This article originally appeared in i-D’s The Superstar Issue, no. 354, Winter 2018
Jack Dylan Grazer has a never-ending slew of Hollywood legends that he’s desperate to make movies with. “It’s huge!” he jokes about the size of his list. “Maybe 40, 50, 60 people.” But as each new project passes, that collection of names seems to be getting shorter. The 15-year-old star recently checked one name off the list –– Steve Carell.
Last year, Jack signed on to appear in the heartbreaking addiction drama, Beautiful Boy. In it, he plays the 12-year-old version of Timothée Chalamet’s meth-addicted character, Nic. In a real ‘pinch me’ moment, the fawned over star of The Office was his on-screen dad. “I was really nervous about meeting Steve, but he was such an amazing person,” Jack confesses. “We had the best chemistry –– he just treated me like I was his son.”
Beautiful Boy is a far cry thematically from the film that made Jack famous: last year’s instant cult-horror classic, It. Jack played Eddie, a neurotic, sardonic teen who joins forces with his school friends to bring down Pennywise, the killer clown. The byproduct is the 2.5 million Instagram fans that now follow his every move. “I don’t let it get to me,” he says, when asked if this new-found recognition is hard to handle. “I don’t even care about things like the red carpet – that all just comes with it.” Jack, bashful and awkward, just like every other teen, takes a second to clarify what he means –– he’s not bored of it all quite yet. “I mean, I’m just I’m so grateful that I get to work on movies in the first place.”
Next up is a gargantuan new movie in the DC Comics universe called Shazam! For a kid who spent much of his childhood idolising Batman the whole experience is a bit too surreal. Fame may have become his new normal, but he still likes to put it all down to luck rather than hard work. Perhaps that’s what keeps his ego in check. “I have a pretty normal life. I’m just a kid who goes to school!” he stresses. “I have to do homework too!”
Credits
Photography Cameron McCool
Styling Melissa Levy
Hair Dylan Chavles at Art Department using Oribe. Make-up Holly Silius at Lowe and Co Worldwide using Giorgio Armani Beauty. Photography assistance Olivia Rosenberg. Styling assistance Mei Ling Cooper, Emily Diddle and Rachele Antjuanette. Production Richie Davies.