scenes, you’re wearing headphones. Were you playing any tunes?

Yup. I had this playlist I created for Finch. What’s funny is that every character I’ve played has a “thing.” Sometimes it’s a word, or a concept, a song, or a book—there’s this one thing and if I do it or think about it, I always feel like that character. For Finch, that thing was a song, called “I Want to Be Well,” by Sufjan Stevens. I would just listen to the song on repeat, especially while I was running. And sometimes before the take I’d sing it at the top of my lungs, with the crew looking at me with weird eyes. For some reason it just…it just got me. I highly suggest you listen to it. It feels like Finch. It is Finch. That song is Finch.

How’d you find it?

It was a song I loved in high school, during…my developmental years. Well, I guess I’m still going through my developmental years. (He chuckles.)

What about all those Post-it Notes? Finch keeps scores of Post-its on his bedroom wall with handwritten inspirational phrases, like “Plan” and “Breathe deeply.” I paused the movie to read them. Did you write those?

I wanted to…but I couldn’t do it within the schedule. There was no time. So they got a sample of my handwriting and wrote them that way. So, yeah, that is my handwriting. And funny enough, they used it for the movie poster, and they just re-released the book with the movie poster on the cover, so that’s my handwriting on the poster and the book, too.

Tell me about Elle Fanning. You two have great chemistry.

I met her at my screen test. We were playing this intimate relationship and we’d never met each other. I was like…. (He pauses, chuckling.) “Can we hug before we do this scene? I just feel like I don’t know you at all and I have to say these words to you, so I feel like we should just break some sort of stranger boundary.” She was up for it, so we just hugged for a couple of seconds, then did the scene. It really helped. I credit her for my being cast in the film. She made me feel so comfortable.

What’s up next for you?

I just finished a movie called “The Voyeurs.” It’s an erotic thriller — something I’ve never done before, and I’m all about doing things I‘ve never done before. I’m about to start shooting “Generation,” (a new Lena Dunham-produced dramedy) for HBO Max, which explores teen sexuality in Orange County.

Then there’s “Jurassic World 3.”

Yeah!

Think you’ll survive till the final credits?

Iiiiiiiii can neither confirm nor denyyyy that.  Heh heh heh.