Alex Wolff on Castle in the Ground, playing dark roles and why he brings parts of himself into his characters

In the film Castle in the Ground, actor Alex Wolff plays the role of Henry, a young boy who develops an opioid addiction following the death of his terminally ill mother.

"This character, I feel like, he's lost," Wolff said in an interview with q's Tom Power. "He's really in the middle of something and he wants to feel joy — he's giggling a lot, he wants to feel that — it's just that he's at a place of such fragility."

It's not the first time the 22-year-old has played a role that tackles the darkest parts of the human psyche. He also starred in the 2018 horror film Hereditary, and he played one of the Boston Marathon bombers in the 2016 film Patriots Day.

Wolff spoke to Power during the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival about his new film Castle in the Ground and the challenge of taking on dark roles.

Castle in the Ground is still on the film festival circuit and will make its American debut in March at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.

Download our podcast or click the 'Listen' link near the top of this page to hear the full conversation with Alex Wolff.

— Produced by ​Frank Palmer