Nat Wolff is a chameleon. He got us showering sympathies on his character, Isaac, in the tearjerker of 2014, The Fault in our Stars, riding high with reckless abandon as Fred in Palo Alto, and geeking out as Quentin in Paper Towns. It’s the film that everyone knows about whether you’re into high school movies or not, because, let’s be honest, it’s Cara Delevingne’s first major acting role. But don’t let the model-turned-actress-watch-this-awkward-interview-look-at-her-designer-dress chat surrounding the Insta-star distract from the film’s other protagonist. In between texts from Cara herself and getting told not to reveal Paper Towns’ surprise cameo (hint hint, this person and Nat have worked together before…), we talk high school, Instagram followers and getting arrested with the young actor.
Your character in Palo Alto is so different to Quentin in Paper Towns…
That’s really cool, no one’s been bringing Palo Alto up.
I love that film!
Yeah, me too.
Which did character did you prefer to play?
Honestly, those are my two favorites because I got to swing between both. They’re both really meaty parts — totally different. With Palo Alto I kind of connected to the part of myself that I keep hidden, the part that needs a lot of attention and is really angry! For Paper Towns I think I went back in a time machine to when I was 12 or 13 and was a little more innocent and… nice!
Which were you more like in school?
Well, I hope I wasn’t like Fred. I was much more like Quentin. In middle school I was quite quiet and then in high school I kind of opened up. My character in Palo Alto was pretty awful to people but I still loved playing that. I feel for him but it was one of those things where when I finished filming I needed to rest, I was exhausted. Whereas this one – I could still be filming Paper Towns and be happy.
What was it like working with Cara Delevingne?
It was great. She came into the chemistry read, and I’m the only person in the whole world who didn’t know who she was, so I just saw her as a really good actress. She just took off her shoes and kind of was that character, she was Margot. She’s crazy and sensitive, it’s a perfect mix.
Do you think her social media profile is good for her in terms of becoming an actress, or in promoting the film?
I hope people will be able to just go see the movie and just accept how good she is as an actress.
Do you like social media?
I don’t use it as much as Cara. I like it for my band because I can say, “Hey, we have this concert coming up… come!” you know? And I like it because I can, once in a while, think of something funny to put on it, but it’s not a huge part of my life.
Do you ever get told you have to do it as part of your job?
No, not yet, but I feel like a certain kind of movie that I haven’t done yet would be more aggressive. John Green [writer of The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns] and the people in the studio are pretty cool, they’re pretty relaxed. Now I have more than a million followers on Instagram which is crazy, but I still have trouble logging into my own account so I send my pictures to my brother to post because we share an account. Now that I have a million followers I should probably learn how to!
Do you like Margot’s character?
Yeah, I mean I think she’s everything Quentin’s not. She’s intangible, and wild and spontaneous. He’s more planned out, and honestly I think Quentin doesn’t really know Margot. I think the conversation they have in the diner is the first time they really talked and they connected. After that maybe they’ll get to know each other and fall in love, and then they’ll break up and she’ll break his heart again for the 10th time.
Do you think it’s inevitable that you project these fantasies onto people?
I think it’s impossible not to. As she said in the movie, she also cultivated it a bit.
Do you think she’s attention-seeking?
Yeah. Quentin and Margot are opposite sides of the spectrum. Quentin wants to disappear and has planned out his whole life. Margot really is wild and spontaneous and fun and free, but at the same time she’s unreliable. They’re the kind of people who can help each other come into the middle a little bit.
[Gets text]
It’s Cara!
What’s she saying?!
We’re trying to go to the Strokes tonight in Hyde Park, I think she got five tickets or something but then Jake our director showed up so we’re trying get more.
I’m sure you’ll find a way… Have you ever pulled any good pranks in real life?
I’m not the best at pranks, but one of the things I thought about a lot when I was making the movie – this is kind of a strange story – was this time when I was in the eleventh grade and I was with my best friends in the subway with our instruments, and there were a couple of other people from our high school, like dancers. We were playing the Beatles on the train and getting all these people to sing with us, and people started dancing, it was a wonderful moment, and then I got arrested by two undercover cops. They put us against a wall and it sounds kinda scary but it was really fun!
Why were you arrested?
Honestly what I think happened was they had been following somebody else and we were just creating this huge scene and just blowing their whole thing! People were doing pull-ups on the subway bar, we were being idiots but it was a fun memory – that had nothing to do with your question!
What happened after you were arrested?
We got put up against a wall and they held up a picture of a gun and were like, “Do you know what this is?” and I was like, “Yeah… that’s a gun.” They were just yelling at us then we had to put our hands behind our backs and walk one in front of the other with one cop at the back and one cop at the front. They walked us out then just said like, “ok you’re free to go!”