Exclusive Interview: Writer-Director Mick Davis Talks ‘Walden,’ Working With Emile Hirsch, and More

Mick Davis is an award-winning writer, director, and producer who has captivated audiences with the timely and important narratives he has brought to the screen. He is best known for projects, including Trust in Love, Eleventh Hour, and The Invisible. His latest film, Walden, finds the renowned storyteller joining forces with Emile Hirsch, Shane West, and Kelli Garner.

The gripping thriller follows Walden Dean, a stenographer whose mind witnesses all types of injustices in the courtroom. After discovering he has a terminal illness, repressed anger deep within him surfaces, taking justice into his own hands in the most gruesome ways imaginable.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Mick about Walden, the performances from his star-studded cast, and more.

PC: Tell us about Walden and the inspiration behind it?
Mick: It’s the story of a stenographer in a small town in Georgia who lives a quiet and simple life. He’s never amounted to anything more than the job that he does. When he gets some bad news about his health, he decides that he’s going to exact revenge on people who have gotten away with heinous crimes.

The inspiration came from the courtroom dramas that I would always watch. I always wondered what the hell a stenographer does when they go home at night. During the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial, while everyone was focused on Johnny and Amber, I was watching the stenographer and asking myself, “What does this lady do when she goes home at night? Does she feed the kids and take care of her husband? Does she put on a costume and save people?” That’s when Walden popped into my head.

PC: As you were penning this script, was the intention always to direct it as well?
Mick: As I was writing it, I knew exactly how I wanted it to move, look, feel, and tonally how it would work. I also knew how I could get these performances from the actors since I had created these characters. I was the only person who could understand what I needed from them in terms of their performances.

PC: Absolutely. This script demands so much from the cast, particularly the character of Walden. What was that casting process like? What made Emile [Hirsch] stand out?
Mick: When I first had coffee with him, I felt that he was a very intelligent and thoughtful person. He asked the right questions and responded beautifully to the script. I could imagine him in a bow tie, carrying that machine around. He had that physicality and compartmentation that I knew he was the right guy for the job.

PC: I imagine as the writer, you have a strong sense of who these characters are, but when you cast your actors, you want them to bring their own interpretations and make them their own. What was that process like collaborating with your ensemble? How did their performances influence the script?
Mick: When the actors come, if they’re good actors, they have a handle on what the job is and who these characters are. The script is a blueprint. You want them to take it to the next level. That’s why you have them. If you trust them and they trust you, it becomes a collaborative process. It always comes down to the casting. You can have a great script and a decent director, but if you don’t have the right cast, then you have a problem. I was very fortunate that everyone brought it to Walden. Everyone was so perfectly cast.

PC: Over the course of the film, we see the emotional toil that these cases have had on Emile’s character and the drastic measures he’ll go to seek justice. As the writer-director, how did you create the space for him to tackle that contrast and journey, especially towards the latter half of the film when he’s having that heart to heart with Kelli Garner’s character?
Mick: It was really a palette for me. The film opens with a blue sky and a lovely day. Without giving anything away, there’s a shift in color that matches the psychology of the character from blues to grays and darker tones. Ultimately, he tries to open up to his father, but that doesn’t work. The judge is a surrogate father to him, but he never goes below the surface with him because he doesn’t want to be a bother. When it comes to Emily (Kelli Garner) and that love story, he opens up because sometimes in life people will do that. They’ll open up to a stranger on the subway and be like, “I had a bad day. Let me tell you.” They’ll share that story and get off at the next step and never see them again. In this case, he felt that Emily cared so much from what she discovered about him that he owed it to her to tell her how he feels. That’s why that moment is so important between those two characters.

PC: There are so many stand-out performances across the board. Is there a scene in particular that you’re excited for audiences to see?
Mick: I love the scene in the elevator where she imposes herself on him. We see him recoiling because of the way he is and his disposition. It’s a fun moment where you see that she really wants to get to know who this guy is. I love that scene because it’s confined in the elevator. Another scene that I love is between Walden and the judge towards the end of the movie. The dialog is very powerful, and both actors gave such a tour de force performance. I was very proud.

PC: That scene in the elevator where Walden talks about feeling the words is the perfect way to describe this project. This is a film that’s going to resonate and spark a lot of conversations. What do you hope audiences take away after they see it?
Mick: That’s very kind of you to say. I just want people to enjoy the movie. There’s so much going on in the world; I just want people to enjoy the ride and maybe ask themselves whether they should love Walden or hate him. The consensus so far is that people want more of this story because they want to learn more. People have asked if there is a sequel in the works, and the answer is yes. There’s more Walden in my head, especially because Emile loves him and I love him.

Walden is in select theaters now and will be released digitally and On Demand on December 12th.