How far can a pair of beat-up 19th century jeans take you? In director Eugene Kotlayrenko’s latest feature, Vintage Violence, the seemingly innocent pair of denim brought the main characters on a chaotic action-packed trip to Japan. Starring Cole Sprouse and Kiko Mizuhara, the genre bending film explored the complexity of desires and the search for authentic connections, whether found in the form of online streaming or discarded Levi’s.
The film was chosen to close the 37th edition of the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), becoming the first dedicated closing screening since 2014. Ahead of its premiere, we sat down with Sprouse, who plays the character Carter in the film, and asked him a few trivia questions.
In Vintage Violence, your character’s whole adventure kicks off with a find of old Levi’s. In real life, what’s the story of your best vintage find?
I’m not a big clothes guy. I kind of wear the same old pieces until they’re tattered. While we were filming Vintage Violence, I had the chance to go to Koenji, which is a part of Tokyo that specialises in a lot of vintage clothes. I went and returned with three suitcases (worth of clothes). I was just buying things off the mannequins, which is probably kind of an embarrassing confession.
I think we all have a crow part in our brain—a little bird that likes to collect things. I’ve got various little collections all around my office that I like. Vintage, though, is kind of a broad word. I collect masks, like old masks. I went to Kyoto at the beginning of last year and found some old theatrical masks, and I took those home. Those were really special.
What’s the story behind the last photo you took on your phone?
I actually think it’s of my manager, Ryan. While we were in the waiting room, he had the binoculars and he was a peeping tom to the city. So he was staring into people’s residences, and I said, “That’s depraved.” So I had to take a photo of that.
Which comic character do you relate to most these days?
Probably Jughead (from Riverdale), but that one’s kind of an easy answer. When I was a kid, I really loved the Fantastic Four; I really liked Reed Richards and the Human Torch. I also loved the Hulk. These days though, there’s a really incredible graphic novel called Black Hole by Charles Burns, which I really like. I won’t tell you too much about it, but it’s a great coming of age graphic novel, and I find those characters to be very relatable.
What’s something small that made you happy this week?
I had some really good lamb chops aboard Singapore Air. I’m not going to lie, they’re delicious. They were really good. I’m not a plane food guy, but I was really surprised by the lamb chops on Singapore Air. So shoutout to Singapore Air, your lamb chops were delightful. (Sprouse proceeded to mention the lamb chops to the room several more times, so now you know what is his go-to recommendation when flying with Singapore Air).
Who is the modern man to you?
I think the internet rewards extremes, and kind of, a binary thinking. I think anybody that’s just willing to sit down and have a conversation about the grey areas in between is probably a modern man.
Note : The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.