CHARLES MELTON TALKS MAY DECEMBER

May December currently streaming on Netflix, features some heavy hitters but actor Charles Melton has proven that he can hold his own opposite his Oscar winning co-stars.

In Todd Haynes’ latest film May December, Natalie Portman takes on her most challenging role yet — playing Julianne Moore.

In May December, popular television actor Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) heads to Savannah, Georgia, to research a part in a new film that follows a scandalous tabloid romance. That love affair — between Gracie (Julianne Moore) and Joe (Charles Melton) — was once a fixture of the gossip pages.

Joe is significantly younger than Gracie, who served time in prison when they were caught together. When she was released, the pair were married, and they now have three children together who are about to graduate from high school. At first glance, their untraditional marriage looks more predictable than Elizabeth expected. But soon, her observation brings long-dormant feelings to the surface, and the decades-old scandal reveals deeper and deeper layers.

Charles Melton (Riverdale) is extraordinary as Joe. He plays the character with empathy and a subtle quietness that adds to the heartbreak of what his life has become. Melton has received much deserved praise and accolades for his work in the film including a Critic’s Choice Nomination for Best Supporting Actor which will inevitably lead to a coveted Oscar nod.

May December fictionalizes the story of Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau. The pair met when she was a teacher and he was in second grade. After years of plying Fualaau with gifts and special attention, Letourneau became pregnant by Fualaau when he was just 13.

Convicted of rape, she was released after just three months but immediately violated parole to become pregnant with Fualaau’s second child. In 2005, after serving a seven-year sentence during which she continued her relationship with Fualaau, Letourneau married him. The couple separated in 2019, shortly before Letourneau’s death from cancer.

I spoke with Charles Melton about his process to play Joe in, May December. You can watch our interview below.