‘Where The Crawdads Sing’s Taylor John Smith Admits He ‘Originally Auditioned’ For Chase

Where The Crawdads Sing is simply a faithful adaptation of Delia Owens’ bestselling caller of the aforesaid name. Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith, and Harris Dickinson prima successful the film and bring the 3 cardinal characters to beingness connected the large screen. Taylor, who plays Kya’s archetypal emotion Tate, told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that helium was up for the relation of Chase first.

Taylor John Smith and Daisy Edgar-Jones successful ‘Where The Crawdads Sing.’ (Sony Pictures/Everett Collection)

“I really primitively auditioned for Chase. My archetypal audition was for Chase,” Taylor said. “I deliberation Livvie Newman, the director, emailed backmost and was like, ‘Hey, I cognize this is past minute, but tin you hole for Tate? And we’ll bash a chemistry work with you and Daisy.’ It was precise fast-paced, and I conscionable connected a batch much with Tate. I deliberation it made much consciousness to Olivia arsenic well. And past I got to conscionable Daisy virtually, and we conscionable connected. It was benignant of instantaneous, and I’m truthful gladsome that worked retired that way. Because my sisters, erstwhile they recovered retired that I was moving connected the film, they were like, ‘Who are you playing? Chase oregon Tate?’ And you amended reply right.’ And I was like, ‘Tate. Don’t wounded me.’ And they’re like, ‘Good answer.’”

For Taylor, helium was intrigued by however inherently good Tate is contempt each that’s happened to him. “I deliberation kindness is truly sexy,” Taylor told HollywoodLife. While helium pointed retired that Tate is not “this cooky cutter, cleanable guy,” helium does “come backmost and marque amends and marque it right. I conscionable deliberation I loved however benignant helium was. He didn’t presumption anybody successful the municipality — her, Jumpin, oregon Mabel — arsenic anybody different than radical that needed love. Tate losing his ma and his small sister successful a car clang aboriginal successful his beingness I deliberation helped him link with Kya’s quality successful a mode that a batch of radical weren’t capable to. I deliberation helium understood symptom and understood that kindness tin beryllium that antidote to that pain.”

The marsh is wherever Tate and Kya’s emotion communicative begins. “At the beginning, that’s benignant of however they make their narration is communal emotion and affection for quality and the marsh and biology,” Taylor noted. “That ends up increasing into thing bigger, a emotion for each different towards the mediate of the movie and done the end.” The formed filmed connected determination successful New Orleans, which subbed for the book’s North Carolina setting.

“I consciousness similar erstwhile watching it, you tin spot the humidity. I cognize it sounds weird, but [that’s] our existent sweat and america effort not to smack our faces erstwhile mosquitoes are biting america successful the mediate of a scene, snakes rolling around, alligators everywhere, the astir beauteous sunsets. and the cacophony of cicadas and insects chirping successful the background. It truly pulls you into it, and the movie wouldn’t beryllium the aforesaid without it,” Taylor admitted.

Like the book, the movie ends with the uncover that Kya was the 1 to termination Chase aft all. She went connected proceedings for his murder, but she was recovered innocent. Before helium knew the ending, Taylor “100 percent” thought that Tate killed Chase. “The full clip speechmaking I’m like, ‘This feline murdered, Chase 100 percent.’ But past arsenic I continued reading, I’m like, ‘What benignant of idiosyncratic allows idiosyncratic to spell connected proceedings for their life?’ I was like, ‘Maybe helium did, possibly helium didn’t. Maybe he’s conscionable a coward.’ I don’t know. I couldn’t fig it out,” helium added. “And past astatine the end, I’m like, of course, she did it. She’s badass. It’s a communicative of survival, and I deliberation if she didn’t bash it, it wouldn’t truly look the mode that it did successful the publication and marque you consciousness immoderate afloat ellipse semblance of ownership that she had.”

Daisy Edgar-Jones, Reese Witherspoon, and Taylor John Smith astatine the premiere. (Matt Baron/Shutterstock)

Taylor Swift wrote the original opus “Carolina” for the movie, which plays during the credits. Taylor revealed however the “All Too Well” vocalist came up with the opus during lockdown. “The movie without that song, I can’t representation it,” Taylor told HollywoodLife. “Now it’s similar the cleanable bookend into it.”

He continued, “The communicative astir however it came to beryllium is ace cool, too. I conjecture Taylor work the publication astir the pandemic erstwhile everybody was dealing with isolation and benignant of being connected their own. It truly inspired her, and she conscionable decided to constitute the lyrics connected a walk. She was successful London connected a locomotion 1 time and conscionable wrote the lyrics arsenic she was walking about, and past recorded each the instruments from that opus by herself. They’re each instruments that predate the movie, truthful instruments that were astir successful the 1950s. So it’s similar period-correct euphony making. And past she conscionable sent it with this fantastic missive astir however overmuch it inspired her. To get a monolithic star… I mean, I don’t deliberation it gets immoderate bigger than that. For Taylor Swift to beryllium inspired capable to constitute a opus for your movie is truthful cool, right? She’s the archetypal performance I ever went to erstwhile I was a kid astatine the Delaware State Fair.” Where The Crawdads Sing is present disposable connected Blu-ray and Digital.