Clown in a Cornfield released in theatres this past weekend and managed to rake in an impressive $3.9 million against a budget of less than $1 million. It’s a solid start for an indie horror film of this size and with this budget, and if you’ve seen the movie, then it should come as no surprise why the film is getting rave reviews from audiences and critics alike (read my review here).
One of the standouts in the film is definitely Ayo Solanke, who portrays Tucker Lee in the film. While his screentime may be quite limited, he nevertheless makes a lasting impression as one of the friends who hangs out with Cole, Rust, and the new-to-Kettle-Springs Quinn Maybrook. In this exclusive interview, I spoke with Solanke about his character, what he thinks about the topic of generational conflict, and more.
Solanke on the topic of generational conflict:
Early on in the interview, I told Solanke that I think the film has a perfect mixture of many different elements. It’s hilarious, emotional, has a beating heart, and has plenty of slasher goodness for good measure. But what I loved most was the topic of generational conflict.
The youngsters in Kettle Springs are simply trying to live their lives while the older residents are so stuck in their old ways and traditions to the point where they’d literally try to eliminate the kids who live there if it means they can stay living in the past, so to speak.
“Tucker’s a part of a friend group… they’re pranksters… you can tell that they’re very new generation, Gen-Z, or whatever you want to call it. He clear is wanting to live his own life as well as the rest of the teens in this movie and they want to be their own people. They don’t want to be tied back generationally or be set back in any kind of way.”
Bringing some personal life to Tucker:
Portraying the teenage Tucker in the film, I asked twenty-two-year-old Tucker if he was able to bring some of his personal experiences to the character.
“It was interesting because I saw in the book how he related to everyone else… what he really brought to the group… a sense of lightheartedness and the groundedness that others may have. I just tried to bring as much of that as possible and in life… not everything might be happy but you need humor in everything. Humor uplifts people.”
Conclusion:
My interview with Ayo Solanke really opened my eyes up to how he approached playing a character like Tucker who, despite limited screentime, makes a true lasting impression with his sense of humor and sense of character. This is just the beginning for Solanke, who also stars in the new series BET, which releases tomorrow.