Young Werther is a new romantic comedy based on the classic smash hit novel of tragic romance, albeit with a modern spin. One of the year's funniest movies, its characters are complex and the dialogue is incredibly rich.
Taking on the title role of Werther in this engrossing adaptation of the 1774 novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is Douglas Booth.
Many of you will know him best for his roles in Jupiter Ascending, The Dirt, and Great Expectations; however, the English actor is about to break into the world of comic book adaptations with season 2 of Netflix's The Sandman.
Booth will play Cluracan, a courtier in the court of the Queen of Faerie and the brother to Nuala, who was given to Dream as a gift from his queen. Often drunk, and with a propensity to offend others even when sober, he nevertheless has served as the Queen Titania's ambassador to other realms.
During our conversation, we asked Booth what it's been like joining the world of The Sandman:
"Super excited. I had a lot of friends already working on the series and who are also cast in this series so it felt like a very friendly place to go. It could obviously feel a bit intimidating because it's such a big, beloved world. To spend a year shooting it was a great privilege and a lot of fun. The scale of the show is so huge. It was really impressive. It felt like some of the bigger movies I've worked on with the scale of the sets they were building, the amount they've invested in it, and the artisans creating it."
"Also, the use of some of the greatest locations in the UK. We shot around some really stunning places like Chatsworth House. It felt like the show had access to these incredible spaces around the UK but they also built them and integrated them. I think there was Brighton Pavilion as well, so they really used these incredible spaces and I loved seeing how they integrated that into The Sandman world with how they twisted and tweaked it to make it make sense. That was very cool."
"I hope people will really love it. It looks gorgeous and it felt very fun. My character is a hoot. I really enjoyed playing him."
The Sandman debuted to positive reviews in 2022 and the next batch of episodes is expected to drop next year. It's been a long wait but if these comments are any indication, the series will be as sweeping and epic as we've come to expect.
You can watch the full interview with Booth in the player below.
0:12 - What he enjoyed about bringing Werther into the present day
1:05 - On the challenge of making Werther a sympathetic lead we can root for
2:25 - How this character's sense of style helped him figure the character out
3:44 - Filming a fun scene with Alison Pill that mixed romance and comedy
4:20 - Having Patrick J. Adams as a love rival in the movie
5:42 - Working with the movie's complex, novel-like dialogue
6:56 - Having to take on waltzing lessons for the role
7:33 - Exploring Werther and Paul's friendship
8:50 - His role in The Sandman season 2
10:35 - What he'd like to see from future Hollywood romcoms
Patrick J. Adams, Douglas Booth and Alison Pill star in this romantic comedy based on the classic smash hit novel of tragic romance. While on a simple errand to Toronto, a carefree and charming young writer named Werther stumbles across the love of his life only to discover that the young woman is engaged. Despite the urgings of his hypochondriac best friend, Werther turns his world upside down in a desperate, misguided and hilarious quest to win her heart.
Young Werther will be in Theaters, On Digital and On Demand December 13, 2024.