Scott Speedman is a husband whose dark secrets are bubbling to the surface inCellar Door. Speedman saw an early skyrocket in his career with back-to-back major roles inNancy Drew,Felicityand theUnderworldmovies. In the years since, Speedman has found further success on both the big and small screens with everything from Bryan Bertino’sThe Strangersto the ABC thrillerLast Resort,David Cronenberg’s body horrorCrimes of the FutureandGrey’s Anatomy, among many others.
InCellar Door, Speedman stars as John, a real estate agent looking for a new home with his wife Sera after she suffers a miscarriage and wants to move away from where it happened. After being offered the chance of a lifetime to own a sprawling mansion on the agreement to never open its cellar door, John and Sera begin to find themselves conflicting over the deal. As their conflict worsens, secrets come out about John that threaten to upend their marriage, and potentially their lives.
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Alongside Speedman, the ensembleCellar Doorcast includesFast & Furious' Jordana Brewsteras Sera, Laurence Fishburne, Katie O’Grady, Chris Conner, Randy Sean Schulman, Jenny Lam Tien and Zach Feiner. Posing interesting morality questions in the same vein as thrillers from decades past, while also keeping the story grounded in two complex characters, the film proves to be thoroughly gripping.
In honor of the movie’s release,Screen Rantinterviewed Scott Speedman to discussCellar Door, how the movie reminded him of some of Michael Douglas' best thrillers from the ’80s and ’90s, why he continues to be drawn to playing complicated characters, building a rapport with Brewster, and his thoughts onTeacup’s ending and his hopes to return for season 2.
Warning: SPOILERS lie ahead for both Cellar Door and the Teacup season 1 finale!
It Hit Speedman “Like A Ton Of Bricks” To Realize He Played Back-To-Back Cheaters
“…it’s fun to subvert that…and to challenge an audience.”
Screen Rant: I watchedCellar Doorthe other day, and it is just such a gripping tale from start to finish. I love how complex both you and Jordana’s characters are in this film. My first question, though, is last we spoke was forTeacup. Why do your characters keep cheating on their wives?
Scott Speedman: It’s really funny. I re-read the script this morning and yesterday morning to familiarize myself again with it, because it’s been a while since we shot it, and I was like, “Wow.” [Laughs] It just hit me like a ton of bricks that it was very similar things. The impetus for both these things is me stepping out on my wife. I think I probably enjoy flipping that on an audience. When you’ve been playing likable leading men for a while, and there’s just such a push, especially on television — I find not so much in film, but in television — to create likable characters, it’s fun to subvert that, I guess, and to challenge an audience.
Playing a likable guy, for me, I’ve always enjoyed that. From the minute I started acting, I’ve enjoyed playing that kind of guy, very human guy. I think that’s why you do movies and television shows and characters, because 99% of the time, you don’t do the bad thing. And I think in movies, you have to do the bad thing, or they’re just boring people. So my guys tend to make bad decisions, and I enjoy doing that, for sure.
It does present a unique challenge for the audience to then find a way to empathize with the character, especially inTeacup.
Scott Speedman: Well, and in Teacup, I think that’s much more challenging than this. I mean, in a movie, it’s different. It just has a different feel to it than a TV show, where then, you’re asked to go on the journey. In Teacup, I love that, because that was ultra challenging. I think the powers that be were nervous about it, as well, but I love that aspect of that. That’s Ian McCulloch for you, though.
But this one is more of movies I was weaned on, like Michael Douglas characters in the ’80s and ’90s. He explored a lot of these things in different sorts of movies. And I love those movies. I wish we did more of those. So, when I read this, it definitely had a feel of something that could have been made in the ’50s or the ’90s, in terms of certain things, Hitchcockian way, and also, like the Fatal Attraction aspect of things I loved.
So, what did you find, then, was one of the big keys for you to finding the heart of your character in this film?
Scott Speedman: You know, that wasn’t really a challenge. It was on the page, to be fair to the writers, it was right there, and that’s why I was attracted to it, was it was well-written. The complication is you have this immediate reaction to things. Either I can bring myself to the story and help advance the story, bring it to life, or not. And I thought if I have a certain skill set, I thought it would lend itself to this story.
My complicated self on screen will help this guy come to life, and it was that kind of connection. There wasn’t an intellectual decision about, “Oh, I’m going to do this and the other.” No, I understood the character right away. And I, again, liked that he did the bad thing and then kind of descended into madness. That was fun for me.
Brewster Was A “Total Pro” & “Really Easy” To Get To Work With
“She puts me at ease, too.”
It was quite the descent that happens in this movie, too, and you have it right with Jordana Brewster right there. I spoke with her yesterday, and I loved hearing her side of getting to work with you, poking fun at each other throughout filming and whatnot. I’d love to hear what it was like for you finding that dynamic and that rapport with her for this complex relationship.
Scott Speedman: Yeah, it was pretty easy. I’ve known Jordana a bit off and on through the years, and you never know when you get to work with somebody. But she was great, a total pro and very fun to work with. She puts me at ease, too. She’s very professional, always on top of her game, and I’m a little bit more chaotic and crazy. She’s very calm and easy to work with, which is great. And we just had a good rapport. When you go to do complicated scenes, you really want that kind of acting partner, and she was great. She was really easy to work with, and we just had that. Again, I think a lot of it starts on the page. That’s why, obviously, writers are so important. But once that’s there, and you have a really good acting partner, you may kind of bring it to life much easier.
So, did you find that there was one scene in particular that having her as your partner really helped you sort of find the flow of what the scene was meant to be?
Scott Speedman: There were a bunch of scenes that were really hard when you start to get into the third act and fourth act, when the turns are there, those are the harder scenes to do. You really have to — as an actor, there’s easier stuff, and then you get to the tough stuff, which isn’t always the emotional stuff, but more of the complicated jumps you have to do with the story, especially in something like this. Having that rock solid partner as Jordana made all those scenes towards the end [easier]. She had the heavy lifting, much more than me. She had to push those scenes to where they needed to go, obviously, if you know the movie. So, she did that, and she did that amazingly.
Speedman Eventually Found Discussions About What’s In The Cellar Door Unnecessary
“…at this point in my career…too much discussion about scenes and talk isn’t always the greatest.”
So, I don’t want to quite get into spoilers, but I would love to hear, did you and Vaughn ever kind of discuss what was actually in the cellar, or did you leave it likeaPulp Fictionthing, where it never really mattered what was in there?
Scott Speedman: There was some discussion, yeah, but the more I heard about it, the more I just [stopped wondering]. Everybody had different ideas, so we had to make up my own. So that’s why, at this point in my career, when the script is strong and good, and you have certain ideas, too much discussion about scenes and talk isn’t always the greatest. Some of the best directors I’ve worked with now — I was lucky enough to work with David Cronenberg a couple years ago, and the lack of him wanting to talk was amazing. [Laughs]
He didn’t want to talk about anything. He was like, “I hired you. You go do it. I don’t want to talk about it.” And that’s kind of how I am now a little bit, you know, if you work with younger directors and whatever, I remember being younger and wanting to discuss, so everybody’s on the same page. I just want to go with my instincts, and I made a decision about what was in that cellar door and what wasn’t in that cellar door, and all that. That made it easier for me just to go and do it.
So, when you get to the big reveal at the end, about what happened with you and Jordana’s characters, and what that means going forward, what do you think is going through your character’s head, especially in that final scene, where he still seems to be sort of processing everything?
Scott Speedman: Yeah, it’s the floor dropping out from under you, really, where you realize your wife isn’t who you thought she was, in a sense. [Chuckles] So, there’s turns there that are really fun for an audience to go through. It was fun to read, I was like,“Wow, this is going to be great.” And again, really brings you back to movies that we don’t make that much anymore. This could have been made in the ’50s or the ’90s, in a certain kind of sense. So yeah, I love that aspect of it. But really, at this point in my career, too, I’m always thinking about the audience now, too. It’s like, “Wow, if the audience is going to be with us to this point, this is going to be a great turn.”
Speedman Is Thrilled For Audiences To See The Psychological Thriller Nature Of The Film
He Also Praises Getting To Work With Fishburne
So, speaking of the audience, what part of this film are you the most excited for people to get to see? Is it the story? Is it the characters? Is it your performances?
Scott Speedman: Yeah, I would say with this one, everything’s different. Sometimes, when you choose to do a movie, or are lucky enough to get a part in a movie, it can be based on a character, you’re a small part in a bigger movie that you’re most excited about. But I would say it’s the psychological thriller elements of this movie I’d be most excited about an audience to check out, and to see a different kind of “horror” movie that is totally different than something maybe they’re used to seeing. That part of things I think people will really respond to if they’re into it, and it was what I responded to when I first read it. So, hopefully they’re into it.
I love that you also get to work with Laurence Fishburne, who is obviously an incredible actor, and his character is also just so uniquely eccentric to this world. What is it like watching him bring this figure to life while having to remain in your own character’s mindset?
Scott Speedman: Yeah, it was wild. You’re with these people that show up, and these amazing actors, and, you know, the big part of why the movie got made in the first place is them saying yes. And then they come in and, with people like Laurence Fishburne, it’s easy to get lost in the scenes. And I did a couple of times. I’ve been watching him for so long, I’ve been watching him since I was a kid, you know what I mean? He’s an amazing actor, he was really an amazing, warm presence too, which is always super nice. He had a lot of fun doing that part. When I’m watching him, I’m envious of the ease in which he approaches work, and the warmth that he has, and how great he is in all of those years he’s been doing it. He’s a lovely man, and was great in that part. It’s not an easy part, but he made it look easy.
James' Sacrifice InTeacupWas The “Coolest Part” Of The Show For Speedman
He Also Disagrees With The Creator’s “Adamant” Feelings That He’s Dead
I think I have enough time for a couple more questions. So,I mentionedTeacupat the start, and today’s the finale, and I am heartbroken by what went down with James and where he’s left. How did it feel for you coming to that conclusion, especially since it is a full-circle redemption of sorts for him?
Scott Speedman: That’s the coolest part. We talked about it at the beginning, you know, it’s interesting where he started, you know, stepping out on his family, not just his wife, but his family. And then, we spent eight episodes not going out intentionally to win his family back, but by the thriller circumstances of the piece, he’s forced into this redemptive role. And he really goes there and gets his family back, gets his wife back, and in that brings the audience back with him. So, that was really fun. I knew where it was going from the beginning when I signed on to do that show, so it was a great character in that way. But yeah, I mean, hopefully we get to do more seasons on that, but yeah, we’ll see.
So I read recently, too, that Ian said you are outright dead. But do you have a different idea about that for the future?
Scott Speedman: Ian is adamant that I am dead, yeah. [Laughs] Believe me, there was convincing going on, and I did not win those arguments. I think, in today’s world, you need to see the head getting chopped off. The way we did it? Yeah, we’ll see. I don’t know, but I love Ian so much. I’m so proud of what he did, and I think that arc is great, and if he wants to leave it where it is, that’s that.
Well, we know that Ellen is still on the farm, so maybe if we come back there.
Scott Speedman: Oh, hey, that’s what I said. [Chuckles] I said, “You’re leaving characters there.” I don’t know, we don’t see his head getting [cut off] or his heart getting [torn] out of his body. So who knows, the audience will maybe have some ideas.
AboutCellar Door
Looking for a fresh start after a miscarriage, a couple (Brewster and Speedman) find themselves being gifted the house of their dreams from a wealthy homeowner (Fishburne) with one caveat - they can never open the cellar door. Whether they can live without knowing triggers shocking consequences.
Cellar Dooris now in select theaters and on digital platforms.
