INTERVIEW: Jacob Tremblay and Nora Twomey Talk the Power of ‘My Father’s Dragon’

My Father’s Dragon is a new animated film that hit Netflix today based on the beloved book of the same name by Ruth Stiles Gannet. The film takes us through the story of Elmer (Jacob Tremblay) and his struggles in adjusting to a new life in the city and so when he escapes to an island to discover a young dragon named Boris (Gaten Matarazzo), he is only met with more of an adventure ahead and a journey to understanding his own bravery and willingness to make new friends.

It was an absolute delight for me (someone how has seen Tremblay’s work since his start in the 2015 movie Room) to talk with Tremblay about the movie and his work and what made him want to do something in the voiceover world. And what a film to be a part of because My Father’s Dragon is a perfect telling of Ruth Stiles Gannet’s work

In talking to Tremblay (and director Nora Twomey), I asked him about Elmer as a character in comparison to his work in the past. For someone as young as Jacob Tremblay is, he has had quite the career so far and all of his characters are so different from one another. So I wanted to know what it was about Elmer that drew him to the character.

“I think that Elmer’s the most ambitious character that I’ve ever played,” Tremblay said. “I love playing him so much because I feel like he’s so relatable. And I love his kind of struggle in the city and then he obviously goes to the island and he has this even crazier struggle on the island with Boris and all these animals. And he tries to keep things really grounded and focused on his mission. I think he’s so brave and at the same time, he’s so scared. And with Boris too, I think their dynamic just works so well and is so entertaining to watch because yeah, they’re so different from each other but they’re also so similar in the same way.”

You can see the rest of our interview together here:

Don’t worry, I also let Tremblay know how excited I was for his Flounder in The Little Mermaid movie! You can see My Father’s Dragon on Netflix now.

(featured image: Netflix)