The Fabelmans: How Gabriel LaBelle Became a Young Steven Spielberg (Exclusive)
As The Fabelmans rolls into its second weekend of wide release, more and more eyeballs will be feasting on Steven Spielberg's latest story. This story, however, is different from the rest. As Spielberg will tell it, The Fabelmans is his "most personal," tale to date. This is because it is, quite literally, his story. Spielberg wrote and directed a fictionalized tale of his own life, a filmmaker origin story, showcasing his falling in love with film, difficulties with his own family, and more through the eyes of its main character Sam Fabelman. Fabelman, a representation of Spielberg's own experiences, is portrayed brilliantly by 20-year-old Gabriel LaBelle.
Early on in The Fabelmans, Sam Fabelman takes a trip to the movie theater with his family. A young Sam Fabelman falls in love with the cinema before LaBelle steps in for the older version of the character. Growing up, though, LaBelle had similar experiences as the character he portrays. "I never did my homework as a kid, so I just went home and watched movies and TV shows and falling in love with it, and it was just always a part of my life and it was just always something I really loved," the actor told ComicBook.com. "It was just kind of always there and I fell in love with acting separately. I started doing theater camps with other kids and acting classes at kids, and I started auditioning young and it was just this fun extracurricular activity that I could do, and that was my own that nobody else in my school did."
Sam Fabelman's journey sees his action movies start with reactions of laughter before he learned to master his filmmaking craft a bit more, leaviing audiences surprised and emotional and earning the reactions which the character was aiming for. As LaBelle can recall, he began auditioning for roles when he was 11-years-old. Now 20, the actor credits The Fabelmans as the moment he thinks people will start taking him a bit more seriously and feeling that added validation himself, much like his character.
"I think it's this movie for me, because I haven't been taking this seriously for very long," LeBelle said. "When I was auditioning for things in school, it was just something to do. It was something to be driven to. It is an activity. I never saw it as an opportunity, but when I was auditioning for schools to get into, it's like, 'Oh, I might not get this, and that scares me.' And so I learned how to make sure I could get something and then COVID hit and I didn't end up going, but it was through that and a lot of time to myself and I was really like, 'Man, I really want this. And I really it feels like I can't afford to not do it.' So, then to learn how to work at it and for this film to come out and to be a part of this ensemble of artists and people, it feels really good. I think it's this one."
Prior to The Fabelmans, LaBelle has only a few credits to his name. EJ from 2018's The Predator, Charlie in Dead Shack, and a single episode of iZombie are among those he is most known for, per his iMDb profile. The Fabelmans seems to be a potentially massive pivot point.
As for what he will take away from The Fabelmans in pursuit of a future career in the film industry, "the whole experience," LaBelle said. Working with Spielberg for so many months seems to have provided the young actor with more advice than he may have ever been expecting. "I'm there from July to October," LaBelle said. "I spend most of the film at 18, I turn 19 on the film, and it meant so much to me. Making it means a lot to me watching it. There's not one thing. It's that whole experience. I just absorbed a lot in that and that's all."
LaBelle's skills as an actor are on full display in The Fabelmans, a film which took in $3.1 million at the box office over the Thanksgiving weekend. The film has a 93% positive review score on the review aggregate site RottenTomatoes and is expected to be in the conversation for Best Picture in the Academy Awards. Have you seen The Fabelmans? Are you excited for it? Share your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on Twitter! The Fabelmans is now playing in theaters.