Meet Jamie Blackley :: 'Uwanttowatchhim'

One of the nagging questions raised by "Irrational Man," Woody Allen's latest, is why would Emma Stone dump Jamie Blackley for the morose, self-absorbed Joaquin Phoenix?

The answer is that Blackley's character - a sweet, handsome graduate student infatuated with Stone - lacks the "bad boy" romantic allure that Phoenix's character, a famous philosophy professor, has. But is this simply another example of Allen playing out one of his all-too-familiar memes: the younger woman falling for a middle-aged man?

Whatever the reason, Blackley makes an impression, if only for his wholesome boyishness that makes him Phoenix's polar opposite in the pursuit for Stone's affection.

The 24-year old British actor got his first major role in an American film with last year's "If I Stay," where he played Chloe Grace Moretz's love interest, a rising indie-rocker. He has been appearing in British films for the past six years, including "The Fifth Estate," "Snow White and the Huntsman," "London Boulevard" and the 2013 psychocybersexual Brit indie, "UWANTME2KILLHIM," based on the notorious true story of teen violence in 2003. In London's West End he appeared as one of the gay characters in the transfer of "Spring Awakening." He also played George Harrison in the stage version of "Backbeat" in Glasgow.

EDGE spoke to Blackley recently about how he got cast in "Irrational Man," working with Woody and his stage and film work.

Auditioning for Woody

EDGE:: How did (the role of) Roy come to you?

Jamie Blackley: Roy came to me completely out of the blue. I was in L.A. and I was about to go home and my agent said to me we need you to go to New York. And I was desperate to get home. They said, 'Woody Allen wants to meet you.' And I was like, 'What? Why? What's going on?' They explained that there was this role coming up in a new movie he was doing. They said. 'It will be a 5-minute meeting. You'll be in and out. And then you'll go home and we'll see what happens.' So I got there about 7 A.M. and my meeting wasn't until 10 A.M. so I just hung around Starbucks, so tired and nervous. And I got there and they gave me some side-scenes-at the door. I quickly had a look through them and I went in and met Woody, did the scenes a couple of times and left. And it was all of five minutes. And as I was boarding my plane to go home, they called me up and asked me if I wanted to do it. That was it. That was the best plane journey home ever.

EDGE: What was auditioning for Woody like?

Jamie Blackley: Although the meeting was short, it felt like it was much shorter. It was 'in and out' and you start running things through your head like, did I do well enough? But he was really nice to me. Really kind and I was just so grateful.

Working with Emma Stone

EDGE: They say he knows right away...

Jamie Blackley: That's what everyone says. And I am just glad that I was the guy...

EDGE: Did he leave you to your own instincts, for the most part, during filming?

Jamie Blackley: For the most part, yeah, which I liked. He would come over and suggest a few things, but very rarely. At that point, when we would move on from a scene you know that he's got what he wants, which worked for me.

EDGE: Most of your scenes are with Emma Stone and she's worked with Woody before so was that helpful?

Jamie Blackley: SO helpful. She's very funny and he's very funny, and together they made me feel at ease, straightaway. She was very easy to work with and the fact that she's worked with him before made me very comfortable. I mean, at first I was very, very nervous but I got over it and I was fine.

Piecing the story together

EDGE: Others have said they only receive the script pages for their character only. Did you just get your pages?

Jamie Blackley: Yeah, that's what I got. It kind of worked well for me, character-wise, not to know what else was happening in the story because that is what Roy is constantly wondering, what the hell is going on when he's not there. I remember me and some of the other cast members sat in the car on the way home and we'd go, 'Well, I'm doing this and you're doing this.' We'd try and piece the film together ourselves, which is really exciting not truly knowing what you're a part of until you see it.

EDGE: Your breakup scene is very moving. Was it difficult to film?

Jamie Blackley: That was my first day! It was great to have that kind of baptism of fire because it kind of settled me into it rather than having a big buildup to a scene like that. It was great to have that on my first day and know where I stood in terms of (the story). It was a really fun scene to do.

EDGE: Roy's look is perfect, his costumes, his hair. Did you have anything to do with that?

Jamie Blackley: Not particularly. They had a really clear picture of what these people looked like and when I got there for my fitting everything was already laid out. I was all for it because they had clearly thought about it properly. I enjoyed being the preppy, Polish in chinos guy. It was fun. It's very far away from what I am.

Wanting to act

EDGE: It's very far away from anything I've seen you in. It had to be refreshing.

Jamie Blackley: It was great. It was wicked. I think it made my posture better. It just made me feel smarter than I am.

EDGE: Did you have a favorite moment during filming?

Jamie Blackley: The party scene where Joachim grabs the gun (and plays Russian Roulette). Joachim is such a huge hero of mine so to watch someone whom I've loved forever do that was just so exciting. That's the moment that stuck out for me.

EDGE: When did you know you wanted to be an actor?

Jamie Blackley: Around mid-teens, I knew. I wasn't confident that it was something I'd be able to fulfill. I'm still a bit like that now, but I'm trying to take it day by day. But, yeah, I think I knew very early on that was what I needed to do. It was a question of getting that self-belief that I could do it.

EDGE: And you got your start on the London stage is a production of 'Spring Awakening'...

Jamie Blackley: Yes. I played Hanschen. It was just the most fun. I always say if I could go back and do that one more time-I'd kill to do it one more time. I was seventeen and it was one of my first jobs and it was so special for all of us. We were all having the time of our lives.

Getting into movies

EDGE: Was that a springboard for you to get into film?

Jamie Blackley: I think so. I think it was because in London we had a very short run but it did very well. It was reviewed very well and audiences were coming to see it and I think it helped the careers of a lot of people in that production. It felt like something new and something different. So, yeah, I would say that it helped me out a lot.

EDGE: Have you done other stage work?

Jamie Blackley: I did a show in Glasgow called 'Backbeat' about the Beatles. It was (based on) a film. It went to London but I didn't. I haven't done anything since then. I really hope that in the next year or two I will get back on the stage. It's just ridiculous fun.

EDGE: Among your films, 'The Fifth Estate' is one of the most underrated. I know you had a small role...but what an ensemble.

Jamie Blackley: I've been really lucky to work with people like that, even if the roles are slightly smaller. It's inspiring for me. Daniel Bruhl, I think is amazing and Benedict (Cumberbatch) of course. I think that was a film that needed to be made. And it was wicked fun for me.

EDGE: And you were the lead in 'Uwantme2killhim.'

Jamie Blackley: That was a mad story that I was so excited to be a part of. And it is a true story, so it was scary just knowing those two guys were out there living their lives and we have no idea who they are. That was so much fun.

EDGE: If you could look ahead, where would you be in 10 years?

Jamie Blackley: Still acting. That's number one. Because it's such a fickle business it's hard to know where you're going to be. If in 10 years I can look back at the things I've done and I'm proud of every one of them, no matter how big or small, that's where I want to be.

"Irrational Man" is in theaters.