There’s always been a fascination with the sport of pool in Hollywood, and that’s partly because they just fit together so well on screen. That combination is made even more potent when you introduce a story of heart and family into that mix, and that’s exactly what the team had in mind with their new film Break. Break follows the story of Eli (played by Darren Weiss), whose attempts to care of his sister and mother eventually lead him to the Detroit Pool scene and revelations about his absent father, who used to be a legend in that very scene. ComicBook had a chance to talk to Weiss all about Eli’s journey, working with Jeff Kober (The Walking Dead, General Hospital), his love of DC’s Batman, and more! Break is available on-demand today.
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Eli finds himself drawn to the pool scene after learning that his father was a legendary pool player in that very scene, weaving the familial elements directly into its portrayal of the popular sport. That mixture of elements is part of what attracted Weiss to the part, as Eli has quite a bit on his plate and is actively attempting to keep all those plates in the air, something many can relate to.
A Story of Family and Pool
“You know what, the thing that I loved about Break and just the idea, the script, everything is, you see this character sort of going through it and there’s two different worlds. There’s the world within the pool hall and then there’s his world at home, what he’s dealing with, and he is going through a lot,” Weiss said. “He is out of high school, he is not in college. Most of his friends have moved on. He has this one buddy that takes him to the college frat party, but you see him dealing with a lot and he comes upon this pool hall where you would least expect someone of his… A place where he felt most at home you would least expect out of this pool hall. And that’s, for me, you find comfort in places you least expected. And I think in Break, all the characters were so cool and diverse and different that I think when you watch this film, there’s some character that everyone can relate to in this film.”
As Eli tries to help his family, he’s suddenly confronted by his past, learning that his father was a pool legend. Eli then starts to follow in those footsteps, finding a light at the end of the tunnel in a way, though that is also directly related to his father and any feelings that have been bottled up regarding that relationship (or lack of one).
“Yeah, so his past sort of comes to the forefront and I feel like Eli has never really faced his past and there’s a lot of question marks, but through these characters, he learns to be who he is and comfortable in his own skin. I think for a lot of these characters, Draper and Hattie, it’s a second chance for them too kind of, having that second generation. I don’t want to give up too much of the film, but I think people in life deserve second chances and you really never know what’s going on in somebody’s life. And I’m a big proponent of when you meet someone, but you’ve heard something about them, judge them from the time you met them, not from the time that you heard something about them from 10 years ago. Because you didn’t know who they were 10 years ago,” Weiss said.
“Maybe they’ve done a lot of self-work on themselves in the last 10 years and they’re not the same person, and we see that with Eli a little bit,” Weiss said. “He gets help through these characters and Draper sort of finds a way to be a mentor where Eli’s dad was a mentor to him. And it sort of comes full circle and you see two different worlds of who Eli is and where he’s most comfortable and where he feels he can be himself and trying to integrate that at all times of his life.”
The Nicest Villain Around
One of the characters that Eli meets along the way is Jimmy, played by Jeff Kober, and their dynamic is a more complicated one throughout the film. Kober has played a wealth of villains over the course of his career, but he’s anything but a villain behind the scenes, as Weiss was thrilled about getting the chance to work alongside him during filming and beyond.
“Yeah, Jeff’s just an amazing guy. I really got the time. He’s been in the business for 40-plus years and I know so many people that I’ve worked with that have worked with him and he’s been on everything. Like you said, he is a daytime Emmy winner. He’s been in your favorite shows like The Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy, Star Trek, everything. And I think what drove him to this character was he’s never had an opportunity to play a character like this. He’s talked about always sort of playing the villain or bad guy, which he does, but this is sort of a different character and it’s sort of in a world that he hasn’t explored much as an actor.ย
And working with him just on a personal level was, I learned so much because I’m a young, young actor and I told him at the beginning, I said, ‘Look, Jeff, I am a guy that if you ever have any suggestions, I’m always willing to learn. I want to be better.’ Some actors don’t like when other actors give them tips and that’s totally fine. I’m the type of actor who if my scene partner sees something that I can do to make his or her performance better, I want to hear it,” Weiss said. “So Jeff just gave me very subtle stuff, but he was just so in the moment and everything and he said, he’s like, ‘I’m going to try something this scene.’ He is like, ‘Do you mind if I get a little physical with you?’ He is like, ‘I want to surprise you and get a natural reaction.’ I said, ‘Absolutely not. That’s going to be great.’ So very professional, very, very sweet, caring, gentle human being. Someone that I learned a lot from, lots of wisdom, and I feel like he’s the guy.”
“And I’ve done this. I can pick up the phone and call him. ‘Hey Jeff, I’m having a bad day.’ Or, ‘Hey Jeff, I want to talk to you about meditation.’ And he’s gone through a lot of those own struggles. So for someone like him that I can look up to as a person, just as a mentor, it’s really nice to have that. And we developed a really good relationship off-camera as well as on-camera, as you saw. So it was just so cool working with him. And I hope there’s an opportunity in the future that our paths cross again,” Weiss said.
The DC Universe and Beyond
Weiss is keeping busy with several projects in the work, including a new horror film called The Possession of Gladstone Manor. That said, when he’s not jumping into a new project, he loves catching up with some of his favorite franchises, including the DC Universe and Star Wars, and one day he’d love to jump into those franchises in a bigger way as well.
“You know what, I’m a big comic book nerd, Matt. I love the DC Universe. I’m looking at an art piece of Batman and Joker on my wall right now, actually. I would love to be in that world of Batman, Joker, even Marvel. But I love DC. I love Star Wars, I love these Harry Potter spinoffs, so hopefully I can one day work in there,” Weiss said.
“I was just in Kansas City for about three weeks shooting a horror film alongside Jesse Metcalf, who played John Tucker in John Tucker Must Die. Barbara Crampton, who’s big in the horror space, Caylee Cowan and Lin Shaye from the Insidious Series. So that was fun. That shoot beat me up a little bit. It was all night shoots from 6:00 PM to 8:00 AM for three weeks. So a little tired from that, but that was really great. And at the end of January, beginning of February, I shot a true story on the Warner Brother lot called Mob Cops,” Weiss said.
“It’s about the mafia. So I had a really cool role in that with David Arquette and Danny A. Abeckaser, who was the director. He played a role and so that was fun. And we’ll see. I played my second lead actually in the beginning of January, a little indie film called Americano, about a basketball player that’s rehabbing his knee and sort of goes through the struggles of what’s next. So knock on wood, it’s been a really busy year and I’m really excited. This movie is called The Possession of Gladstone Manor, which I just shot in Kansas City, a horror film. So hopefully people watch Break and they like it. You can watch on Amazon and iTunes and any other on-demand feature. And I just really want people to relate to all the different characters and know that they’re not alone in anything that they might be dealing with on their day-to-day basis, while also having to navigate everyday life of whatever it is they do in life,” Weiss said.
You can watch Break on Amazon and iTunes on demand right now.
What did you think of Break? You can talk all things movies with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!
