![\"Austin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Interview_Issue-569_Fall-2026_austin-abrams_4.jpg\")
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Austin Abrams wears Jacket Dior, T-shirt Stylist\u2019s Own.<\/p>\n
Austin Abrams has made a career out of looking like he\u2019s one bad moment away from falling apart. He was Ethan on Euphoria and the guy who somehow held his own between Brad Pitt<\/a> and George Clooney<\/a> in Wolfs. Then came Weapons, Zach Cregger<\/a>\u2019s horror hit that let Abrams do what he does best: barely hold it together under the most extreme circumstances. Now Cregger has cast him as the lead in his Resident Evil reboot, playing a medical courier fighting his way through a zombie outbreak, while Whalefall puts him in an even tighter spot: a grieving son trapped inside a sperm whale with 60 minutes of oxygen. It\u2019s a strange, high-profile stretch for a rising actor, one that his Weapons costar and newly minted Oscar winner Amy Madigan wanted to know all about.<\/p>\n TUESDAY 3:30 PM SEP. 1, 2026 LA<\/p>\n \u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n AMY MADIGAN: How are you, dude? You\u2019re about to have two unbelievable kick-ass movies come out. How are you feeling?<\/p>\n AUSTIN ABRAMS: I\u2019m grateful for you talking with me, big time. I was so happy for you when you won an Oscar.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Can you believe that?<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Well yes, because I remember sitting behind the monitor and thinking, \u201cI\u2019m watching an iconic performance right now.\u201d<\/p>\n MADIGAN: That\u2019s too kind.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: I\u2019m not trying to be kind. It\u2019s so cool to know everyone else felt that way too.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: It\u2019s still like, \u201cWhat happened?\u201d But the best thing about it is we made a really good film, and now I have a little naked gold man.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: You sleep with it every night, I\u2019m assuming.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: It\u2019s on my dresser. I\u2019ve got laundry piled on it.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: It makes a good hanger. Both you and Gladys deserved that. She was a great character.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: She really was. I miss her! What is it about Zach Cregger? What does he see? What\u2019s your vibe with him? He obviously connects with you.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: He\u2019s just such a good director, such a good writer, and has such vision, but then he\u2019s also so great at comedy. It\u2019s rare to get that.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: He\u2019s really got those chops down, doesn\u2019t he? Without being super obvious about it in terms of genre.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: He\u2019s not necessarily trying to be funny, he\u2019s just writing, and then it\u2014<\/p>\n MADIGAN: It just is.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: I don\u2019t think he thought Weapons was funny.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Weapons has some laughs in it, man.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: I think it\u2019s hilarious.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: I love the scene where you\u2019re looking for money so you can score, and you\u2019re trying the handles on a whole string of cars to see if one is open. You move like [Mikhail] Baryshnikov or something. You have such a beautiful flow and you\u2019re very secure in your body, which I also saw in Whalefall. You\u2019re just a physical guy, and I\u2019m curious if you\u2019ve played sports? Did you get into theater or something and then realize, \u201cI can use my body in this way?\u201d<\/p>\n ABRAMS: I\u2019ve always been doing sporty things, but never something where I was on a team.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: You weren\u2019t a jock.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: No, but the school I went\u00a0to had PE and recess one after another, so it would be hours of just playing around. I also come from Florida, so there was always a lot of physical stuff and being outside.<\/p>\n Shirt, Pants, Tie, and Gloves Tom Ford. Sleeve Garter Stylist\u2019s Own.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: I\u2019m not giving away too much in Whalefall when I say you play a man who suddenly ends up inside a whale, but even in that confined space, you were very physical. Were you claustrophobic when you were filming it? I got claustrophobic watching it.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: There were times where I was really, really squished in there, but generally not too much. And the wetsuit I wore was as tight as could possibly be.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Can I ask if it had a zipper on it?<\/p>\n ABRAMS: On the wetsuit?<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Yes, in case you had to pee.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: No, no, no.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: So once you were in there, you were in there?<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Yeah, and I feel like I pee a lot, so there were times when I was screwed.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: When you get to be my age, you really pee a lot.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Oh, no. It\u2019s going to be bad.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: It\u2019s a beautiful film that\u2019s ultimately about a father and son in a contentious relationship. When you\u2019re in a situation like that, do you use your own memories? Do you like to draw from your own reality or life situations, or do you go a different way?<\/p>\n ABRAMS: It\u2019s interesting because everyone has different methods. There\u2019s stories of certain actors like, I don\u2019t know, Margot Robbie, where she\u2019s like, \u201cYou want me to cry from this eye or that eye?\u201d<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Exactly.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: To me, the loveliest part is when the story affects you on an emotional level, and hopefully you\u2019ve done whatever work you can to inform that. I\u2019ve found trying to strong-arm a memory isn\u2019t super effective.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: It was nice seeing you in Whalefall because I saw you embodying this character in ways I hadn\u2019t seen in your other work. Do you feel like you\u2019re going through some type of metamorphosis?<\/p>\n ABRAMS: I\u2019m curious what you mean by that, because there\u2019s a lot of different ways I can interpret it.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Have you found either of these pieces have changed your perspective? How you looked at yourself or the way you work? I\u2019m always curious how the work informs what we do and vice versa.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: I do know they were both fairly intense processes, which is really rewarding and also really challenging.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Yeah, that\u2019s a good feeling.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Especially doing things that make you appreciate the body.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Yes.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: So often with these physical things, you just throw yourself into it and think, \u201cWhatever needs to be done,\u201d but coming out of them, it\u2019s like, \u201cNo, these things have long-term effects.\u201d<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Definitely. Have you ever felt you\u2019ve gone too far or put yourself in jeopardy?<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Definitely. I\u2019ve come out of things and realized, \u201cOh, this body part doesn\u2019t feel the same anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n MADIGAN: \u201cMy rotator cuff is not working. What happened?\u201d<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Yeah, and it\u2019s wild. For some reason with the work, I just assumed it would be fine because it\u2019s for a relatively short amount of time. There have definitely been some hairy situations with stunts, and I\u2019ve done a decent amount of them.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: You like doing that?<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Yeah. I feel a compulsion to do it when I\u2019m there. Resident Evil is maybe the one where I don\u2019t think I did.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: I heard via some folks who worked on it that it was a tough shoot.<\/p>\n Shirt and Belt Stylist\u2019s Own. Jeans DLR.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Yeah, definitely. Anytime you\u2019re doing an all-night shoot\u2014<\/p>\n MADIGAN: In the snow.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Have you done all-nights?<\/p>\n MADIGAN: I haven\u2019t in a while, but I have.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: It was about two or three months of nights, and you think you\u2019re good, but you get to week one, week two, and everyone starts to feel it.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: A psychosis.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Yeah, it just automatically makes everything a little bit harder. Do you like night shoots?<\/p>\n MADIGAN: I\u2019m a nighttime person in general, my normal circadian rhythms are like that. That\u2019s why doing my theater is such a nice thing for me, but Resident Evil was all these nights for two months, three months?<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Three months, yeah.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Man, that must have been brutal. You can\u2019t really prep for that, you\u2019re just in it.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: You\u2019re just doing it and trying to figure out the best way to feel good while you\u2019re doing it.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: I have to give you a big clap on the back because I talked to some people who worked on that. They told me you were the hero, that you were the reason everybody was solid. Everybody was going to follow you into battle.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Oh, that\u2019s cute.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Whatever it took, people were going to do it, and that\u2019s not something you can manufacture. I think that comes from you.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Oh, thanks. When you\u2019re working, you\u2019ve got to go for it. Everyone\u2019s responding off each other\u2019s energy, and you have to do the best you can to make the right kind of energy, especially when something is hard.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Do you like doing rehearsal?<\/p>\n ABRAMS: It depends on how useful it is. It can either be great for discovery, or it can end up being limiting. Like you run the idea to the bone and then when you get there, it doesn\u2019t feel fresh anymore.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Exactly. It\u2019s a delicate balance between over and under rehearsal. I like to rehearse, but not a lot. If something\u2019s really, really important, like, \u201cThe camera is going to do this and it can only accommodate that,\u201d I\u2019d rather know that, but it depends on what\u2019s going on, what the director likes, how the other people in the scene feel.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: I love working with Zach because I can throw out a ton of ideas and he\u2019ll pick up what\u2019s working and what isn\u2019t. Did you have a similar experience with him playing Gladys, or were you like, \u201cI know what I want to do. I\u2019m coming in and doing it?\u201d<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Zach has an amazing ability to leave things very open and allow them to breathe. It was very freeing, and after reading the script I felt like, \u201cI know who this person is. I know who this woman is. I love her.\u201d Zach just knew how to make Gladys come out.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: It\u2019s so interesting how putting on some sort of costume really does allow a greater freedom.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: I was thinking about that when I watched you in Whalefall. You were squished, but in that tightness, there was this release in you because you were so committed to the idea of \u201cI\u2019m going to get out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n ABRAMS: It was crazy because they really did build everything. They built every stomach, they built the throat, they built the mouth. It was crazy to be part of a project that was fully going for it. Just like, \u201cWe\u2019re doing this full throttle.\u201d It was a unique experience.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: I bet. You\u2019re not going to have that one again, I\u2019m sure.<\/p>\n Sweater and Pants Celine. Shirt Stylist\u2019s Own.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Do you find you\u2019re drawn to specific parts at this point?<\/p>\n MADIGAN: I\u2019m a very script-driven person. I would be remiss if I didn\u2019t say I\u2019m certainly on people\u2019s radar more than I usually have been, which is a very nice feeling. I don\u2019t take it for granted, because it\u2019s all relative. At this point in my life, it\u2019s like, \u201cWhat do you want to do with your time?\u201d I\u2019m very open to taking a challenge. I\u2019m not one of those people who are like, \u201cI\u2019m terrified and that means I have to do it.\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cWhat\u2019s the idea? What are we saying here?\u201d I\u2019m motivated in that way.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Is there something you feel you want to say at this point?<\/p>\n MADIGAN: I don\u2019t have something specific. Sometimes I wish I did because maybe my life would be easier, but probably not. I really want to just continue doing what I do and work with really good people who commit as severely as I do. How about you? How do you make your next decision?<\/p>\n ABRAMS: I relate to what you\u2019re saying, because I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever\u00a0felt like I\u2019m looking for one specific thing either. I want to enjoy the process of being surprised by something, which is why I love Zach so much. I love movies where you can feel the director in the atmosphere they\u2019ve created.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: I feel like Paul Thomas Anderson is one of those people.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Totally. The whole thing is such a curious, magical, ethereal process. How do you feel about the ups and downs of your experience in this work, because you\u2019ve recently had a big up?<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Yes, but the way down is fast.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Yeah, I know that.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: I\u2019ve been doing this a long time. I\u2019ve had some very, very fallow times. I had conversations with myself some years ago, thinking, \u201cMaybe I\u2019ve retired and nobody told me yet.\u201d Certainly, you can get older and still know you\u2019re capable of doing really good work. That\u2019s crazy-making in itself, but it\u2019s the journey, you know what I mean? I feel like I\u2019m still grinding. I\u2019ve talked to younger people, and I always say, \u201cIf there\u2019s something else you can do, you should go do it.\u201d You have to be driven to do this, you have to really want to do this, and you cannot be deterred from doing it. That doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re an asshole, but you have to have a clear path, and it\u2019s very difficult. I hit 55 or something, and I was like, \u201cJesus, maybe I\u2019ll just pay somebody to hire me.\u201d<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Have you learned to find your rhythm in terms of working and not working?<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Certainly, the older you get, life just smashes you. It interferes with what you\u2019re trying to say or do or be, and work is such a release for that, such a pleasure, so you have to balance those things out. I look at things differently now than I did 10 years ago, but the impetus of being involved with really exciting, good people and working on good stuff, that\u2019s still there.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Do you find that when you finish working on something with a lot of intensity, it feels like you\u2019re barren?<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Absolutely.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: It can feel like there\u2019s nothing left to give, and that\u2019s a tricky feeling to deal with.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: It\u2019s like when a play closes and you\u2019re like, \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n ABRAMS: It\u2019s a tricky time.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Are you feeling like that now? Talking about things you\u2019ve done that are in the can?<\/p>\n ABRAMS: I wouldn\u2019t say as much now. It\u2019s been some time since we finished, depending on what it is. There can be a recovery period.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: That\u2019s important to do, honest to god.<\/p>\n Sweater, Pants, and Shoes Bottega Veneta. Shirt Stylist\u2019s Own.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: You want to have something to give.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Some people don\u2019t. I don\u2019t know them, but you sometimes see people who are just working, working, working, and I always think, \u201cYou need to take a break.\u201d How ridiculous of me to even have those conversations with someone I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Tom Cruise is the epitome of that. The energy levels on that man sound mythic.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Or something.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: I don\u2019t know how he\u2019s doing what he\u2019s doing.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Maybe Mr. Cruise doesn\u2019t know. I have no idea.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Yeah. He\u2019s living on a whole different plane of energy.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Without me prying or anything, do you have people close to you who are there with you when you\u2019re really concentrating and still there in the downtime?<\/p>\n ABRAMS: The people you end up working with maybe can end up providing that kind of relationship. I know Zach and I developed a close understanding of each other.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: That\u2019s awfully nice, because that doesn\u2019t happen all the time.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: No. I\u2019m very grateful he wanted to work with me, really. I also feel really honored and moved that you would sit down and talk with me.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: I\u2019m telling you, this was a no-brainer.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Oh, thank you.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Not that you need to hear, but I believe in you. As a performer, as an actor, but more importantly as a man. I like your intensity. I like that rhythm.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Thanks. This has been really lovely.<\/p>\n MADIGAN: Thanks, my friend.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Okay. Be well.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n Groomer:\u00a0Jamie Taylor\u00a0using\u00a0California Born\u00a0at\u00a0A-Frame Agency.<\/p>\n Set Design:\u00a0James Rene at\u00a0Jones Management.<\/p>\n Photo Assistant:\u00a0Dominic Haydn Rawle.<\/p>\n Styling Assistant:\u00a0Sophie Stedman.<\/p>\n Production Director:\u00a0Alexandra Weiss.<\/p>\n Photo Producer:\u00a0Georgia Ford.<\/p>\n On-set Producer:\u00a0Richard Knickerbocker.<\/p>\n Production Assistant:\u00a0CJ Sebastian.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Austin Abrams wears Jacket Dior, T-shirt Stylist\u2019s Own. Austin Abrams has made a career out of looking like…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630576,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[60956,199039,430,156,309147,111,139,69,28320,14191,199040],"class_list":["post-630575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-amy-madigan","tag-austin-abrams","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-fall-2026-issue","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-resident-evil","tag-weapons","tag-whalefall"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Austin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Interview_Issue-569_Fall-2026_austin-abrams_2.jpg\")
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