Robert De Niro & Adam Scott on How The Whisper Man Tackles Generational Trauma
In advance of the release of Netflix’s new thriller The Whisper Man, Mashable executive producer Mark Stetson sat down with stars Robert De Niro, Adam Scott, director James Ashcroft, and author Alex North to discuss the film’s theme of generational trauma, the complex dynamics between fathers and sons, and the process of adapting the highly anticipated novel for the screen.
Author of the book, Alex North discussed the book’s themes that were most important to translate to film: “This is a book that I wanted to write because it was about fathers and sons, and grandfathers and fathers and sons. And different iterations of the way that plays out in terms of generational trauma. How we respond to things that have happened in our childhood, how we protect our children from things that have happened in our childhood, how we pass things down and how we don’t.”
Adam Scott was particularly drawn to North’s themes. “I thought it was a really interesting part of the script, this horrifying trauma that they are both going through while simultaneously trying to repair their relationship.”
De Niro added, “It was one of the things that attracted me to the script, that relationship.”
At the close of the interview, Robert De Niro shares his candid advice for young actors who experience imposter syndrome when working with their heroes: “If it manifests in a such a way where it gets in the way of working on a scene, I’d say, ‘It’s ok, don’t worry. In two days, it’s all going to go away. It’s just us.”
