The following questions and answers are excerpted from a conversation that followed the NBR screening of Red Rocket.

What were your first thoughts, after reading the script?

Simon Rex: I was just like… whoa. Whoa. WHOA! It was weird, because shooting it was… we shot it during the pandemic, obviously, we shot it only a year ago– so it was a quick turnaround. And it was one of those things, the whole time we were shooting it, I was anticipating we’d get shut down. So we were just kind of, like… the whole thing was just chaos. But in a good way, I think! And so, I didn’t even think we’d get through filming it. I had seen Sean [Baker’s] work; I trusted the guy, but the first time we met was for this movie. It all just happened so fast, and then when it was over, I’ve learned from experience that once you’re done shooting something, you just have to move on, as an actor. There are just so many films you do that come out mediocre at best, that you need to learn to just not get attached to any particular result. But when I saw this film, I was like, “this is what we shot?! Wow.” It was just impressive. Sean edited this; I was told early on that his strong point was editing, which was a little surprising to hear, since he was the writer and director, too! But his editing was really, really good. Having shot it, I can tell what he did to manipulate some of the stuff we did. Because we shot it on 16mm (ambitious, rare), and the whole thing was just crazy.

after this… I think I’m an Actor, with a capital ‘A.’ 

Does shooting on 16mm instead of digital change the experience at all for you, as an actor?

SR: There’s more pressure, obviously. If you’re shooting on digital, you can mess up all you want… but we were just on a very small budget, it was a ten person crew, and we basically… it was like a student film, or something? Which I liked! There were no trailers to relax in, there were no creature comforts at all. But I think that worked for this movie, because everyone was together in this environment. We had to – what’s the word? – when you ‘pod’ or ‘bubble’ together, in a quarantine? We all had to stay together. And so as a result of that, we bonded really quickly. We had a small group of people during a strange time, in a small town in Texas. And anytime you do any movie it’s like going to summer camp: you form these really deep bonds, and then it’s over and you go home. But this one was special, because we’ve all been spending more time together now that we’re actually doing press for it and so forth. It’s just a special thing, I’m really happy that Sean chose me, because he’s so talented.

I heard it was an unusual casting process. Was that your experience?  

SR: So I don’t know if this is widely known by now, but he cast everything himself. So he really is so hands-on. I love working with somebody who really knows the material. He wrote, directed, edited, cast… so he knows what he wants from conceptualizing the movie all the way through editing it, and that’s so rare. I’ve been on sets and the producers are chiming in over the director’s shoulder saying, “you should do this…” and there are all these creative differences. And Sean’s just like, “look, I’m going to make no money on this, but I’m going to do it my way.” And I really respect that. Because he has a vision and he’s going to execute it, and he holds firm. He’s clear that he won’t have other people telling him what to do. He’s choosing the font for the credits, he’s doing the sound, he’s doing everything. And I feel like when that happens, things come out better because there aren’t too many cooks in the kitchen. But to answer your question directly: we drove around this little town in southeast Texas, and Sean would drive around and cast on the streets! He’d be like, “oh, this guy has a good luck,” and just roll up on him. And Sean’s the nicest guy; he’s not intimidating in any way. Because it’s quite a thing to drive up to someone on the street during a pandemic and to say, “hey do you want to be in a movie”… people were taken aback. But he’s a very sweet, kind person, so people were actually pretty receptive. It was interesting to watch his casting process. Like in The Florida Project, [Brooklynn Prince], he found her the day before shooting started, in Orlando. The day before! I mean it’s crazy. The woman who plays my mother-in-law in this film, [Brenda Deiss], who I think is just incredible, she just lit up the screen. He walked out of an outhouse and she was right there asking for help jump-starting her car. And he’s like, “do you want to be in a movie?” And… she got cast and she was one of the best parts of the movie. So he has these happy accidents, I think because he’s so open.

You’ve said in the past that you consider yourself more of an entertainer than an actor. This performance in this film, however, is really outstanding. Has your view changed at all?

SR: I never felt comfortable calling myself an “actor,” I felt like I was being a fraud. Even though I acted in stuff… I just felt like a bit of… what do they call it? Imposter syndrome? I felt some of that, like I was just skating by, doing these comedy movies here and there and these sitcoms. It was easy. But this… for the first time, I actually feel like I can say, “ok, I’m an actor.” I’m so proud of this movie and happy with it, that yes, now, finally, after twenty five years in the business… I’m comfortable saying I’m an actor. Because I remember doing something with Action Bronson on Vice, and it was his cooking show called, “F*uck That’s Delicious.” And when they put me on the screen they titled me, “Entertainer Simon Rex.” And I liked that. And that seemed fair. But now after this… I think I’m an Actor, with a capital ‘A.’