EXCLUSIVE: Tye Sheridan Chats his New Film, The Tender Bar

Tye Sheridan helps lead George Clooney’s new film, The Tender Bar as J.R. Moehringer, a young man trying to find his way in the world. Based on the memoir by Moehringer, Sheridan sat down with us to talk about his new role, working with J.R.’s younger self, Daniel Ranieri, their scene togethers, and so much more.

You and Daniel Ranieri play the same character at different ages in the film, how closely did you two work together to be able to make the performances consistent?

“Well, we didn’t really get to work too closely. There was a lot of overlap. We were shooting on the same days and we would often have lunch together. So we got to know each other a little bit off camera. But like I said, we were shooting simultaneously. So it was almost like we were building the character together at the same time and George [Clooney] was just at the helm of directing that and making sure we were both growing in the right way through the performance and the life of the shoot.”
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Can you talk a little about the scene you have with Ranieri?

“Actually the scene that you’re referring to wasn’t originally… it wasn’t in the screenplay that I read when the project first came my way. It was more of an idea I think that George [Clooney] had been playing around with, this idea of the clash of these two characters. Really a confrontation of his younger self to confront his direction in life. And he told me three or four weeks into production, ‘Hey, I’m working on this really cool scene, it’s between you and Daniel.’ I’m like, ‘Really?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, it’s this dream scene. I think it’s going to be really cool.’ And so he sent it to me and I read it. It was great. So I’m glad we got one scene.”

J.R. learns a lot from his Uncle Charlie (Ben Affleck) in the film, what is something that you learned from him or from this film experience that you can adapt and use in your everyday life?

“I think that’s super important about every project you take on. I mean, you feel like you want to make sure it’s challenging you and you’re growing through it. And I think that this movie I felt a personal connection to it in so many ways. One in the relationship J.R. has with his mother. I spent a lot of time just me and my mom when I was younger and I think it really made me reflect back on those times. And then also a lot of times you find yourself stuck in life. You find yourself in a rut, you find yourself in desperate need of advice or desperate need for someone to tell you, ‘Hey, dude.’ They call you out on your crap.

I think Uncle Charlie does that in multiple ways in this film. I think just as we were talking about last night, how important role models are in your life, how they can make or break you if you don’t have those people in your life. So I think that’s one thing that I learned through playing this character. But also I think J.R. spends so much time longing for someone or something that he feels is absent in his life. And he comes to realization that maybe he’s been looking in the wrong places. That what he actually needs, what’s purely necessary has been there all along. And I think that we all have that moment in our lives. And it’s amazing to get to explore that through character and specifically in this story.”

The Tender Bar will be released to Prime Video on January 7.

Photo credit: CLAIRE FOLGER © AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC

*This interview has been edited for length and clarity