Original subtitles

Syd Stone first burst onto the scene

in the film adaptation of the wildly popular

Dino-Danger teen-lit books.

Since then, his career,

well, it's left much to be desired;

his projects primarily consisting of TV movies,

rarely-seen indies and failed TV pilots.

But if you're paying attention to early industry chatter,

that's all about to change,

thanks to his virtuoso performance

as Mikey Starling in Wildboy,

a searing exploration of the underground rent boy scene

of Las Vegas.

I'm good with that one.

Is he ready?

There he is.

How are you doing?

Good.

Yeah, no, I'm fine.

Don't bullshit me.

I'm fine. You know, it's just...

jet lag.

I told them no rehab or personal stuff.

If she deviates, we'll cut it short. Okay?

Okay.

You're sure?

Okay, yes.

Okay. I'll be right by the monitors.

Okay. Thank you.

Hey, you know, it's not my first rodeo.

So, this is quite the departure for you.

You think?

But clearly, it's paying off.

People's Choice at TIFF, a SAG Award nomination,

and some critics are even saying a potential Oscar nod?

I'm not sure about that last one,

but we'll see.

What exactly drew you to the project?

I actually wanted nothing to do it with it.

I don't suppose that was due to the fact

that you'd be playing a past-his-prime,

sexually fluid rent boy, was it?

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Did the explicit nature of the material scare you?

At first.

But at the end of the day, it's all part of the gig.

Absolutely.

But I'm sure you had to know that

some people might speculate on a few things.

Like what?

Well, I mean...

you identify as straight.

But does any part of Mikey live within you?

Well, Mikey's also

a drug addict and a prostitute.

Why aren't you asking if I'm either one of those?

I only ask because that's what happens

to actors that play gay.

Jake Gyllenhaal from Brokeback comes to mind.

Can I ask you something?

Sure.

Are you a lesbian?

Happily married for eight years.

To my husband, Ron.

Has being straight

affected the quality of your work in any way?

I get the point you're trying to make,

but you and I both know

that's not how the world works.

Especially not in Hollywood.

And why not?

If I can may you believe that I'm somebody else

for two hours, then I'm doing my job.

Everything else, it doesn't matter.

So, visibility is irrelevant to you?

You're forgetting that being a public figure

is a big part of your job.

You've got 3.7 million Instagram followers,

most of them young teenagers.

They dissect your every action.

And those actions carry

a huge amount of influence with them.

Syd?

What the fuck is wrong with you?

Excuse me?

You were given a list

of approved questions by the studio.

For a film featuring a gay protagonist.

I'd be crucified if I didn't ask the question

on everyone's mind.

This interview is over.

Are you telling me that some scared,

lonely, closeted kid

couldn't benefit from seeing a movie star

come out on national TV?

You know something?

You might be right,

but that's for him to decide. Not you.

Wait...

Well, I just tore her a new asshole.

Grab your things and we'll go.

When's the press junket again?

Tuesday.

How many times do you think

that question will come up?

People are already saying stuff online

since the breakup.

Look, people are going to talk.

We can't control that.

This is all that I have.

This is the only thing that I'm good at.

You listen to me,

after this movie comes out,

you will be refusing work.

Forget about her.

Forget about the lights and the cameras

and the millions of people watching.

You were being given an opportunity in there.

And you can either take it or you can leave it.

They dissect your every action.

Those actions carry a huge amount of influence with them.

Syd?

After this question,

Stone asks us to turn the cameras off,

fleeing the room.

A few minutes later, he returns,

and has more than a few things to get off his chest.

You know, when we're kids,

we're told that being different is a good thing, right?

You get made fun of at school.

You got picked last in gym.

If a girl you like, she isn't interested,

but it's okay, because you're different.

JAKE Mom! Hurry!

And eventually, someone's gonna recognize that,

even love you for it.

And then you...

you eventually find the courage

in yourself to admit that you are different.

But then you're told,

if you don't change the thing that makes you different,

no one will love you.

So, you do it.

You change.

So what are you saying exactly?

What I'm saying is...

that I've spent the last 14 years

pretending to be somebody that I'm not,

and that I've hurt a lot of people.

And that I've made a lot of mistakes.

And just because I belong to something,

or a group of people...

Do you mean the LGBTQ community?

...it doesn't mean that I...

immediately feel like I fit in, you know?

I'm still trying to figure all this out.

There's still a lot of red tape to cut through.

Red tape?

Yeah, maybe we'll save that one

for a different interview.

Fair enough.

And you know what?

That's just about all the time we've got left anyway.

Syd, on behalf of everyone watching at home,

I want to thank you for your honesty.

I know this wasn't easy.

Thank you.

Hey.

I've got a medium latte for...

Yeah. Thank you.

No problem.

Hey.

Hi.

Are you done with that?

Yeah.

Do you need anything else?

No. No, I'm good. Thanks.

Look, I don't wanna be that guy,

but I saw that interview you did last month.

Yeah?

I've never seen someone

just come out on TV like that.

Yeah, that wasn't exactly supposed to happen.

I didn't think so but,

you handled it like a pro.

Thanks.

Anyway, I'll let you do your thing.

Yeah. Thanks.

Hey.

It's a great latte.

Thanks.