“I Am Going To Hit You Now” - Patrick J. Adams Explains the Surprising Outburst of His ‘Young Werther’ Nice Guy Character

1 week ago 3

Custom image from Jefferson Chacon of Patrick J. Adams smiling at the camera for Young Werther

[Editor's note: The following contains some spoilers for Young Werther.]

Summary

'Young Werther' is a modern take on a 250-year-old German novel turned into a romantic comedy.
Actor Patrick J. Adams discusses his unexpected nice guy character, Albert, in the film.
The story successfully navigates themes of unrequited love, balance, and the complexity of relationships.

From writer/director José Avelino Gilles Corbett Lourenço and inspired by the 250-year-old German novel, the romantic comedy Young Werther follows the charming young writer Werther (Douglas Booth) as he gets starry-eyed over a woman (Alison Pill) he learns is engaged. Not one to let that fact deter him, Werther becomes determined to win her heart, convinced that it doesn’t truly belong to Albert (Patrick J. Adams). But when Albert turns out to be a guy just trying to provide for his soon-to-be wife, Werther’s plan to steal her away goes sideways.

During this one-on-one interview with Collider, Adams explained why this project appealed to him and what he liked about his unexpected character. He also discussed the unique take on the material, figuring out how to make this work in a modern setting, bringing no maliciousness into the character, the dynamic with Werther, and his one outburst of violence. Along with Young Werther, Adams shared his thoughts on Suits L.A. and whether he'd be game to appear in the show, and the experience of joining Taylor Sheridan’s latest, The Madison.

Collider: When someone said to you, “I’m going to make an adaptation of a 250-year-old German tragedy that’s been turned into a contemporary romance,” was your first reaction, “Sign me up!”?

PATRICK J. ADAMS: Sign me up! Let’s go! I don’t need to know anything else. I’m ready.

Did you have a list of questions?

ADAMS: Yeah, there were lots of questions. The script was sent to me by someone who’s a close friend of mine who was one of the producers. She said, “You should really read this. I think you’ll love it.” I opened the page and read what’s at the beginning of the film, setting the stage for what a controversial book it was when it came out, and then couldn’t put it down. I just found it so charming and so unique. I had never read anything like it. I was really taken aback by the character of Albert. I kept expecting him to turn dark or get mean or get manipulative or get defensive, and he just didn’t. His kindness is what made him such a great foil to this other character. I just kept being surprised by it. And then, when I got to speak to (writer/director) José [Avelino Gilles Corbett Lourenço] and got some more context about what the actual book was and what it was about and why it was controversial. I just thought, “Well, this is super unique.” And then, I heard about the other people that they were pulling together and it just was a no-brainer. It seemed like it was gonna be a lot of fun to work on.

'Young Werther' Takes a 250-Year-Old Story and Turns It Into Something Relevant

Patrick J. Adams, Douglas Booth and Alison Pill smiling in the poster artwork for Young Werther

There are so many things in this that seem like they shouldn’t work, and yet they somehow do.

ADAMS: José gets to the heart of the thing. I like to think he could have told this story without it being Young Werther. He’s so unique and so wonderful. He took something so old and made it something so relevant and also changed the tone of it. It’s a real tragedy in the book because he does take his own life and it is a much darker ending, which is what made it controversial. But he took that and brought it into the new world and made it more of a romantic comedy, without changing the essence of it. There’s still tragedy, in that he doesn’t get what he wants. It’s unrequited love. He doesn’t have the ending that maybe he was looking for. It’s a really hard needle to thread, and in the hands of anybody else, could have been way over the top or they just wouldn’t have understood the assignment. And José understood the assignment.

'Young Werther' Review: Douglas Booth and Alison Pill's Chemistry Isn't Enough To Save Tepid Rom-Com

Despite a great couple at the center of the film, 'Young Werther' can't help but feel like a cliché rom-com.

Werther is an interesting character because he’s speaking in this foreign way that almost feels like he’s out of time with everything else in the story, and yet that also makes him charming and endearing.

ADAMS: Yeah, I completely agree. That was my only fear when I read the script. I was like, "Is this gonna work?” I don’t know these people. I know people who are like this in a modern version, but the way we were talking, the way it was written, the way we relate to each other, the stories they’re telling, the anecdotes, I was like, “I don’t know these people. This is a very heightened version of reality.” And yet somehow, by getting the right crew of people together and having everyone grounded and making it very honest, I never, for a second, feel that it’s dishonest while watching it. In some way, it feels so magical because it feels tied to this romantic novel. There’s an elevated, magical quality to the story and to the characters that wouldn’t be there if you just adapted this story and made it very modern and didn’t do justice to that romanticism.

Patrick J. Adams Likes That His ‘Young Werther’ Character Isn’t the Bad Guy

How did you view Albert? You mentioned him being a kind person, but he’s also neglectful. He’s not abusive, but he’s also not present. How did you want to reconcile that within him?

ADAMS: I loved that that was the truth, but there was no maliciousness to it. There was no scene where it was like, “Goddamn it, I’ve gotta work. I’m the one keeping this family together.” There’s not even that. He’s just doing his best. I relate to that. There are so many times where I miss the magic of life because I’m on my phone. That’s infinitely relatable. That happens 20 times a day. I’m on an email or a text or I’m responding to a thing, and my kid is drawing a picture and I’m like, “Yeah, yeah, I’ll look at the magical picture you’re drawing in one second.” We all do it, and we all need to be reminded that we can just stop doing whatever it is and fully engage with any number of magical things that are happening, in the moment. That happens to me. That probably happens to you. I think it happens to all of us. Does that make us bad people? Does it make us unlovable or unrelatable? No, of course not. It’s just a function of being in the modern world. It’s a function of being the person who’s earning money and trying to take care of life and who has this sense of responsibility.

I really appreciated how this film had Albert be that guy without him being self-important about it and without him declaring that he was the one keeping the family afloat. He’s just doing the best he could. Part of what he loves about Werther is having someone around that is helping his wife-to-be have a more wonderful, magical experience. And then, at some point, he realizes, “I have to be a better version of this. I need to find a better balance.” I am seeking that in my life, all the time. You can’t be one all the way or the other. You can’t be all the way Werther or all the way Albert. We seek to exist somewhere in the middle and find the balance.

How was it to explore that dynamic between Albert and Werther?

ADAMS: There’s nothing dark about Albert, and he doesn’t see the darkness in other people. He doesn’t see the threat. He just sees the good. And then, at the end of the film, it starts to dawn on him a little bit that what Werther is doing is exposing the parts of Albert that he does need to work on, and that’s an uncomfortable reality. But never is it like, “Screw this guy. I wanna ruin him. Get him out of our lives.” That’s what makes the original book so interesting, and it makes José’s interpretation of it and wanting to retell it now, something I’ve never seen before.

I don’t condone violence, but when Albert finally has a moment where he just can’t put up with Werther anymore, how did you feel about that moment?

ADAMS: It’s my favorite. That was probably where, when I reached that part in the script, I was like, “Okay, I’ve gotta do this.” That moment is the whole film reduced to one moment, which is, “I like you. You’re driving me crazy. I am going to hit you now. And then, we will be done.” There’s something so great about that. It’s Albert’s rationality meeting with the spontaneity of violence and anger. It’s the two of those things together that makes for something so funny and cathartic. I thought that was genius. I don’t even know how I prepped for it. We just did it, and we had to have a laugh after every take. Keeping both of those things together is what makes this film so unique.

Patrick J. Adams is Happy for the Experience He Had on 'Suits' and Wishes the Best for 'Suits: L.A.'

Patrick J. Adams as Mike and Gabriel Macht as Harvey looking at each other while sitting in an office in Suits

The cycles of this business are so interesting. Suits was done, but then had a resurgence when it became available on Netflix, and now there’s a new spinoff coming, with Suits: L.A. Is that something you’d like to do? How do you feel about Gabriel Macht being the one who’s going to that show for an arc and not taking the rest of you with him?

ADAMS: Oh, we’re super happy for Gabriel to go do it, mostly also because we know how excited the fans will be to have him there. Look, we’re doing this podcast about the show now, Sidebar, that I’m doing with Sarah [Rafferty], partially because I’m so interested in reinvestigating what keeps the show so popular. What about it? What do the fans love so much? I’m doing a bit of an autopsy on my own experience of it. What is it like to shoot, and things that we missed because we were just going so fast and furious making the show. To be able to finally take the time to unpack it a little bit is a really interesting and exciting process for me. It’s so rare that you get to have an experience like Suits. It’s not lost on me, especially now, that that is something that very few people in this world get to have the experience of being on a show like that and especially one that connects with fans. I’m happy that I’ve had the experience, happy that I now have the chance to unpack it a little bit, happy that the fans are getting another version of Suits, and very happy that they get a little piece of Harvey Specter along with it. It’s great.

And if one day, they ask anyone else to come along and if it feels like the right fit, then maybe we do it. But truthfully, I’m more than happy to keep that character exactly where he is. I think it ended in a perfect place. I don’t know. I’m so fascinated about what it is about that world and specifically (creator) Aaron [Korsh]’s point of view because he’s the creator and the mastermind of Suits, and what it is about his voice that resonates so deeply with people. He’s obviously insanely talented and has such a particular sense of humor. I just wish the best for Suits: L.A. I hope they get to have as magical and extended an experience as we had on the original.

It really does feel like that magical thing that feels indescribable. It’s partly the writing and partly the cast and the way the chemistry all works, but it’s still hard to pinpoint any one thing at any time.

ADAMS: Yeah, and people are trying to replicate it every day in this business. You’re always trying to find that perfect alchemy of all the things fitting together perfectly at the right time, in the right place. It’s really, really, really hard. That’s why I say it’s so remarkable to have experienced something that works because I have been on the flipside of it, being on sets of it not really working, especially not to that degree. That’s why what we do is so wonderful. You ever into every project with this unknown. All I know is I can come and be as prepared as possible and excited and have a point of view and have something that I’m looking to do and be excited to work with other artists. That’s all you can do. And then, you have to hope for the best. Most of the time, it’s not gonna be Suits. But then, every once in a while, it is, and when it is, it’s this magical, rare, wonderful thing.

What’s it like to join Taylor Sheridan’s world of TV with The Madison? Because he really has his own world of television at this point, what’s it like to step into a show in that world, especially when it seems so intense?

ADAMS: Intense is a good word. What’s a better word? I can’t say much about the show itself yet because we’re a ways from it being into the world, but the process of it is so dialed. Obviously, Taylor is a prolific and profoundly talented writer, but the world that he has created with the people that work on his shows, the crews and the people who have now been a part of that world and understand how to make television at that size and scope and depth, is profound. When you walk onto most television shows, it’s a bunch of people who have all been doing business for a while, but now you’re coming together to make this thing and you don’t know what this thing is or how it works. That’s been the fun of watching Suits. We’re still in the first season for the podcast and I’m seeing the pieces fall into place, as the show’s figuring itself out.

You’re like, “Oh, okay. Now that character knows that.” You can see the show start to figure out its own language. When you go onto a show in Taylor’s world, thus far, the amazing part of it is that it’s so finely tuned already. These people have all been working together for a really long time. They have a shorthand with each other. They’re still looking to develop this new world and find this new language and all that, but it’s like you’re walking onto a pro team already. And that can be intense because you don’t want to be the one to drop the ball, but at the same time, you get to go to work every day just feeling like you’re playing with the best of the best. That’s been the experience so far.

He’s certainly not known as the lighthearted comedy guy. His shows definitely put you through a lot.

ADAMS: Again, I can’t say too much, but I will say that there’s room for it in this world. That’s what I’ve appreciated too. That’s a gear that I’m enjoying actually getting to find a little bit of. Stay tuned. I’ve already said too much. The lawyers are coming for me and I’m probably gonna be taken out.