Jeremy Allen White

“Miller’s Crossing, I discovered this movie in high school, and it’s become such a comfort film of mine. I’m a big rewatcher. There’s something about the score of this film that’s very warm and cozy. The production design, the wardrobe. It’s where I discovered Albert Finney. I wasn’t familiar with Albert Finney at all until I saw this film, and I was so glad for this particular introduction to him. Maybe my favorite John Turturro performance ever. Gabriel Byrne is, like, as cool as it gets. I love this movie so much. I had this baseball cap that I wore for six years, and I was walking in New York five years ago, and it was a very windy, rainy day in New York, and the cap flew off my head and I wanted to go chase it, but this film is so ingrained in me, I think of Gabriel Byrne saying, “There’s nothing more foolish than a man chasing his own hat.” So I just let the hat go. But I love this film. I’m going to take it home with me.”

“This is Melville, Le Samouraï. Very meditative. Very sparse. The performance is so nuanced. You could tell that he really trusted himself. He trusted that the camera was going to find him, find his eyes, and read what was going on. There was no pushing. There was no forcing. Really, really beautiful. And I’m very grateful for that.”

“Mike Leigh’s Naked. I watched this one when I was in high school and going through a particularly, like, high-school time in my life. I was mad at the world. And there was something so punk about this film, watching Johnny just make his way through London, after running away from Manchester. He’s, like, a really putrid, putrid man, but somehow he gets you. You’re invested, you’re interested. You can see all the pain in him. I did a TV show, Shameless, for a long time, and I remember seeing this performance and… and trying to instill a little bit of Johnny into… into my character, into Philip Gallagher. Mike Leigh’s a legend, and… and, yeah, this performance stands up.”

“On to Linklater. Dazed and Confused. I watched this movie in high school and continued to watch it until I graduated and left New York and moved to Los Angeles. It’s, like, about the end of innocence, the fear of growing up. It makes you want to stay this age forever. It’s about, you know, the idea of peaking and fully realizing yourself as a young person, as a teenager, but also about maybe not having found yourself entirely yet. It makes me think about having grown up in Park Slope, even though Park Slope’s very far away from Texas.”

“Okay, I’ve talked about this movie so much. I went to see this movie in theaters. It’s the only time I’ve left a theater, I’ve looked up at the showtimes, saw the next showing, waited around for a couple hours, went back into the cinema to watch it again. Just fills you with… with hope. You’re following this guy, Jep, he’s such a cynic, or you think he’s such a cynic, but he, over the course of the film, remains incredibly hopeful and open to… to the beauty of the world. And it’s, like, very… it’s very romantic. It’s a man looking back at his past and wondering if maybe he’s lived his life the wrong way. And I think when I saw the film, what struck me is the reminder to look back and make sure you’re living your life the way that you want to. The Great Beauty is coming with me. It’s going to go in the bag.”

“Virgin Suicides. One of the greatest debuts. It’s so confident. It’s so beautiful. It’s so stylized. The colors are remarkable. It’s very sad. It’s very sweet. It’s a very perfect movie, and it’s coming home with me.”

“Thief. Me and Chris Storer talk about this movie a lot. Chris created The Bear. Michael Mann, Chicago guy. Cool as hell. Beautiful. I’m so glad I have this one in my hands because there was a period where it was just impossible to find. You couldn’t stream it anywhere. You couldn’t buy it anywhere. So I’m glad I have it.”

“Okay, for my last pick, I’m just going to pick one at random and watch it later today. Okay. Can’t even pronounce it. We’re going to watch it.”