Jonathan Lipnicki on Bold Role in ‘Primetime’ and Why He Left L.A.

[This story contains spoilers from A24‘s Primetime.]

A little more than a year ago, Jonathan Lipnicki started praying nightly for clarity in his career.

“I’m confident the best is yet to come for me,” Lipnicki told People in a revealing interview, saying his goal was to “turn this ship around” and sail toward bigger and better acting opportunities after experiencing a season of rough waters professionally. “This is the thing I want to do for the rest of my life, and I think you just have to believe it’s going to happen and do everything in your power to take action in the right direction.”

It worked. Not long after, Lipnicki arrived at a new gig, and while it didn’t deliver the most amount of screen time in his lengthy IMDb credits, it delivered the boldest turn of the 35-year-old’s career. Lipnicki — a beloved child star who, at age 6, hit the jackpot by making his debut opposite Tom Cruise and Renée Zellweger in Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire before moving on to other hits like Stuart Little — snagged a part in Lance Oppenheim‘s Primetime for A24.

Robert Pattinson toplines the film, playing Chris Hansen, host of the controversial NBC docuseries To Catch a Predator, alongside a cast that includes Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, Phoebe Bridgers and Bokeem Woodbine. Loosely adapted by first-time screenwriter Ajon Singh from an Esquire article by Luke Dittrich, the thriller dramatizes the darkest year of Hansen’s tenure on To Catch a Predator. (And in case you missed the spoiler warning above, this is your second and last notice to duck out before we reveal more about Lipnicki’s part.)

Like the show, the film finds Hansen confronting alleged sexual predators after they arrive at what they believe is the home of an underage boy or girl. Lipnicki plays a character known only by the screen name of Crazyfrog73, someone who gets caught in a compromising position in the kitchen while hoping to hook up with a boy played by Gisondo. Primetime, in theaters now, debuted at the Venice Film Festival where Oppenheim said in a press conference that it was an intentional choice to cast actors like Lipnicki and Gisondo because of their history as child stars as a way “to take the baggage that they brought to movies before and figure out new ways for them to shed the skin of who they were in different films.”

That applies to Lipnicki, who shed more than that — specifically, his pants — for a full frontal scene complete with a can of whipped cream. “As actors, we pray for dark material and for things we can really sink our teeth into. At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself, ‘Am I as courageous an artist as I say I am?’ I had to answer that question, and I was courageous enough to take the plunge,” Lipnicki told The Hollywood Reporter over Zoom in September. “I’ve tried to live by the idea that, when it comes to art, if something scares you, most likely you should do it.”

Oppenheim, for one, is grateful Lipnicki had the courage. “When it came to this role, which is a tough one, I explained to him that doing this scene right would be a turning point for the movie, tonally. He had to embody a very disturbed individual and create an incredibly complicated experience for both Dan [Skyler Gisondo’s character] and the audience. I’m so grateful to him that he agreed to do it, and I really don’t know if the scene — or the film — would work without him,” praised the director over email.

He also did the work to pull it off by studying episodes and hard-to-watch segments. “He had come up with a whole backstory: where the guy lived, what he did for work, who existed in his life. When he came to set, he had embodied all of this and more through a certain kind of physicality that immediately was so different than any character he had embodied before. I wasn’t seeing Jonathan. I was seeing his character. And all of that came together from the small details he would mine in the performance by finding ways to dimensionalize this guy beyond the page,” Oppenheim said, adding that it was “incredible” to also watch Pattinson and Lipnicki improv for nearly 10 minutes. “I loved being on set with Jonathan.”

Oppenheim, who is also having a banner fall with the critically acclaimed forthcoming doc You Can See Everything, said he grew up watching Lipnicki on the big screen as they’re about the same age. “One of my all time favorite films, Jerry Maguire, was a reference for us while making Primetime. During pre-production, after screening Jerry Maguire for the crew, I kept thinking about Jonathan and where he was now. I started watching some of his more recent work and was really struck by how fearless he was. I could see that he had more to give,” he explained.

That’s exactly how Lipnicki felt. Below, he opens up to THR about how it felt to bare it all for Primetime, how he’s matched the bold choice in his personal life by packing up all of his belongings to leave Los Angeles — a journey he dubbed his Eat, Pray, Love moment that landed him in Oklahoma — and why it has been so freeing to let go of outside opinions, focus on the process and embrace producing and generating his own work: “Whatever the challenge is, I’m up for it.”

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How did Primetime come your way?

Out of nowhere. My agent reached out and said casting wanted to know if I was interested. I read the script, saw who was involved and thought, “Wow, this is something.” The script was incredible; it had my heart pounding by the end. They asked me to read for it because they didn’t have recent footage of me. The director loved my tape and they offered me the role, but I was still a little on the fence because it was pretty wild. Then Lance called me after a day on set to say, “I know how this seems. I don’t want it to seem stunt-casty. I want you involved in the creative process, and I want you to know where this came from.”

He told me that he’d seen an interview with me a few years ago and put my name in his iPhone notes, along with other people he wanted to work with. When this came up, that old note was triggered. He sent me test footage and creative material, and we traded notes about the character: How he should be, how he should look and how he should act. His approach was incredibly sensitive and respectful. Ultimately, I said I’d do it if I really got to be part of that process, and I did. For something terrifying to tackle, he made it a wonderful process.

When the role came to you, did you know it was a pedophile who would be naked in the scene?

Yes, they sent the scenes. I laughed, but it also gave me a lot of anxiety. It’s a crazy thing to wrap your brain around. As actors, we pray for dark material and for things we can really sink our teeth into. At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself, “Am I as courageous an artist as I say I am?” I had to answer that question, and I was courageous enough to take the plunge.

What gave you the most pause: playing a pedophile or full-frontal nudity?

I don’t know if I separated them. I’ve done full frontal before in a play, Lost Girls, so that part didn’t bother me as much. It was probably the combination. If you’re full frontal in another type of scene, it’s different. The pedophile element by itself is terrifying to tackle, and then you add the nudity. Not only are you a pedophile — you’re a naked, full-frontal pedophile. It was intimidating, to say the least. Even after I shot it, I thought, “I really hope I made the right decision.” But I’ve tried to live by the idea that, when it comes to art, if something scares you, most likely you should do it.

You’ve described a collaborative process with Lance. What was it like working with him so far in advance of getting on set?

It gave me security in what I was doing. You don’t want to feel like you’re baring your skin or your soul for people who aren’t appreciative of it. The entire team couldn’t have been kinder or more sensitive to what I was doing. Being able to trade notes with Lance while he was filming and extremely busy spoke volumes about who he is as a filmmaker and a person. It made me a huge fan. He was extremely considerate throughout the process.

What was it like filming the scene itself?

It was a whirlwind. Lance had written some additional material for Rob [Pattinson] and me, and I didn’t know about it until 5 a.m. that day. I learned this whole other scene that was intercut into the sequence. Lance was decisive about what he wanted, and we worked it through. Skyler [Gisondo] was great, Rob was great, and it felt like a really fun, collaborative process. Lance works with a lot of people he’s known for years, so it felt like stepping into a family of really cool people. Even though we were shooting an extremely dark and gross situation, they created an atmosphere that felt comfortable in the uncomfortable.

The scene is obviously uncomfortable, but it also has a lightness to it in moments with the whipped cream, and the audience chuckled a bit during the screening I attended in Venice. Was that part of the creative conversation?

There were definitely choices I made in my tape. When you’re playing someone like this, it’s heavy-handed if you make him a mustache-twirling evil villain. You have to ask what would be truthful. Even in the darkest circumstances, there can be strange things that make us laugh uncomfortably. I was mindful of how that played into the tone of the scene. Those initial choices from the tape were married to things we discovered along the way and in the moment, and it all became interwoven.

People have written so much about Robert Pattinson’s transformation into Chris Hansen. You got to see it up close. What did you make of him?

Ever since I saw The Rover, he’s been on my list of people I really wanted to work with. Getting to do this with him was incredibly cool. I love making movies, but I also love watching them and seeing people at the top of their game. I got to be present with someone who is really at the top of his game, and it was a privilege to work with him. Skyler is incredible, too, and he’s having this amazing career. Those are the kinds of people you want to be working with. It was incredible to watch what Robert was doing with the characterization.

You were very young when To Catch a Predator came out. What was your awareness of that show and phenomenon?

I saw it back in the day, and I watched it again leading up to this. I knew it as something that was part of history. My older sister probably watched it more than I did. When the project came my way, I thought it was fascinating that they were making a movie about that particular point in time. Even the costumes are a wonderful time capsule, and the bleached hair I have in the movie is a time capsule. If you had told 14-year-old me that I’d be in a movie about this, I would have said, “No way.”

Did you think about the connection between casting former child stars in a movie about To Catch a Predator and the way people assume children in Hollywood are vulnerable to exploitation?

I think there are a lot of ways to look at it. I can’t control what people think or whether something grosses them out. It is a commentary on certain elements of that world, and I think the choices Lance made were really interesting. From my perspective, when you come from being a child actor, so much depends on your parents. I was fortunate: My parents were great, I went to public school and had a normal childhood, as normal as it could be with this extra thing attached to it.

I remember press junkets for Stuart Little, when journalists would ask me if I was going to do drugs or whether something bad had happened to me. Growing up, there was a lot of pressure not to become a train wreck. People would say, “Don’t do this. You’ll ruin your reputation. You’ll ruin your life. You’ll be just like these other people.” They painted those people as train wrecks and terrible examples, but they’re human beings, and it’s sad to see that.

For me, taking this role felt like letting go of that pressure. I’ve always been concerned about making mistakes and worried about what other people think of me. This role was part of saying, “I have no control over what people are going to think, and I’m not going to concern myself with that anymore.”

Was that a new feeling for you?

Yes. I left Los Angeles, got rid of everything I owned, took my Jeep Wrangler and drove around the country. Now I live in Oklahoma. I moved away from everything to have an Eat, Pray, Love moment — although I was eating and praying a lot, and I didn’t have love until I met my girlfriend. I had time to think, and I realized I didn’t want to spend any more moments worrying about what other people thought of me. I love acting and making movies. I’ve acted for big audiences, and I’ve acted for one or two people in a theater. I’ve done it for free. I love it that much. But after I got to Oklahoma, I made some choices about movies that weren’t very good, and I started saying no and finding other ways to support myself.

I produce, I teach and I’m involved in a few entrepreneurial endeavors. Once I started saying no, some beautiful things happened. I was able to do Primetime, and I have a project with Matt Walsh and Geneva Carr called Williston, which I executive produced and which premieres in November. The project is extremely important to me. Writer-director Adam Seidel adapted it from a play specifically to pitch it to me after we worked together on his film Anywhere. Matt and Geneva give incredible performances, and it was inspiring to work with them. I also did a small role in Butcher’s War with Aaron Eckhart, and I’m executive producing and acting in Mazel Tough, which is a rom-com — a chance to do something lighter. Ever since I started making choices based on what I really love creatively, my life has been a lot better.

I love that. It sounds like you found clarity in your career.

It’s always a constant process of growth. I don’t focus on the outcome or what will happen because I did one role or another. I focus on getting to do what I love every day, and that’s a dream. Taking on something this scary freed up a lot of emotional bandwidth. I put it out there, and it is what it is.

What is life like in Oklahoma, and how much of it involves filmmaking? I know they have a very lucrative tax credit program.

I’ve shot four or five things here, and I’ve guided two of my own projects that I executive produced. The crews are amazing, and there’s a giant future for filmmaking here. The film community is wonderful. I never would have thought that I’d be more active after leaving Los Angeles, but I have been.

What do people in Oklahoma ask you about your child stardom or your life in Los Angeles?

To be honest, people don’t talk about it that much. They’ll say, “That’s really cool. I grew up watching that movie,” but they’re pretty chill. I forget about Jerry Maguire all the time. I’m going to my mailbox or sitting at my computer, and those movies feel like a distant memory. I also teach acting here, so my day-to-day life is focused on what I’m doing now.

Tell me about teaching.

I teach at an acting studio near the University of Oklahoma run by casting director Chris Freihofer. A lot of the students got started as extras on Killers of the Flower Moon and were inspired to begin acting. One of my students is now a series regular on Little House on the Prairie, and several others have booked work. I never thought I would teach, but it’s so cool to be part of these people’s journeys. I get to talk about the thing I love with other people who love it, too. There’s so much raw talent here, and as more films come to Oklahoma, I want these actors to feel ready to nab those roles. I’ve been extremely impressed. Some students drive for hours, stay in hotels every week for class and come off-book on very long scenes. Their work ethic is admirable.

It seems like producing has enriched your life and career, too.

If you love telling stories and making films, acting alone can feel limiting because everything depends on whether someone hires you. I love producing. I love matchmaking — finding a great script and pairing it with a director I believe in. Getting to work with people you love and believe in, and being the connective tissue between them, is really rewarding. Learning about the finance side has also been an exciting challenge. I don’t have to produce everything I’m in, and I don’t have to be in everything I produce. I think of acting and producing as two separate things that sometimes intermingle. I have another project, Dog Years, with Xolo Maridueña and Leah Lewis that’s in post. I’m not in that one; I was just an executive producer.

What’s the dream now, and where does Primetime fit into it?

I’d love to work with more filmmakers I admire and take on more challenging roles. This was a great step forward, although I don’t know what the outcome will look like. I’ve told myself not to focus on outcomes because I can’t control them. At the end of the day, I want more opportunities to do what I love. If those opportunities don’t come, I’ll create them for myself.

Now that you’ve embraced this fearlessness, are you open to more bold work?

Absolutely. Whatever the challenge is, I’m up for it. I want to work on great material with great filmmakers, and I feel like I’m in a good headspace to capitalize on any opportunity that comes my way. I feel extremely driven to do really good work. I’ve wanted to do this my whole life. There have been times when it’s been wonderful and times when it’s been incredibly hard and bleak, but I think this is a step forward. I’m excited to see what comes from it.

Was there ever a moment when you thought you might quit?

I’m stubborn. I don’t quit. There have been moments when I’ve been unhappy because the thing I love — and the thing I was used to having success at — wasn’t working anymore. In those moments, it’s easy to get upset, but the biggest thing is to outwork your self-doubt. When I was about 18, I went back to acting class and started over in beginner classes. I also took time away to play water polo and enrich my life. I’ve been fortunate to have the best of both worlds, but you can’t sugarcoat it: This is a very hard industry.

The biggest thing anyone can learn is that it’s not personal. Very rarely is it personal; usually, you simply weren’t the right person for the role. I had to look in the mirror and say, “Maybe you need to get better at this.” I worked extremely hard with great teachers, including Joshua Bitton and Holly Gagnier, and learned from the beginning again. That accelerated my return to acting. It wasn’t just about developing my skill set — it was about confidence, too.

What do you hope people take away from this chapter?

If you love something through thick and thin, you have to chase it. Sometimes that means looking at yourself and asking, “Am I brave enough to do what I say I am? Can I stack up undeniable proof that I am who I say I am?”

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Primetime is now playing in theaters. Check out all of The Hollywood Reporter‘s coverage here.