Brahms: The Boy 2 Interview With Christopher Convery – Screen Rant

2016s The Boy was a sleeper hit of the horror genre, but its upcoming sequel, Brahms: The Boy II, looks to be bigger in every way and one of the film's stars could not be more excited to be attacked by the evil doll.

William Brent Bell's original The Boy told a twisted story about perception and reality as a peculiar nannying job for a doll begins to spiral wildly out of control. Bell returns with Brahms: The Boy II, which pits the life-like doll against a new, unsuspecting family. After the first film revealed some of the secrets behind Brahms, this sequel looks like it gets even crazier as the young boy in this family, Jude, befriends the odd effigy.

Related: 10 Killer Dolls Who Aren't Chucky Or Annabelle

The cast of Brahms: The Boy II is headlined by Katie Holmes, Ralph Ineson, and Christopher Convery, who plays the role of Jude. Converys Jude is the most susceptible to the dangers of Brahms and ScreenRant was fortunate enough to get to talk to him about filming with such a creepy creation, how Brahms ups his game in this sequel, and who he thinks would win in a killer doll showdown between Brahms, Chucky, and Annabelle.

ScreenRant: Whats your relationship with the horror genre? Were you a big fan of it before doing this movie?

Christopher Convery: Yes, I honestly just love the horror genre. I think it's just so much funwhether it's at home or at the movie theaterto just get your friends together, get your popcorn, and just get scared as a group. It's such a fun experience.

Do you have a favorite horror movie or one that really stands out to you?

Christopher Convery: I really loved Us. Halloween is another big favorite of mine, too. But really, the first Boy is another one I love. It's so amazing.

Obviously then you watched the first Boy movie. Was that useful at all for inspiration or was it able to better help you prepare for your role here?

Christopher Convery: It actually helped me a lot. As soon as I got the role I watched the first movie and the thing that stood out to me the most was the film's tone. I tried to incorporate that atmosphere into how I delivered my lines and my character as a whole.

It's the same director [William Brent Bell] too, so it's great that you could also get a bit of a feel for his style before officially working with him.

Christopher Convery: The director was so amazing and he really helped me so much. We'd have these meetings where we'd just read through the script and both give each other input on the different scenes. We'd makes these little changes along the way that really helped bring Jude to life and make him more than just a character on a page.

Are there any examples of that or other big changes that you added to Jude during the production process?

Christopher Convery: This was actually pretty cool. Katie Holmes was actually watching a video of me playing piano on my Instagram page and she liked it enough that she showed it to the director. They then both got the idea that it would be fun to add a whole new scene in the film where I'm playing piano, which happened!

You mentioned Katie Holmes, who plays your mom in this. She's a real veteran of the industry. What was it like getting to work with her?

Christopher Convery: She was amazing and so nice. She did this one thing, which I was able to learn from her, where she would improvise a lot, whether it was through dialogue or her actions with me. It really helps the audience believe what you're doing and that we're a real family because that improvisation makes it seem so natural.

Were there any acting lessons or tricks that you learned from either Katie Holmes or anyone else while working on this film?

Christopher Convery: Just in general it was helpful to watch how everyone approached their roles in different ways or how they would get in character. It was such a big learning experience for me.

Were there any scenes in the film that were particularly challenging to get into the right mindset for or took more preparation than others?

Christopher Convery: All of the scenes with me and the doll, Brahms, were a bit of a challenge. When I first met Brahms I thought he was so creepy. In the first movie he's made out of porcelain, but in this one he's made out of silicone. He has this really human-like skin and these realistic-looking eyes, so Brahms really gets an upgrade. There's so much detail on him that helps make him look like an actual human. It's so creepy.

There was even this one moment where we were getting ready for a scene and the lights were off. I suddenly felt something weird touching my neck, then the lights turn back on, but nobody's there. It's just Brahms. So now Brahms has officially made me afraid of dolls.

Obviously you're a little frightened by dolls now, but is there anything else that scares you?

Christopher Convery: Insects, especially spiders. Creepy things in general get to me!

Brahms: The Boy II is a sequel that will hopefully be able to surpass the first one. Do you have any favorite sequels that you think are even better than the original?

Christopher Convery: It's maybe not so much a sequel, but I really like the original version of Halloween and how that franchise starts off. It sets such a strong standard.

There have been a lot of recent horror films that feature a family dynamic and emphasize the importance of that, whether it's this movie, A Quiet Place, or Us. Why do you think this might be happening?

Christopher Convery: I don't know for sure, but it probably helps to process something scary or traumatic together as a family, rather than being alone. At the end of all of this horror you get to have everyone come together as a family and maybe be even stronger or appreciate each other more than they did before.

Some horror films have a lot of gore and make use of practical effects. Are you fans of those things? Like, would it be fun for you to play some kind of monster or get to do some crazy things with make-up?

Christopher Convery: I don't know if I enjoy watching a lot of gore, but it'd be fun to get to explore it from the other side. It could be really interesting to play a part like that. I'd be into it. I'd like to try as many different roles as possible.

If you could work with anyone in the industry, are there any actors or directors that you'd be especially excited to work with?

Christopher Convery: I really love Leonardo DiCaprio and Timothe Chalamet. Leonardo DiCaprio has done so many different roles and has shown such a variety of range. He can do it all and he's inspired me to try to do the same. I've also been told that I could play a young version of DiCaprio, which would be such a fun honor. Then, I saw Timothe Chalamet in Beautiful Boy. That's such a heavy and emotional role. It really inspired me to want to try and play more challenging roles and to push myself more.

You kind of got your first big break on Broadway in Kinky Boots, right? Do you see yourself returning to theater at all? Is there anything from it that you miss?

Christopher Convery: I'm not sure if I'll return or not, but I love that world so much. The experiences, being with the cast, and just the live aspect is so amazing. I think that every actor should at least do a musical once in their lives. But I really do love film and TV because you get to do something different in each role or each episode, but in theater you're doing the same thing every day for six months or a year.

You mentioned Halloween and Michael Myers earlier. Who would you be the most afraid to be attacked by, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, or Michael Myers?

Christopher Convery: Ooh, that's a hard one. I feel like Freddy Krueger is the creepiest one and he's definitely deadly, but I think Michael Myers just is so much scarier. In a movie like Freddy Vs. Jason, Jason just completely destroys Freddy, so that knocks him down a little. Jason and Michael are stronger and it feels like they just can't die.

There have also been more and more evil doll films that are coming out. Who do you think would win in a fight between Brahms, Chucky, or Annabelle?

Christopher Convery: It's definitely Brahms. There are just so many different sides to Brahms. In the first movie he has a certain way of attacking, but here he's just much more mentally manipulative. I feel like Brahms is definitely the smartest of the three. Chucky might be really strong, but I feel like Brahms would just win because of his brain. That'd be such a cool movie!

Finally, what kind of advice do you have for anyone out there who thinks that one of their dolls may be coming to life and out to get them?

Christopher Convery: Okay, so all I can say is to watch your back, guys. And make sure that you lock that doll in a secure place that they can't get out of. Or honestly, just throw it out. Throw it out.

Next: Why More Horror Movies In 2020 Are PG-13

Brahms: The Boy II hits theaters on February 21st.

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Daniel Kurland is a freelance writer, comedian, and critic, who lives in the cultural mosaic that is Brooklyn, New York. Daniels work can be read on ScreenRant, Splitsider, Bloody Disgusting, Den of Geek, and across the Internet. He recently completed work on a noir anthology graphic novel titled, "Sylvia Plaths The Bell Noir: A Rag of Bizarre Noir and Hard Boiled Tales" and hes currently toiling away on his first novel.Daniel knows that "Psycho II" is better than the original, that the finale of "How I Met Your Mother" doesnt deserve the hate that it receives, and that Garth Ennis run of "Animal Man" may be the best superhero story of all time. Hes a fan of white grape juice and appreciates a good Fuji apple.The owls are not what they seem.

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Brahms: The Boy 2 Interview With Christopher Convery - Screen Rant