Jacob Tremblay can relate to ‘Luca’
At 14, Jacob Tremblay may still be categorized as a remarkable child actor but he’s definitely growing up.
He voices the title character in Pixar’s latest animated triumph “Luca,” a tale set in ’50s-’60s Italy about “sea monsters,” funny fish-like underwater denizens who magically morph into human form whenever they come out of the water.
Luca is basically more boy than fish, eager to leave the nest and his over-protective parents (Maya Rudolph, Jim Gaffigan). He wants to go to school and be all that he can be.
“When you get to meet him at the beginning,” Tremblay said, “Luca’s a timid kid. He really wants to explore the human world but his parents have a lot of restrictions. He meets his great friend Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer) who helps him step out of his comfort zone.”
What ultimately leads Luca out of the water?
“Curiosity. He wants to explore what’s off limits. The humans and sea monsters should be cool with each other, but it’s not that way because of fear.
“Alberto is free with no restrictions, which is so appealing to Luca. He really inspires Luca to go amongst the humans.”
Tremblay might be playing Italian but his exposure so far has only been a visit to Milan, Italy’s great industrial city, not a charming Mediterranean port like the setting for “Luca.”
“I definitely relate to Luca in a lot of ways, like his eagerness to go out and explore.
“Especially now because of COVID we all want to go out and like Luca ride a Vespa through Italy.”
Tremblay first gained attention as Brie Larson’s son, born in captivity, in the Oscar-winning “Room” (2015). He won additional acclaim as a facially disfigured boy forced to go to public school for fifth grade in the 2017 drama “Wonder.” Julia Roberts played his mother.
“When I look back at it now, I’m just so amazed at what I did. I was 9 at the Oscars (when Larson won
Best Actress) and I had no idea! Of course I was excited but I didn’t fully understand how amazing it is to be in a place like that.”
Asked about the future, “This is what I want to do the rest of my life,” he said. “I really want to get into directing and writing. That’s
definitely what I want to do.”
Up next, voicing Flounder, in Disney’s live action reboot of ‘The Little Mermaid.”