Jacob Tremblay draws similarity between 'Luca' and COVID-19

Directed by "La Luna" fame Enrico Casarosa, the animated film is a coming-of-age adventure that revolves around a 13-year-old boy Luca (Tremblay) living on the Italian Riviera, who with his new friend Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer) are hiding a secret: they are both sea monsters from a world below the water's surface. 

The young actor said he could relate to his titular character's curiosity about the world above the sea. 

"I can relate to Luca, especially because of COVID-19 right now as we're all stuck indoors and to be able to get out in the world, which is explicitly fun, it will be really cool," Tremblay told PTI in a Zoom interview from Vancouver. 

The 14-year-old actor, who has been part of several noteworthy movies including "Shut In", "Wonder", and "Doctor Sleep", said due to COVID-19 restrictions, he is unable to meet his friends and play outside but keeps in touch with them via social media. 

Tremblay said he fell in love with the concept of sea monsters in "Luca" and was thrilled to lend his voice for the lead role in the Pixar Animation Studios film. 

"Pixar has been such a big part of my childhood. I celebrated the moment with my family. Before COVID-19 hit, I was able to go to a California studio and record there. After COVID-19 hit, I started recording here in Vancouver," he recalled. 

The actor, who began his acting career with television and made his film debut with the live-action-animated feature "The Smurfs 2" in 2013, detailed a key difference between acting in front of the camera and giving a voice-over for a film. 

"When you're filming live action, you get to work with other actors, you get to like work off their emotions well and it kind of helps the scene. But when you're doing animation most of the time there isn't someone doing the lines with you, you have to do it on your own." 

For "Luca", Tremblay credited director Casarosa for making things easy. 

"He was really able to let me bring out that kind of natural aspect and record it well," he added. 

The actor said he finds joy in playing different roles and he is happy "Luca" gave him the opportunity to explore yet another unique character. 

"I love when I'm able to play different characters and be completely distinctive every time. I like to jump into new characters. I have become a new person, almost," he added. 

Tremblay said he believes in being well-prepared for his roles before going on sets. 

"I usually prepare by reading through the lines I am going to do that day. I would do that on the car till I get there. In the case of ''Luca'' what really helped was the Pixar Studio would have pictures on the wall, like concept art for the characters. 

"So if there was a character I was talking to in the scene I would be able to look at the poster on the wall and know who I was talking to. Also, they would show me small clips from the movie. All this helps me get into character," he shared. 

Tremblay also talked about his heart-warming performance as Jack Newsome in the 2015 acclaimed and award-winning film "Room", that remains his career best role. 

The movie revolves around a young woman (Brie Larson) who has been held captive for seven years and whose five-year-old son (Tremblay) was born in captivity. Their escape allows the boy to experience the outside world for the first time. Larson won the best actress Oscar for the role. 

"It was really quite interesting how my life completely changed after ''Room'' and I was so little at the time, so I wasn't really able to understand how much of a big deal this was... What was happening to me was like a one in a million chance. So it's really quite crazy to think about it now, looking back," Tremblay said. 

"Luca" is slated to be released on Disney+ Hotstar Premium on June 18.