In Sony’s “A Big Beautiful Journey”, David (Colin Farrell) and Sarah (Margot Robbie) embark on a fantastical journey where they revisit their past through mysterious doors. Through one of the doors, David relives his high school days and speaks to his younger self. Yuvi Hecht plays young David in the film. The Movie Couple spoke with Hecht about his experience on the film and working opposite Colin Farrell.
The Movie Couple: In playing a younger version of David, can you talk about your process of walking the character back and breaking it down?
Yuvi Hecht: So, especially with a younger version, I studied a lot of Colin [Farrell], you know, just watching him in his previous projects. And with this specific film, I remember we talked and he gave me some great advice, and he was very generous with his time, and he really helped me tap into the younger Colin.
TMC: What were some of the back and forth between the two of you on exploring this character, and can you also touch on picking up the mannerisms as you talked about from Colin, like physically, and maybe a little bit in the way he speaks?
Hecht: I worked a lot on his accent specifically. So what I did when I was learning his accent is he literally read all of my lines into his phone. He recorded it for me, and he sent it to me, and I would just listen to it over and over and over and repeat it. And that’s how I kind of learned his accent, you know, and his
dialect. And I remember before we went to shoot, we he invited me to his trailer and I was just reading my lines, you know, and he was listening to my accent and see if there was anything that he could – any notes that he had for me. So yeah, like I said, he was super helpful and he gave me some great advice. But that made it really easy to tap into the younger Colin, is just working off of him and learning from him.
TMC: What was something that you would do or say for yourself to kind of bring yourself back into the way that he spoke or the way that he moved on set?
Hecht: What’s most important with this character since he’s such an emotional character, and you know, especially this scene where it’s one of his most vulnerable moments in his previous in his life, you know, it’s very important to bring personal experiences into the character. So that it’s very real, so you can really feel what the character is supposed to feel. So that’s what I did. I tried to bring in some previous moments in my life to this character and really live in it.
TMC: Can you also talk about your experience working on set with director Kogonada?
Hecht: He’s an incredible director. I mean, his movies are beautiful. You know, they’re very visually pleasing. I don’t know if you watched “After Yang” or “Columbus.” Those are two of my favorite movies that he made. But he comes to set with a blueprint, you know, he comes to set with all these specifics that he has in mind. But he also gave me the room as an actor to kind of explore my character. And I think as an actor, you can’t ask for much more than that, you know? Being able to feel comfortable and exploring the character and doing what you feel. He was amazing in every way.
Watch the full interview here:
“A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” is in theaters now.
About Yuvi Hecht:
Yuvi was last seen in Disney’s Pretty Freekin’ Scary. He entered the world of entertainment when he joined the ensemble cast of the award-winning short film, The Unicorn Sisters, directed by Zoey 101 alum Matthew Underwood and starring Underwood, Zoey 101’s Sean Flynn, and Jessie Alum Jennifer Veal. He followed-up with the lead role in the acclaimed short drama film, Reduction In Force, which garnered him the Best Actor Award at the 2021 Amsterdam Film Festival for playing a disillusioned young teenager coping with his mother’s divorce. He most recently wrapped a lead role as a young amateur boxer in the sports drama short film, Idle Hands. A sports and fitness enthusiast, Hecht is a strong athlete who enjoys soccer, football, basketball, and is a skilled martial arts fighter, competing in Capoeira. He speaks multiple languages, including English, German, and Hebrew, and is conversational in Spanish. Yuvi was born in Hong Kong and raised in China, Austria, and the United States. He also enjoys playing the guitar, writing, gymnastics, surfing, and diving.
