First things first: Obsession star Michael Johnston wouldn’t want to be in a relationship with Bear, either. “He certainly doesn’t think he’s a bad guy,” the actor tells Gold Derby about his alter ego, the non-hero at the center of Curry Barker‘s horror phenomenon. “He likes to think that he’s a nice guy — it’s that whole nice guy trope. So I felt a little protective of Bear while I was playing him. After seeing the film, only then did a realize what a piece of s–t he was!”
The internet largely agrees with that take. If you somehow haven’t seen Obsession by now, the plot pivots on Bear’s selfishly motivated wish to make his longtime crush, Nikki (Inde Navarrette), love him more than anyone else in the world. Faster than you can say “Monkey’s paw,” she’s under his spell and wants to be together every waking hour, minute, and second. Both Bear (whose full name is Baron Bailey) and the audience gradually become aware that’s not really Nikki — but that dawning realization also doesn’t stop him from pursuing the romance he’s always wanted even if Nikki can’t provide her full consent.
“Absolutely, he is taking advantage of her,” Johnston says without equivocation. “But how much he is aware of that changes over the course of the film. I had to not judge Bear for all the awful decisions he was making, because as the actor, I had to justify those decisions. If I had cast my own judgment on him that may have changed the way I played the character. But it was very, very clear from Curry’s script that he’s not the hero. He doesn’t have a redeeming arc.”
And as millions of moviegoers already know, it’s not like Bear and Nikki enjoy a happily ever after. Obsession, on the other hand, is living a real-life fairy tale. Since landing in theaters on May 15, Barker’s $750,000 film is approaching a $400 million global gross. And Obsession is about to get a whole new influx of viewers now that it’s available on VOD services, which means scaredy cats can catch up with it at home. Meanwhile, the awards buzz has already started with Navarrette emerging as the internet’s pick for Best Actress.
“I’m the worst person in the world to ask about [awards stuff], but that would be crazy,” Johnston says about Obsession‘s Oscar chances. “This has already been an experience that I can’t even make sense of. At this point, I’m just going to sit back and watch what happens. I’m just so grateful that people got to see our work, and then we get to have all these conversations about something we worked so hard on. It’s an honor.”
We spoke with Johnston about key scenes from Obsession, and why “short king” is the only crown that Bear deserves.
Gold Derby: Let’s start with the scene in the car where Bear almost tells Nikki he’s into her, but can’t work up the courage. Curry has said that he shot that scene two ways, one where Nikki is telegraphing that she likes him and the other where she doesn’t. Does that jibe with your memory?
Michael Johnston: I never actually asked whether or not Nikki was into Bear, because I was just so in his headspace. I was just thinking, “She’s not going to like me, she’s not going to like me.” It wasn’t really important to me what the answer was, but seeing the final cut of the film, it is a little unclear. Sometimes she’s dropping hints, and other times not. My interpretation of it is that she wants to be into him, but she’s turned off by his lack of confidence.
When we spoke with Inde, she said you never had that conversation between yourselves, either.
That’s right; our focus was to be really in the heads of our own characters. What I love about the script in general is that it leaves it up to you to come up with your own idea and form your own judgement. But for us as actors, we were just connected to the truth of what our characters wanted or feared and that’s all we really focused on.
You mentioned that you think Bear is a piece of s–t. Are you able to disconnect yourself from the character when you watch the film?
I’m really proud of the fact that I can watch it and say, “Yeah, that’s not me.” [Laughs] Sure, there are pieces of me in there, like in the way Bear says or does certain things. But those moments almost give me the ick because I’m like, “I don’t want to be associated with this guy.” Sometimes you play characters where you feel, “This is just me, so I’m going to go in and be myself onscreen.” But that wasn’t the case with Bear. I really went somewhere else for awhile, and it was a very dark place. And I like the uncomfortableness of that. I like getting into the skin of someone else.
Are you typically the kind of actor who brings your characters home with you?
No, I’m not a Method actor by any means; I’m not staying in character between takes or anything like that! But that also depends on the script and how much you’re in it. In this case, I was in every scene of the movie except for one, which mean 12-hour filming days and then going home and learning my lines for the next day. It was almost impossible to let go of Bear and the anxious energy that came with him. At some point, I was talking to myself in the mirror and saying, “This isn’t you; it’s just the character, and that’s okay. You’re safe to feel this way.” That didn’t really make me feel better, but it was something to do. And it’s a thing I still do; I’ll look at myself in the mirror and talk to myself in the character’s thoughts.
We learn a few things about Bear’s history during the course of the movie, but did you invent more backstory than what was on the page?
I didn’t build out too much backstory. We know that he’s inherited his house from his grandmother, so in my mind, he probably lost her within in the last year or so. We also see him lose his cat early on in the film, and he doesn’t grieve very much. It was an intentional choice to not even have him fully sob; he kind of cries, but it’s not even really the most affected cry. And I can tell you right now, if I lost my pet, I’d be punching holes in the wall! But that’s the thing about Bear — he avoids difficult emotions.
While I was playing him, I focused less on the life events that may have happened and more on remembering what it was like for me to have a crush on someone that didn’t like me back. Or to be chasing someone with this idea of, “This person will save me.” I’ve definitely had those experiences, and I’ve known people who have had them as well. That’s what I really focused on, especially when I was bringing myself back to what felt like my own body.
You have a challenging role in the film, because Inde is tasked with making a lot of big performance choices as Nikki, and it’s up to you to react to them in a way that makes sense for Bear, but also for the audience. Did it get frustrating having to play a character so reactive instead of proactive?
I can confidently say no. I’ve been really fortunate throughout my career to work with some really giving scene partners, and Inde was the most wonderful scene partner. Because we were shooting scenes in such a random order, we would give each scene different energy levels ahead of time. We’d be like, “Let’s do this one at a three; let’s do this one at a five; and let’s do this one at a 10.” She was there to throw, and I would catch and we just had each other’s backs.
The most difficult scenes were the technical scares, because when you’re shooting them they always feel a little clunky. The set really isn’t that dark — that’s all in the editing room — and you don’t hear the music, so we really had to rely on Curry to let us know it was OK and didn’t look silly.
The turning point of the story for Bear is when he makes the call to One Wish Willow HQ and learns that the only way to free Nikki is for one of them to die. That sets up the movie’s endgame where he does ultimately kill himself. Did that moment inform how played the back half of the movie — Bear carrying around the knowledge that he’s not going to make it out of this alive?
It’s funny, because we shot the film out of order, so when we were filming the scene that wasn’t so clear to me. But I do think the moment when he says, “I’d like to alter a wish,” and he finds out he can’t cancel the wish is a turning point. I mean, that’s so selfish! And then there’s that other moment where the real Nikki is asking for his help when the other one is asleep, and he’s like, “What’s so bad about being with me?” There are so many points that you could point to and say, “That’s when he becomes the worst person on the planet.” [Laughs]
The other thing about that scene with Nikki is that Curry told me, “Bear is being selfish here.” Instinctually, I was going to play it as “He’s got to feel something for her.” But Curry was very clear about what he wanted, so I played it as him knowing he’s done something wrong, but he can’t mentally admit what he’s done. He just doesn’t have the tools or the ability to take any responsibility, even though I truly don’t believe that he want her to suffer.
Curry has said that his next movie, Anything but Ghosts, will reveal that Nikki was sent to jail for the deaths of Bear and his friends. Inde told us that she’s rooting for Nikki to find a way to avoid that fate. Do you also want “Justice for Nikki”?
I don’t have a lot of hope that she will get justice, but she certainly doesn’t deserve what she gets. I mean, none of the women in this movie deserved what they got. It truly is a horror film in that sense. But I’m really excited to see how that’s addressed in Anything but Ghosts, and I’m just excited for that film in general.
What’s the scene in Obsession that you’re proudest of?
There are a few; I love the scene where Bear makes the wish. It was one of the first things we shot, and I remember thinking, “Oh, yeah, this is going to work.” And then the scene where Nikki kills Sarah was one of my most-anticipated moments, and was one of my favorite scenes to film. We got to watch the playback of it on the monitor, and it was just brutal. And then the scene at the end where Bear’s in the bathroom deciding what to do, and he talks all those pills and then changes his mind. That scene was so creatively fulfilling. Oh, and the car scream! I’ve always wanted to have a good car scream, and I did it. If I never get to scream again onscreen, I’ll be happy with that moment.
You’re the Scream King and Inde is the Scream Queen.
Inde’s the Scream Queen — just give her the crown and bow down! I don’t know if people want to call Bear any kind of king. He could be the Short King! That’s the only crown I’d give him. [Laughs]
This interview has been edited and condensed.
