Lucas Till Talks Bravetown and His X-Men Role

In the film, Till plays a troubled, young DJ displaced from his home in New York and sent to live in his father, in a small town that’s been hit hard by the losses of war. It’s not long before his hopes of finding love are endangered by his father’s reputation in town.

Till joined ComicBook.com for a conversation about Bravetown, and shared some thoughts on X-Men, as well.

You know, when I first read the synopsis, I thought, “This sounds like a movie that’s been done a million times,” but it’s in fact a really good film. Did you have to be talked into it a little bit?

[Laughs] You’re so right! You’re so right, yes. I remember talking to Daniel, the director — Skyping him — and all I had heard was “dance movie…nonononono, not like that!…about a DJ…but really, no! It could be good!”

I remember reading it and going, “Okay, this could go one way or the other, so let’s just make sure…” …And then Daniel almost finished my sentence. In Spanish. So I said yeah, this is going to work.

How early did you come on board, though? I mean, when I look at it in the abstract, it would be a lot easier to sell with this cast attached. Everyone here is great.

Yeah. It wasn’t solidified — it wasn’t final, the cast, but pretty much it was. It ended up being those people they were talking about but I heard a couple of other names, but I remember thinking if it’s any of these people, it’s going to be great and it ended up being pretty much all of the top choices.

It’s interesting because you’re so fractured and you don’t even know about the relationships obviously until you’re in it. Was there a lot of pressure on you, being the actor who had to be able to bounce off everybody where most of the other characters had basically two or three relationships?

Yeah. I do remember being very exhausted by the time the movie was over. And I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. The first three weeks, I think, were dance stuff, to get it out of the way. And that gave me time to suss out all my stuff with the DJing and practice and finally get the hang of that. But I’m already having a heart attack that I’ve got to do the DJing and hoping that nobody hates me.

So I finally get that down, and we get down and then we’re done DJing, there’s no DJing anymore. Now you’re going to work with a new actor who’s a pro this week — and there’s no overlap dates — and then once you’re done just getting the hang of it with this actor, then next week we’re going to press the reset button and do the same thing with a different actor.

So yeah, they kept me on my toes but, hey. If you do what you love, you never work a day in your life. It’s a bit cheesy, but, you know. It was as rewarding as it was exhausting.

That almost sounds like you’re the lead on a TV show. Just the guy who never gets to take a day off.

Yeah, I know. And then I was doing X-Men at the time, too. So there were days when I would go do — and I’m not going to even say the number,but I wanted to finish this movie, to make it good. So I would go to work, work twice as much as your normal day, and then go straight from work to the airport, airport from Winnipeg to Montreal, and then I would work two days consecutively on two different movies in two different cities. It’s like, going back and forth and forgetting what you’re doing, and notsleeping for like three days at a time. But I made it through.

I will say, you’re one of the only people in that franchise who hasn’t shared a scene with Hugh Jackman yet, who probably could have given you some real pointers on the dance stuff.

[Laughs] That’s so true! And it is so true. I hear these amazing stories, and I’m just like, “Man, I know we’d get along.” And I think it would be cool from an X-Men perspective to see those two together, since they have a little bit of a history in the comics. To see them interact at least a little bit would be cool. So yeah, you’re right, man. I’m pretty disappointed about it.

One thing that I did want to touch on in terms of Bravetown is that I watch a movie with a DJ in it and my first instinct is to be like, “Okay, is this guy a giant douche?” In entertainment, that seems to be the default characterization. Your character is interesting because you play a character who’s kind of broken but for the most part you’re very sympathetic.

Yeah, and I remember they were like, “You’re actually coming across really unlikable.” It’s easy to slip into the jerk. The jerk is a lot easier to play for any number of reasons. To be sympathetic or empathetic is a little harder than being a straight-up jerk, which is really fun.

I thought the relationship with your father was one of the highlights of the film. There are bits of him that come off more and less likable throughout the film, but you had to maintain a tone where you had a decent relationship but you don’t know him that well.

Maybe it was hard because he is such a nice guy in real life, but it’s hard. I didn’t want to internalize any moody, broodiness. That was something we talked about. But I feel like, yes, I wanted it to be surprising. Anyone can just be a brat but I wanted it to be kind of alarming from the very first. I’ve heard so much about this guy from my mom. Their relationship made him out to be this horrible guy and immediately it’s like, “What? This couldn’t be true.”

On your parents — we’ve seen them from X-Men now…how disappointing is it that he’s not a space pirate? Isn’t “Space Pirate” just a phrase you like to hear people say?

I know, right? Or that I’d like to see. I wonder if there’s going to be somebody to take that to the next level. I wonder if there’s ever going to be a Gabriel Summers, if they’re going to bring Vulcan into the mix. That’d be kind of neat, wouldn’t it?

What would be your elevator pitch if you’re standing next to somebody at Target and they’ve got the DVD in their hands? What is it that speaks to you?

I think there’s, especially with the wars and what they’ve gone really since Vietnam, it’s gotten better but there’s not enough of an awareness. It doesn’t matter what you feel about the war, you still need to treat the veterans with respect. They’re mutually exclusive; you can’t put that on them, our soldiers, and they’re not rewarded for their service the way they used to be. It’s a world I’m familiar with, and I always kind of get strange stares when I share my opinions. I think it sheds light on that — maybe in an exaggerated way, but I think it’s important and I think the movie is really good, actually. That’s why I did it.