Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Shoplifters of the World’s Ellar Coltrane

Ellar Coltrane became a household name after his award-winning performance in Richard Linklater’s Boyhood. We (literally) watched him grow before our eyes, and he’s only continued to build on that success.

His latest film, Shoplifters of the World, follows the cultural phenomenon surrounding the legendary band, the Smiths.

Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of speaking with Ellar about Shoplifters of the World.

PC: Tell us about Shoplifters of the World and your character in the film.
Ellar: Shoplifters of the World is a loving tribute to a time and place, more specifically a cultural movement that revolved around [Steven Patrick] Morrissey and the Smiths—specifically, the moment when the band broke up and the pain that the fans felt from that.

My character is an unhinged fellow. [laughs] In the wake of the band breaking up, he decides to break into the radio station with a gun and force the DJ to play the Smiths all night.

PC: You’ve worked on projects of all sizes. What was it about this script/project that stood out to you?
Ellar: There was a lot that I related to. Obviously, I wasn’t around when the Smiths were around, but those feelings of isolation, depression, alienation from society, the untraditional, non-traditional version of masculinity that Morrissey created for himself in the midst of that movement—these are all things that I am really familiar with and felt a lot, too. There was a lot for me to connect with. It was a really beautiful journey to discover the Smiths through that.

I’ve always liked them, but I had never really dived into their whole catalog and explored the culture that surrounded them. I found a lot to relate to and a lot of similarities to the subcultures that I was part of growing up in the modern versions of the Sad Sack, sex symbol, sort of beautiful depressive artist archetype.

PC: As you dove deeper into the Smith’s catalog, was there a song that really hit home for you?
Ellar: “This Charming Man” is a song that I returned to a lot. Also, the whole Queen is Dead album is probably my favorite. There isn’t a specific song, but the whole album is really dark, but hopeful in a way that I find comforting.

PC: The Smiths have a massive fan base and there’s a lot of buzz surrounding this film. Did you, the cast, and the creators feel that pressure as you were working on this project?
Ellar: Definitely. I don’t know if I would call it pressure, though. There was definitely a responsibility, learning how important this music and this culture was to so many people. I, personally, felt a great responsibility to portray that as accurately and as lovingly as possible. Due to the flamboyant nature of it all, it’s easy to drift into caricature, fantasy, or absurdity when dealing with this stuff and portraying these characters. It was really important to me that we honored that because it is absurd, it is flamboyant, but it’s also very real. There are very real feelings that were behind all of it. I felt a responsibility to strike that balance of taking it seriously, but also not too seriously because there is an inherent absurdity to all of it.

PC: Many of your scenes are opposite Joe Manganiello, and your two characters square off throughout the film. What was it like collaborating with him?
Ellar: It was a blast. Joe is really hardworking and fun guy to be around. We both are very similar to our characters in a lot of ways. A lot of our relationship and the conversations that we were having around the characters were very similar to the development of the relationship between them. I grew up listening to emo music and he grew up listening to metal. Our relationship was the meeting of these two different subcultures and types of expression. It was really cool to bridge that gap in the same way that the characters do.

PC: Over the course of the film, we see the impact that the Smiths have had on the various characters. Has there been a band, filmmaker, artist, or actor who had a similar impact on your life?
Ellar: There are a million answers that come to mind, but Radiohead, especially during my teenage years, was extremely influential. They made me feel seen and understood, like how many people talk about the Smiths. There are definitely a lot of similarities there with my own experiences.

PC: With the film out, what do you hope audiences take away?
Ellar: The answer to the first question depends on the audience. If it’s an audience who was part of that culture and was a Smiths fan during that time, I hope it makes them feel nostalgic and they see it as a love letter to their youth. This art helped so many express their deeper feelings. Whereas if it’s someone my age who may not be as familiar with the Smiths, I hope it bridges that gap and helps them to relate to an experience that someone my age had when they were in high school with the experiences of their parents’ generation. One of the biggest takeaways for me was the feeling of comradery with the kids in the film.

To keep up with Ellar, follow him on Instagram. Shoplifters of the World is out in theaters, On Demand, and Digital.