[This story contains spoilers for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.]
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star Arthur Conti went from zero to sixty in record time. The English actor turned the equivalent of a high school musical into representation, which led to a two-line day on House of the Dragon and an acclaimed performance at London’s Park Theatre. Toward the end of his run on stage in Winner’s Curse, he put himself on tape for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Tim Burton and Michael Keaton’s 1988 genre mashup, Beetlejuice. Unexpectedly, Conti soon found himself in the middle of a Zoom callback with Burton and the town’s newly anointed superstar, Jenna Ortega.
Within two hours, Conti officially landed the role of Jeremy Frazier, who Ortega’s character, Astrid Deetz, would eventually refer to as her “date from hell.” Astrid — having been estranged from her mother, Lydia (Winona Ryder), since the divorce and death of her father Richard (Santiago Cabrera) — reluctantly joins the Deetz family on a trip to Winter River, Connecticut in order to bury her grandpa Charles Deetz. When her mother’s TV show producer/boyfriend, Rory (Justin Theroux), turns the funeral into an engagement party, an aggravated Astrid flees her family’s famous ghost house by bicycle.
After nearly causing a multi-vehicle accident, Astrid crashes her bike into Jeremy’s backyard where he happens to be reading Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment in a treehouse. The pair then bond over his reading material before he eventually offers an open-ended invitation for her to return the next day. While some viewers immediately noticed that something wasn’t quite right about Jeremy, their follow-up scene where Astrid takes stock of his ‘90s vinyl and book collection all but confirms his status as a ghost. However, even Conti himself missed a key clue upon his first read of Alfred Gough and Miles Millar’s script.
“When I was reading the script, I didn’t know he was a ghost at first. I must have skipped over the Handbook for the Recently Deceased part. If you’ve seen the first film and you see that he’s got one of those, then you’d immediately go, ‘Oh, okay,’” Conti tells The Hollywood Reporter. “So I don’t think they were really trying to hide the ghost part, but if you haven’t seen the first one, then it will be a twist, I suppose.”
Jeremy’s treacherous plan is soon revealed, as he deceives Astrid into trading her life so that he can regain his via some paperwork in the afterlife. Lydia then seeks out Betelgeuse’s help in rescuing her daughter, and in a rare moment of decency, he follows through in an on-brand way by sentencing Jeremy to eternal damnation.
“The last thing that [Michael Keaton] filmed was sending me to hell. So, afterwards, I was just like, ‘Is there any way I could go say hi to Michael?’ So we had a little chat, and he was very nice,” Conti recalls.
After her recent comments that expressed disappointment over younger generations’ lack of cinephilia, Conti takes much comfort in the fact that Ryder gave him her stamp of approval.
“I do watch films, so I was in her good books. That’s a relief,” Conti says. “I didn’t say this enough to her, but she was so nice. She was always very complimentary about me, and then I’d hear that she’d said nice things about me to other people. So just having her sort of endorsement really helped me out when I was feeling a bit of imposter syndrome next to all these massive stars.”
Below, during a recent spoiler conversation with THR, Conti explains why his one day alongside Ser Criston Cole on the House of the Dragon set was extremely beneficial as a warm-up for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
So how would you describe the life and times of Arthur Conti prior to the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice audition coming along?
I had basically just left high school. I got my agent from a school musical after he came to see me. I wanted to be an actor by that point, and while I only did two or three drama school auditions, I didn’t get in. So I got turned down, but I thought, “I’m still going to give it a year. I’ve got an agent, and I’m just going to go out for things and see how that goes.” I first did a play in London [in the winter of 2023], and then I auditioned for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. So the rest is history? I actually don’t want to say the rest is history. (Laughs.)
Yeah, at your age, it’s probably too soon for that line.
(Laughs.) Yeah, I think so, too.
Did the casting process have a lot of hoops, as well as a reading with Jenna Ortega?
It didn’t, actually. There were minimal steps. It was a self-tape, and then I got sent the script. So I read the script, I loved it and I got very over-excited about it. And then I had one recall with Jenna. Tim was also on there, and then I found out two hours later that I got the part. It was a very shocking moment because the whole thing came out of nowhere. So it was a very big thing to get my head around, but incredibly exciting.
Did you and Jenna read the “where have you been all my life?” scene during that callback?
No, we did the one when she comes inside Jeremy’s house for the first time, and he says, “Why don’t you come over earlier [on Halloween]? We could order pizza and give out candy, but only if you want to.” And then we read the second scene in his room when he’s got all the decorations up, so it was those two.
Jeremy is introduced as a teenager reading Dostoevsky in a treehouse. He’s also dressed like someone from a bygone era, although that style never really goes out of fashion. Was the idea to make his ghostly situation pretty obvious right out of the gate?
When I was reading the script, I didn’t know he was a ghost at first. I must have skipped over the Handbook for the Recently Deceased part. If you’ve seen the first film and you see that he’s got one of those, then you’d immediately go, “Oh, okay.” It’s dramatic irony when the audience knows something that the characters don’t. So I don’t think they were really trying to hide the ghost part, but if you haven’t seen the first one, then it will be a twist, I suppose. You get a double twist, which is always good.
But, in the year 2024, to have a teenager read Crime and Punishment in a treehouse, that was an immediate red flag for me.
I’m embarrassingly bad at reading. I hate saying that because I sound like such a screenager, but I’m not good at reading unless I’m on a plane. I can read on a plane, but I have not read Crime and Punishment. I briefly thought about it. I thought, “Should I be method? Will this enhance my performance?” But then I decided that it probably wouldn’t make that much difference. (Laughs.)
In general, though, I’m glad that Tim didn’t turn Jeremy’s ghostly status into some prolonged twist. He introduced him and revealed who and what he is within 25 minutes.
Yeah, we didn’t really talk about that. I didn’t have much say over the script or the way things were written, but it’s good when you get a twist [sooner or later]. It does a lot of work for you in a way. People go, “Ooh!” and then they read into your character more. The audience can also pick up on things in hindsight that I may or may not have actually been trying to do, but they can look at that and go, “Oh, maybe he was deceiving her when he was acting like that.”
But I’m with you. I’m glad that they revealed it quickly, because it makes that moment immediately more exciting. It’s like, “Oh shit!” and then Lydia runs back to his house. So I was really happy with that whole sequence.
He murdered his parents 23 years earlier. Was it ever established why he killed his parents? Or is he just a psychopath?
He’s just a psychopath! (Laughs.) It’d be terrible if there was actually some subtext in the script that I’ve completely forgotten about, but I don’t know why he murdered his parents. He must be a psychopath. He’s a loner who wanted to be on his own, maybe. But the weird thing is that his parents are still very nice to him when Jeremy and Astrid come inside the house. He was like, “Mom, I’m just going to be upstairs with a friend.” And she was like, “Okay, have fun,” even though he forced a whisk through her eye. So it’s an interesting dynamic between him and his parents, and I’m not quite sure what to make of it.
To dupe Astrid into trading her life for his, he’s clearly a psychopath.
Yeah, he’s a manipulative, manipulative man.
Jenna is in the midst of a career ascent. Could you sense a lot of that hustle and bustle that comes with movie stardom? Was there a lot of activity around her most of the time?
I’m amazed how well she handles it. If I had that much going on, I would just be a wreck all the time. But she’s amazingly levelheaded, and she doesn’t give off that vibe at all, really. Generally, she’s a very calming presence on set, and she’s incredibly hardworking. I don’t know how she takes on that much work. She’s never not busy. She’s always doing something, and it’s amazing. I just don’t have the work ethic that she has. Maybe I’ll learn it, but it amazes me how much work she does and how much effort she puts into everything.
You get to show and tell future generations of Contis that Michael Keaton’s Betelgeuse sent you to hell on screen. Did you get to interact with him much on the day?
Not much, but I did a little bit, yeah. I was very shy around everybody because everyone in the cast has a huge name. I was like, “Hello.” (Conti delivered the word hello in comedically feeble fashion.) But they’re all so nice and so sweet, and it was a very nurturing environment. But Michael was lovely. We filmed that scene quite quickly, and it was his last day, actually. The last thing that he filmed was sending me to hell. So, afterwards, I was just like, “Is there any way I could go say hi to Michael?”
“Thank you for sending me to hell, Mr. Keaton.”
(Laughs.) “Thank you! That was lovely.” So we had a little chat, and he was very nice, but there wasn’t much interaction. I then got to meet everyone again and talk a lot more at the Venice and London premieres.
As you said, it’s a highly decorated cast, so did you observe and pocket as much as you could from afar?
I did, but I still didn’t come into contact with most of the cast. Basically, all of my scenes were with Jenna, and she’s just so easy to act with. She’s so good that it makes your job very easy, and we got on really well. So that was nice, but maybe I should have asked more questions. You also don’t want to be like, “What’s something you wish you knew at the beginning?” So I kind of wanted to play it cool. Maybe that was silly and prevented me from learning more, but everyone was very nice. Winona, especially. I didn’t say this enough to her, but she was so nice. She was always very complimentary about me, and then I’d hear that she’d said nice things about me to other people. So just having her sort of endorsement really helped me out when I was feeling a bit of imposter syndrome next to all these massive stars.
Apparently, Winona is all the more impressed by young actors if they actually watch films. Some quotes of hers have been going around lately.
Yeah, she said she was annoyed at younger people who don’t watch films.
Especially if they’d ask about the runtime first.
I do watch films, so I was in her good books. That’s a relief.
Now it all makes sense. Anyway, did Tim give you any eye-opening notes that you’ll take with you?
He gives you a lot of free reign, really. He wouldn’t give me performance notes. It would be like, “Could you stand there? Could you get to that line a bit quicker and stop going … ?” I was trying to be overly naturalistic on everything. (Conti demonstrates this by adding filler words like um and ah.) So those were the only things that he would say, but generally, he leaves you to it. It’s a remarkably laid back atmosphere for such a big production. It could have been very stressful and really intense, but it was a very laid back and very efficient atmosphere that he created. I don’t know how he does it. He’s so impressive as a director. So I was left to my own devices to an extent, and it was a little nerve-wracking, especially as my first film. I was like, “Am I doing the right thing?” But at the same time, it does give you a certain amount of confidence that Tim Burton trusts you to do what you think is best.
Yeah, it’s nuts that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is only your second on-camera job. In hindsight, were you glad to have spent a day on House of the Dragon before diving into the deep end of the pool?
If I hadn’t had that day on Dragon, I would’ve buckled under the pressure. It was the most valuable experience ever. I did one day of filming on House of the Dragon, and I’m in it for like 10 seconds. I had two lines, but it was such a good experience. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this, but it was filmed in the same studio as Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. So I’d been there already, and it’s where I did most of the shooting for Beetlejuice. They’re both prequel-sequels to something very beloved and watched by lots of people. They both had all these big extravagant sets in these fantastical worlds. So, thank God, I had that experience. It would’ve been too overwhelming, otherwise.
I guess this would only apply to Jeremy’s treehouse scene and the exterior scene when Astrid gets dropped off at his house on Halloween, but did you shoot any of that stuff in East Corinth, Vermont, where all of the original movie’s iconic filming locations are?
Jeremy’s house was in a suburb of Boston. I shot there for about four days, which was five months after the rest of it [in London]. This was after the strike, so we had a long break before we did that [treehouse] scene.
I genuinely believe that Bob gave a heartbreaking performance in this movie.
It’s true. It’s crushing what they did to Bob. He is the biggest star in it.
Were you able to have a moment with him while exploring the afterlife set?
I never saw him. I saw some lovely ghosts and some guy with a python around him and an escape artist in this little tank, but I never came into contact with Bob. It’s too bad. I would have loved to meet him.
Overall, when you reflect on this experience many decades from now, what day will you likely recall first?
It was a day before I was even filming anything. I came in to do a hair thing in the hair and makeup trailer, and Winona and Jenna were there. It was about two weeks after I’d got the part, and before that, it was just unthinkable. It’s been such a steep learning curve and such a thing to get accustomed to, because I didn’t think that something of this size was going to happen for a long time. So I was just thinking how insane it was that I was there and how it all happened. So disbelief, excitement and joy is how I would sum up the whole thing.
Lastly, what dream do you want to put out into the universe?
I want to do everything, but there’s a couple things. I’ve always wanted to be in a sci-fi thing. I grew up watching Alien and Star Wars, so that’s always been a bit of a dream and an eventual goal. But I want to do all kinds of genres. My favorites tend to be combinations of scary and off-putting and funny. I loved The Curse with Nathan Fielder and Emma Stone. So I’d love to do something with that kind of tone. I also love Ruben Östlund and Ari Aster. I love Beau Is Afraid. So anything experimental, funny and weird tends to be what I like to watch, and being in something like that would be amazing.
Well, in the meantime, I’ll let you get back to reading Crime and Punishment.
(Laughs.) Yeah, I’ve got to get on that.
***Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is now playing in movie theaters.
