The Hollywood that James Stewart knew has long since vanished into the mists of time, but that bygone Golden Age is recreated in Jimmy — with a few real mementos from the era included in the frame, including the late actor’s actual Oscar.
Directed by Aaron Burns, Jimmy casts Riverdale star KJ Apa as the silver screen legend who delivered indelible star turns in such classics as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Harvey. Rather than a full tour of his filmography, though, Burns and screenwriter Justin Strawhand telescope their focus to Stewart’s years as a combat pilot in World War II, a career change that took him far beyond the bright lights of Hollywood.
Opening in theater on Nov. 6 courtesy of Fathom Entertainment, the film also depicts Stewart’s various romantic entanglements before he met the woman he would ultimately marry, Gloria (Jen Lilley). One of his almost-brides was none other than another Hollywood legend, Ginger Rogers; Gold Derby is debuting an exclusive scene from Jimmy that features Stewart attempting to convince Fred Astaire’s most famous dance partner (played by Jemma Donovan) to elope to Las Vegas with him — an invitation she politely, but firmly rejects. (Watch the clip above.)
Stewart’s decision to enlist in WWII followed his Best Actor win for the 1940 comedy favorite, The Philadelphia Story — the second of five nominations he received across his career. (He was also recognized with an Honorary Award in 1985.) That statuette stayed in the Stewart family following his death in 1997, and his daughter, Kelly Stewart-Harcourt, brought it to the set of Jimmy so it could be used in one of the movie’s first scenes, which takes place just after the 1941 Oscar ceremony where her father accepted his prize.
“Kelly let us film with his Oscar,” Burns tells Gold Derby about that scene, which finds Jimmy waking up after a long night of partying, his Oscar clutched closely to his chest. “I just remember thinking, ‘Holy smokes, this was his!'”
“It was really cool,” echoes Apa about the experience of holding the same Oscar that the actor he’s playing once held. “It was really heavy, and worn down a little, but it was so awesome to have in the scene.”
We spoke with Jimmy‘s director and star about why the story of Stewart’s military service resonated so strongly to them, and how Apa mastered his Jimmy Stewart voice.
Gold Derby: Aaron, what attracted you to telling this particular story about Stewart’s life?
Aaron Burns: Like KJ and most people, I saw It’s a Wonderful Life growing up and knew that he was a great performer. But then I stumbled across an article that he wrote where he talked about his service in World War II, and I was like, “Wait, his war service? Actors don’t go to war. What is this?” Then I learned that the first movie he made after being a bomber pilot was It’s a Wonderful Life and that movie was transformative for him, helping him heal his PTSD and launching the rest of his career and family life. I just thought, “I have never heard this story before,” so I wanted to be the one to tell it.
And obviously the next step is finding your Jimmy.
Burns: Yeah, I took a bunch of actors’ names, put them in a hat, and stirred them around for a long time before I picked KJ’s name. [Laughs] Honestly, when we were talking about who should play Jimmy, one of the things we realized is that he’s so distinctive. That means that no one else is going to be exactly the right height or have the right face and voice.
Instead, we were looking for somebody who has the talent to embody Jimmy, and also the heart to go on the adventure of making this movie. I talked to a bunch of people, but when I got on a Zoom with KJ we just hit it off and I was like, “This is my guy.” I remember texting with my producers on the side going, “Please book this guy right away.”
KJ Apa: I was definitely very intimidated on that first meeting. Coming from New Zealand, I wasn’t all that familiar with old Hollywood and I hadn’t seen a lot of the movies from that era. But as soon as I read the script, I saw that it was the story of the type of man that I want to be. At first, I was terrified to the point where I didn’t know if I could commit to it.
After sitting with the script for a while, I felt that no one else could do it but me. And after meeting Aaron, I felt a lot of trust and I realized we were going to make something special. There was a physical toll, too. I’m not tall, so I couldn’t play his tallness, but I knew that if I lost weight, it would at least help me physically embody his presence onscreen. I’ve never lost that much weight for a part before, but I felt it was necessary.
KJ, getting his unique vocal cadence right must have been another challenge — what was the key that helped you unlock it?
Apa: I watched everything and I listened to everything he had ever done. So it was through that repetition, as well as my great dialect coach. You have to really sit and immerse yourself in everything that is Jimmy Stewart for the amount of time that I had, which wasn’t a whole lot of time! And then you’re kind of in no man’s land until you’re on set.
For a while there I was thinking, “I’m doing all this work, and I don’t know how it’s going to translate.” You just have to trust that the environment is set up in such a way on set where everything you’ve prepared for is being received appropriately. It was a risk for sure, but I couldn’t have any reservations about doing the voice. There was never a way I was just going to do his physicality and not the voice; I had to commit one hundred percent to both.
How did his daughter, Kelly, come to be involved?
Burns: We connected with her to share our vision for the story, which was never going to be a free-ranging biopic, just this transformative slice of his life. And she told us, “My dad’s favorite years were the ones where he served in the military, so for you to do a film that honors him as a humble man of service would be amazing. At that point, she jumped on as an executive producer; we worked through the script with her, and she would be flipping through his old journals where he wrote in his own hand about his men getting blown up. Kelly also has a little cameo in the movie and when she was on set watching KJ, she whispered to me, “He makes a damn fine Dad.” And I just thought, “I’ll take that.”
You both belong to a younger generation of Hollywood creative talent — what is it about Stewart’s era that speaks to you?
Apa: For me, it was this breed of men that a lot of people say is slowly dying; men like Jimmy Stewart, an award-winning actor who did so well in Hollywood, but then decided to do the polar opposite thing by enlisting to fight for his country. And then to go on and fight in over 20 combat missions in Europe — that’s unfathomable to me. As I said before, those are the kind of men that I really aspire to be. Growing up, my biggest fear was war; one of my oldest memories is walking through a museum and seeing trenches and things. I remember thinking, “What if I had to do this?” It’s terrifying to me.
Aaron, how challenging was it to get a film of this scope made independently?
Burns: Luckily, we had what I call the “Jimmy Bulldozer.” Jimmy Stewart was marching in front of us with his legacy, and with Kelly involved there were so many fans that come out of the woodwork to share stories with us or invest in the project. Indie filmmaking is one of the toughest careers anyone can embark on, but the joy of being able to tell a story alongside people like Kelly is a joy. We were shooting in Ireland, and a film producer named David Puttnam — who made Chariots of Fire and all kinds of other big movies — heard we were doing a movie about Jimmy Stewart and just came to set to hang out.
I told him, “Bro, you’re a legend — this is insane!” And he just said, “I’ll tell you the story about how Jimmy made a difference in my life 50 years ago.” It just felt like we were marching in the goodness that he had left behind. Our hope with the film is to be able to leave some more of that goodness behind as we go forward.
KJ, in the movie, we see that Stewart is motivated by this idea of proving himself. Even with all your success on Riverdale, do you still feel like you have something to prove?
Apa: I’m definitely grateful for the opportunity that Riverdale has given me to be selective in the stories that I want to tell, and ones that express the themes and values that I believe in. And Jimmy was someone who had high expectations of himself; his grandfather fought in the Civil War and his father was a World War I veteran, so there was definitely this expectation for him to be there when his country needed him.
I definitely relate to that in terms of my relationship with my own dad. My dad is a chief in Samoa and there are obligations and responsibilities that come with that. Those responsibilities can help you feel more useful in the world. I oftentimes have that conflict in my own work where I feel like, “What difference am I really making?” I think Jimmy wanted to be of use, and when he felt he had that opportunity, he took it. The biggest thing that I hope people take away from this movie is to feel inspired to listen to whatever thing is calling in their heart and, like Jimmy, fight for it.
This interview has been edited and condensed
