TOBY WALLACE’S REPUTATION PRECEDES HIM, OR RATHER, HIS ROLES DO. WITH A KNACK FOR PLAYING “THE BAD GUY”, THE AUSTRALIAN ACTOR DOESN’T STRAY FROM HIS USUAL PATH IN THE BIKERIDERS. THE JEFF NICHOLS FILM EXPLORES BIKER CULTURE OF THE 1960S, WITH WALLACE’S CHARACTER AS ITS CROWN JEWEL—A YOUNG BIKER WHO PERSONIFIES THE LIFESTYLE. QUITE THE CONTROVERSIAL FIGURE, THE KID IS AS MORALLY CORRUPT AS THEY COME. BUT FOR THE ACTOR, THAT IS WHAT MAKES IT INTERESTING. IT’S THE CHALLENGE OF CREATING THREE-DIMENSIONAL CHARACTERS THAT MOTIVATES HIM—WALLACE IS ACTIVELY MAKING THE MOVIES HE WANTS TO SEE IN THE WORLD. HIS GOALS ARE NOT PURELY ARTISTIC; HE CONFESSES THAT THE BEST PART OF THE JOB IS HAVING A NEW HOBBY WITH EACH PROJECT. FOR THE BIKERIDERS, WALLACE FOUND HIS POSSIBLY COOLEST ONE YET: RIDING HIS NEW VINTAGE HARLEY DAVIDSON AROUND LOS ANGELES. WE SPOKE TO WALLACE ABOUT HIS ROAD TO SUCCESS, THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE AUSTRALIAN AND AMERICAN MOVIE INDUSTRIES, AND THE EVER-INSPIRING YOUNG WILLEM DAFOE.

How are you? I hope I didn’t wake you up too early…

[Laughs] No, you good man. I’m staying at a friend’s place, and I have to wake up super early to feed the pets. So yeah, you’re all good.

Do you like pets?

Oh yeah, I’m a huge dog guy but I’m on the road all the time, so I haven’t been able to have one for a very long time. But you know, once I land down somewhere I’ll for sure get some.

Speaking of the road, how’s the press tour going for The Bikeriders?

It’s going well. I haven’t taken the full brunt of it but the bits I’ve done have been pretty fun. The London premiere was fun and the Los Angeles one was crazy… I had a good time.

Tank top **Gucci**, jewellery Toby's own

I’ve been following your career for a while and I’ve noticed you have a proclivity to play, for the lack of a better word, bad boys. What do you think attracts you to characters that are on the fringes of society?

I think those roles are just fun to play, I get the most enjoyment out of playing them. Weirdly, I just find them easy to play. I find it very difficult to do my job if I’m not completely enthralled by it. If I don’t, I’m just shooting myself in the foot because I will half-ass it if I’m not interested. I know that walking into something I need to be intrigued by it. I’m a bit of a pain in the ass with my agents because they’ll send me stuff and if I’m not completely immersed in it, I’ll probably do a bad job.

You also seem to have a knack for playing villains. Do you enjoy playing the bad guy?

My favorite films have those morally corrupt characters. I think it's that truthful telling lends itself to reality, morally dysfunctional people and values exist, and telling the stories of people who live hard lives is important. Those are some of my favorite films.

In The Bikeriders, The Kid is someone who seems so charged with hate, that it’s a very easy character to despise. Do you need to find the humanity in a character before you play it?

I think it depends, but for The Kid, it was great because I had a rich backstory. There was so much dimension built into the character already. But I don’t think he’s just a pure antagonist, he had a full-colored idea of what he’s been through. I mean, the first scene makes it pretty clear what socio-economic and familiar background he comes from. He doesn’t have a huge amount of screen time, but you get just enough information to project the picture of his whole life - it’s just good writing.

Left Full look **Prada**
Right Full look **N°21**

That’s what is so peculiar about The Kid, he’s not super present but he’s essential for the development of the story. What was your first response when you were approached to play the role?

I mean, I’ve always been in love with Jeff Nichols… As a filmmaker, not as a guy. [Laughs] I’ve been obsessed with his films since I was a kid. He has this very refined Southern sensibility; all his films mix this childlike innocence with a Southern masculinity. He reached out to me because of a mutual friend we have who told him about some of my work. When we had a meeting, I was on set for another movie, I didn’t even have time to read the script, but I just said yes anyway. I couldn’t believe it. I would’ve said yes to anything he would’ve given me, if I’m being honest. I think that’s why he always has such crazy casts in his films. Actors just want to work with Jeff no matter how small a role is… He’s just that guy.

What was your process like for getting into this character?

My process is always similar. I do a lot of accent work, so I always start with the voice because it leads me to everything else. I then watched a lot of video footage and recordings of anything specific to that time. I also watched The Loveless which is a movie from the ‘80s by Kathryn Bigelow that stars a young William Dafoe. It’s kind of a weird film, he just rides his bike around town and has these bizarre interactions. On the more personal side, I found The Kid through conversations with Jeff about what it would be like to come from that sort of background. I would also record long monologues. It started so I could practice the accent but ended in these long conversations through his point of view, it became a lot more philosophical.

I’ve talked to actors in the past who mentioned that having an accent created a barrier between the character and their emotional self. Do you find that that is the case for you?

I’d love to say yes. But sometimes I’ve thought that maybe if I find a character that is so different from me, I’m going to be more comfortable, I’d feel more hidden. But in all honesty, I feel terrified about every job I’ve ever done, whether it’s closer to me or not.

How do you find that your relationship with that fear is evolving as your career progresses?

It’s gotten better. But I’m still very nervous walking on set all the time. I used to have a hard time bringing it home and beating myself up with that anxiety all day. I feel like now I’m much more relaxed than I used to be. I still get very nervous when I go on set but I’m better at leaving it there and forget about it when I go home. Maybe that is an age thing.

You started out acting at quite a young age. When did you first figure out that was something you wanted to do?

When I was young, my dad won a video camera in a competition, so we just had it at home. I got obsessed with that camera, I filmed everything. I put commentary on top of that… I was annoying. I used to make short films with my friends. I just wanted to make movies, but I didn’t know what that meant. A couple of years later during school, I started going to a drama class. The guy who ran the class saw something in me and put me forward for auditions. I got lucky to grow up doing a few things.

Do you ever consider picking the camera back up?

Yeah, as soon as possible. I need to finish what I’m writing. I’ve always wanted to direct, that’s my actual dream.

Left Full look **Loro Piana**
Right Full look **Celine Homme**

Do you find that acting is helping you on that path?

Absolutely. It’s kind of the best practice for it. For anything involving film, being on set is the answer. No matter what department you’re in, working in film somehow is the greatest training you can have.

Do you find that the Australian film industry differs from Hollywood?

I think it's very different. I think Australian filmmaking has a personable quality to it - you’re on a team, no one is more valuable than another person, and it’s all quite down to earth. I think that’s what makes it, so we have such interesting movies. But on the other hand, I do feel like if you have an ambition that escapes that scene, you’re going to get torn down. We’re afraid we're going to get too big for our boats which I think is just part of our culture. Whereas in America, there’s a well-oiled hierarchy, it’s less personal. But Americans seem to have this can-do attitude that we don’t have.

I’ve read that you got yourself a Harley Davidson. Was that preparation or just a wish of yours?

I never rode a motorcycle before I did the film. I got my license two days before I had to fly out to be on set. Suddenly I’m learning about all these 1960s Harleys and riding them everywhere. It was genuinely one of the best experiences I’ve ever had; I loved it. We were riding them everywhere, to get lunch, dinner, drinks… we were all together, all the time. I love this about the jobs I do. No matter what the job is, you get so invested as an actor. I always leave jobs with a new hobby, in this one, it was bike riding. I walked away from that experience going, “I want a bike now.” I was thinking about it for a year and then a buddy of mine that deals with vintage motorbikes got me one from this place in Dallas. We did some customization on it and now it's sitting in a shop in LA, it's my mode of transportation when I go to work.