Logan Macrae’s role in Where the Crawdads Sing was a long time coming. The model-turned-actor began acting in “2012-ish” but didn’t book his first credited role until years later.
While modeling came to him overnight, breaking out into the acting scene posed greater difficulties. “I was very lucky. The modeling stuff often comes about easily for people. There are things that I pursued, and there are also things that I fell into,” Macrae shares exlcusively with The Best War Games. “I was very lucky, right out of college, but I'm the type of person that likes to work hard at things, and I was trying to find something that was just slightly deeper than what I was doing with the modeling stuff.”
Well, 2022 seems to be Macrae’s year. He is starring as Jodie Clark in the highly-anticipated movie adaptation of Delia Owens’s novel. His character is the brother of main character Kya Clark, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones, best known for her roles in the miniseries Normal People and the horror movie Fresh. Kya was abandoned at a young age and raised herself to adulthood in the marshlands of North Carolina.
“Jodie is a very interesting character. I didn't realize how much I have in common with him until I tried to do a deep dive, and he became one of those characters that I was perfect for,” shares the actor. He went on to say that finding this common ground helped him connect to his character despite their many differences. “He went through a difficult childhood, and he approaches his life in a certain way. His relationship with his sister is very special.”
When it came to working opposite Edgar-Jones, Macrae says she made it “very, very easy.” He went on to share, “She is an absolute sweetheart. All the amazing things that you hear about her are true. Thankfully, it was simple to build that rapport and relationship. She's such an open person, and we were able to connect on a lot of levels very quickly which made both of our jobs more simple.”
In addition to appearing in Where the Crawdads Sing, the actor also stars in the new Apple TV+ series Black Bird. While he is enjoying testing the waters and exploring new genres, he did feel a pull to the darker territory that is explored in the Taron Egerton-led series. “I love the darkness that hovers over Black Bird, and I've always wanted to kind of play the bad guy. I think getting in the head of somebody that is the ‘bad guy’ is an interesting process.”
Speaking of bad guys, Macrae cites Christian Bale as his acting inspiration. The Academy Award winner has accumulated a few “bad guy” roles over the course of his career, such as playing serial killer Patrick Bateman in American Psycho and Gorr the God Butcher in the recent Thor movie. Macrae says, “It's mind-blowing to see the transformations he takes between characters. He is the epitome of an actor that can turn himself into the character. It's easy to connect to the stuff that sits at home, but he goes so much further than that in everything that he does.”
Macrae’s next role is Devotion, set to release on Thanksgiving. He plays hotel heiress Nicky Hilton in the war drama following two U.S. Navy fighter pilots who risk their lives during the Korean War. “It's a great movie. It's got Glen Powell in it. It's got some very big names,” he says. The movie also stars Joe Jonas and Jonathan Majors. “I don't want to compare it to Top Gun because that's its own genre. It’s a military story, but it's more of a period piece. My storyline took place in the French Riviera, which is really cool.”
Where the Crawdads Sing premieres in theaters on July 15, 2022.