Interview: Jaeden Martell on Starring in Mr. Harrigan's Phone

ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke to the star of Netflix’s Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, Jaeden Martell. The film arrives on the streamer on Wednesday, October 5.

“When Craig, a young boy living in a small town (Jaeden Martell) befriends Mr. Harrigan, an older, reclusive billionaire (Donald Sutherland), the two begin to form an unlikely bond over their love of books and reading,” says the synopsis. “But when Mr. Harrigan sadly passes away, Craig discovers that not everything is dead and gone and strangely finds himself able to communicate with his friend from the grave through the iPhone in this supernatural coming-of-age story that shows that certain connections are never lost.”

Tyler Treese: You did so great in the film version of IT. So what did it mean for you to be starring in another Stephen King adaptation?

Jaeden Martell: It was incredible. It was amazing. Everyone thinks Stephen King is brilliant because he creates these very complex and beautiful characters. Beyond the brilliance of the supernatural elements, he has an ability to write from a very human place, like a place of love and also nostalgia. So yeah, it was a privilege.

Yeah, I thought this was kind of like a full-circle moment of your early career because you grew up playing younger versions of characters played by other actors. Here we see Colin O’Brien playing a younger version of you. How surreal was that?

That is funny, I never thought about that. But, no it is fun, and it was fun also to play an age range from like,15 to 18, and to kind of evolve that character. No, it feels good. I’m growing up, I’ve grown up doing this all my life and I wouldn’t change it for the world. But then, to grow with your characters is special too.

Definitely, and you’ve worked with so many great actors already, but Donald Sutherland’s such a living legend. How was it sharing scenes with him?

It was incredible. It’s something I’ll never forget. And working with him was incredible because I was just able to watch him and study him as he would do these beautiful long monologues. But then what was also very special, what happened behind the scenes and the time that he gave me and the advice, that he shared with me. And I just feel very fortunate. I feel like, in this short time working with him, I felt like I gained a mentor and also a friend, which was amazing.

You just did Metal Lords, which was a lot of fun and had some great comedy, and this is much more dramatic. What’s been so rewarding about really showing off your range lately?

I think for me personally, it’s fun to grow and to do things I’m not necessarily comfortable with. That’s how you get better. It’s hard to get better too. It’s hard to grow as an actor. It’s so easy to do the same thing over and over again. And I feel like I’m guilty of that. I want to grow, I want to just try different things and become different characters. But yeah, it’s fun to be in a comedy and improvise. I don’t hate it, but I’m terrified of improv. Then coming into something like this, this is a little bit more emotional, and a little bit more quiet I think is it’s just fun. It’s fun, and that’s what it comes down to because this is my life and I love it and yeah, it’s good fun.

This film just explores so many interesting themes. I love the exploration of smartphones and how we interact with information online. So has that made you kind of reexamine your own smartphone usage?

I think I’ve always tried to distance myself from a little bit as much as I can. I mean, I still spend hours a day on it as everyone does. I don’t have that much self-control, but I’ve always tried to not specifically let it affect my mental health and the social media side of it.

But yeah, I like the approach that this movie took when talking about technology because it wasn’t very preachy. It was clear that both of the main characters kind of were addicted to it, just like us. Especially Craig, he saw value in it and wanted to become popular and wanted to have an iPhone. Very materialistic things, and then eventually he grows and learns that it’s not as important as you think, and I like that because it is a hard thing to get over, you know? You have to be very conscious of it. It’s easy to get addicted to it.