Interview
Behind the Curtain: Mitch Cox offers his insights on his most personal film yet; detailing his approach to bringing Harrison to life in upcoming short film The Curtain Call
L. M. WAINSCOTT • 26 NOV 2025
The famous Harrison Monroe on The Curtain Call
Starring Mitch Cox and Geoff Mays, The Curtain Call follows Harrison Monroe, a celebrity caught in a murder cover up. The glamour of a Late Night talk show masks the tension between Harrison and his mentor Jackson Harper. Mitch talks about his portrayal of Harrison and the methods of navigating the world of Hollywood.
​
This film seemed like it had a lot of moving parts in its production, especially for a short. What was your experience from an actor's point of view?
Mitch Cox:​ My experience on set was definitely my most immersive experience with my acting thus far. The team that was around me were all so respectful of the goal and the production of the film that I was able to stay focused on what I was doing without being distracted by anything else.
I hand all the credit to them for allowing me the space to do that. What stood out to me about this production was how fluid everyone was. Any bumps were seemingly smoothed over so quickly that from my perspective I barely noticed. Everyone just seemed to know exactly what they were doing and the collaboration between everyone with new ideas and changing things on the fly, when needed, felt so with the flow. I can't thank everyone enough and I am grateful to have gotten the chance to watch them work.
​
Talk to me about the process of getting into your character. Harrison is this up-and-coming actor who is caught up in something that is beyond his comfort level. What was it like in Harrison's shoes?
The approach I took this time round for this character was through a lot of my own self reflection during that time. I felt I shared a lot of similar feelings to Harrison in regards to what he wanted and how he felt about getting it. I also felt I shared some of the more shameful thoughts with him such as, viewing people with the key to his dreams rather than himself, as well as the self desires to achieve those dreams despite feeling the opposite way about how to get them. Guilty even. The wanting to do good but ultimately falling back on his own selfish desires when the good can risk them.
​
Rumour has it, you also had a notebook that you filled with Harrison's thoughts. How did that come about?
I spent quite a bit of time blending my mindset with Harrison’s by writing, inspired by Matthew McConaughey. I really wanted to make Ruben and his team proud and respect their vision so I felt I had to dig deep. I truly hope that it came out that way. I felt this process definitely helped me see Harrison's point of view. I also worked with my coach, Robert Kennedy, to flush out the scenes and to help me focus on the motivations of Harrison. Reflecting back there are still moments I felt I could've done better but that's part of the process. ​​
Facing off against Jackson.
You're someone who takes their work seriously—moreso than most. In what ways did a project like this help you grow as an artist?
I felt this project helped me grow in terms of confidence. I thank Ruben mainly for that, same with Geoff. Working with people that are so open to new ideas and can encourage them and flush them out helped me a lot. Acting can be tricky.
I find for myself, in terms of respecting someone's work while still having your own point of view, being able to find the balance of what's overstepping and what's under stepping; it was such an open space with these guys, even with the short amount of time we had, I felt pretty much nothing was left on the table except my own critiques of myself. But again, that's life.
A night at a diner.
There was a 3-week break between the shoot days for the studio and the diner scenes. Did that influence your experience with the character?
Splitting up the weekend was a bit of whiplash I will admit. But I don't blame anyone for that. This group is doing so much with what they've been given, making these is always a challenge. With how the film is set it all being in a span of about 72 hours, a straight through shooting schedule would've been the dream to feel the flow of the Harrisons mind.
I find, for myself, the more exhausted I get the less I can think and the less I can think the more organic I can be in the scenes. With the split I was excited to jump back into Harrison's life and the mess he got himself into. However, I felt I was in my head for a scene that I really didn't want to be and it took me a bit to get back into the rhythm of him. Looking back I realized I should have given myself even more of a warm up to physically sink back into the role between breaks.
'The Curtain Call' is written and directed by Ruben Harjono; and produced by Eileen Cahill and William Priems. It is set to premiere in 2026. BTS stills photographed by Nishant Mathew Thomas.