Interview: Theo Rossi Talks ‘Bruton’ and Telling Compelling True Stories

In Bruton, Theo Rossi is taking on the role of Bryan Bruton with the true story of how one bad decision resulted in eleven life-changing years of incarceration. However, Bruton’s past hustling experience led him to find a path behind bars by building businesses.

“Here’s the thing that I think is really difficult, not just in acting, but in our society today: we have to understand that we look at certain things different as people. People who go to prison in our minds, and maybe it’s a self-soothing thing that we do that if you’re in prison, you’re guilty, and if you’re in prison, you’re a terrible person, and sorry, that’s it. We just decided this in our head. And I learned in this what I’ve kind of known because I had done a lot of prison advocacy before it: that that’s just not the case. There’s a human behind there, there’s people that make mistakes, there’s things that happen, and sometimes they’re really terrible to deal with, and sometimes they’re really terrible to hear and listen to in certain cases, and you have to understand that there’s still a person behind there. That’s someone’s son or daughter, and people make mistakes and things occur. So the first thing I have to [do] is go in nonjudgmental in every way.”

Rossi doesn’t just star in this unique project, but also serves as an executive producer. His preparation included talking to Bruton, his family, and people who knew him. The film spans 13 years, but one thing stays the same throughout: his love for his daughter, Crystal.

“I do all my research, then I learn, and then I go, okay, we all make mistakes. It’s just what level of mistake that is, and then we have to understand what is the payback for that mistake, right? And who decides that, right? So for me, I have to look at things, and when I looked at this with him, I was like, how do I create a well-rounded person? The one thing that got me from the beginning was his love for his daughter. Regardless of what was going on in his life was this love for this thing, and I have that with my own kids. I have that with my animals. I have that with my wife. I have that with my friends. I’ve had the same friends for 40 years. It’s like, I have this deep love of this thing. Okay, no matter what I do or what happens, we’re gonna struggle, but we’re still gonna have that love, and how do we get it back to when I get away from myself? So for him, it was like, how does he get away from himself?”

He continued to say, “We’re scanning this long period of a guy’s life, and we all know this. You take anybody, I dare anybody to do this: go back 13 years in your life and tell me what you’ve learned. You’re not nearly the same person, and if you are, that’s trouble. Everybody changes. Everybody learns something. We all think we know everything. We don’t, and I had to go through the growth of this person, and in that, growing myself in the role, like growing as me, Theo, and then growing with watching Bryan’s growth throughout. It was extraordinary.”

Rossi can next be seen in Come With Me, releasing in select theaters on September 4, and The Saviors, which comes out March 26.

Watch Awards Radar’s full video interview with the actor below, where we discuss indie movies, the importance of making audiences feel something, navigating the authenticity of Bryan’s real-life relationships, the voice-over recording process, and much more. Please note: this conversation will contain spoilers.