Actor KJ Apa knew playing Hollywood star Jimmy Stewart in JIMMY would mean tackling one of Hollywood’s most recognizable voices, and he wasn’t nearly as confident as viewers might assume.
“I was terrified,” The RIVERDALE actor admitted, describing those early nerves in an interview with Variety.
Apa had revisited IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE while considering the role, wondering how someone who didn’t look, sound or stand as tall as Stewart could make the portrayal work. By the time the Christmas classic ended, he wanted the part anyway.
Then came the unglamorous work: listening, repeating and listening again. Apa worked with dialect coach Eliza Simpson and kept his developing Stewart voice to himself rather than testing it on strangers.
“My only sounding board was Eliza,” he explained. Apa said the preparation left him without the freedom he had experienced while practicing another character’s accent in everyday conversations.
Directed by Aaron Burns and written by Justin Strawhand, JIMMY opens nationwide Nov. 6. The story follows Stewart from his Oscar-winning success in THE PHILADELPHIA STORY through his World War II service and his return to acting.
That means Apa’s assignment went beyond a familiar drawl. The movie follows a star who left Hollywood to serve as a combat pilot and commander, then returned to a career whose next chapter would include George Bailey.
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Apa told Variety that he wanted audiences to understand what Stewart had done for his country, not simply recognize his screen persona. Learning about the actor’s military service helped draw him into the story when he first read the script.
His castmates say the preparation paid off. At the movie’s Oct. 17 Newport Beach premiere, producer and casting director Angela Galgani Sullivan recalled that the cast initially thought they were hearing an actual Stewart movie during their first Zoom table read, MovieMaker reported.
“I watched the movie, and I forgot it was KJ,” actor Max Casella, who plays director Frank Capra, said at the event. His praise offers a very different perspective from the anxiety Apa described before shooting.
The Variety conversation also turned personal, exploring Apa’s openness concerning addiction and struggles with food, including an appearance on actor Dylan Sprouse’s “Wildmen” podcast. Apa said he hadn’t arrived with a carefully prepared message; he was talking with a friend.
“This is a huge part of who I am,” he said. Apa explained that those experiences had occupied a significant part of his life and that people had thanked him for sharing.
Apa said he hadn’t realized that sharing would prompt that response. What started as an unprepared conversation with a friend had reached people who appreciated his honesty.
JIMMY’s emphasis on service has also resonated with Apa’s co-star Rob Riggle, who plays Colonel Terrill. The actor, comedian and retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel previously told Movieguide® he hopes the story encourages another generation to serve.
For Apa, bringing Stewart to the screen meant accepting that he couldn’t control every reaction. He could prepare, work with his fellow actors and director, and give the role his best.
After all that listening and repeating, Apa’s assessment of his work was refreshingly simple.
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