Sweet Tooth has only been streaming for a week, but it is already making waves and has been extremely well-received. The Netflix original series is a DC Comics adaptation produced by Robert Downey Jr and Susan Downey's Team Downey.
Currently sitting at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, the eight-episode first season both shows how much story-telling potential this world has to offer while also proving that post-apocalyptic tales have yet to become stale, despite The Walking Dead gearing up for its final season.
The story focuses on a hybrid child, half-human, half deer. Named Gus, the titular 'Sweet Tooth' is played by 11-year old child actor Christian Convery. Co-leading the cast is Game of Thrones' Nonso Anozie as Jeppard, Sweet Tooth's adult protector and companion on his journey to find his mother.
We had the opportunity to speak with Christian and Nonso (those interviews can be found here and here) and were recently able to talk with comic creator Jeff Lemire, writer Beth Schwartz, and director Jim Mickle.
Jim told us about his experience directing Christian as Sweet Tooth, filming in New Zealand, adjusting the story's landscape, and most importantly, why he approached the series differently to other post-apocalyptic stories, and why those becoming bored with the genre should give the show another look.
The full transcript for the chat with Jim is included below, but you can also hear us speak with all five talents by scrolling down to the podcast players at the bottom.
Literary Joe: When you directed Christian, the actor who plays Gus, did you explain to him when his ears would be moving so that he could convey emotions around that? Or did you build the ear movement in-post to match his expressions?
Jim Mickle: It was all on set. We augmented a couple of things here and there afterward, but it was all on set. And it started as a puppeteer who watched Christian and reacted to him. We talked about eyebrows like a Disney or Pixar character. That's where all the expression comes from. So that was what motivated us to start.
As we went along and got really good at it, Christian sometimes could take cues so he could hear the motor go, which I find it amazing that he's giving that performance while that's happening. But sometimes you could literally say, when you hear that right ear go, that's when you turn your head and react to something and you start to find ways to sort of play off of each other. But yeah, it's all Christian and the puppeteer is really following, taking his lead.
Literary Joe: Did you use any post-apocalyptic media to help provide your directorial approach?
Jim Mickle: Yes, but mostly to throw it out really. (Laughs) Mostly to say, this is what we're used to when we think of these things, and step back and go, 'what would some of this stuff actually look like?' And that really became the fun of it. It was like, 'this is what we're used to, what would it really look like? Or this is what we're used to, what would it look like if we took a different approach or the opposite approach?' Like in episode two, what if the first group they run into are not cannibals, what if it's actually a really cool family, like the Griswolds in Vacation. That became a fun way to look at the end of the world.
Literary Joe: With the landscape, did you look at any actual real-life places to study them when you were deciding how to direct it?
Jim Mickle: Yeah, because the comic book is Nebraska originally, it's the nature preserve in Nebraska. And I think when we got to New Zealand and started shooting there, everything there is amazing and it quickly became like, 'I don't know if anyone's ever going to believe this is Nebraska.' (Laughs) So we brought the Yellowstone into it more just because we didn't want to say 'oh my God, there are these amazing mountains that are worthy of Lord of the Rings, we're going to point the camera the other way to get the sort of flat landscape of Nebraska.'
So a little bit was kind of looking into the Rocky mountains in that neck of the woods and what we could actually pull off with New Zealand locations and very quickly you find that what's beautiful there is, it's kind of a fairy tale version of America. All the trees have a curve to them. There's a way that things are always a little bit bigger, a little bit more, I hate to say childlike, but there's a magic to that area that we luckily were able to take advantage of for our story.
Literary Joe: Is there anything you'd like to say to people who might have a stigma against post-apocalyptic stories to get them to give Sweet Tooth another look?
Jim Mickle: The Pandemic, we only use that element as a jumping-off point. Really, the heart, soul, and everything of our show is Gus and his relationship with Jeppard and these characters. And those are characters that I think we, proudly, we're the only show that has these people. And that was what was fun; we were always looking and going, 'what's a scene that can only exist in Sweet tooth? What's a character that can only exist in Sweet Tooth?' It is rare that you get to have that luxury. So elements like the pandemic and the end of the world are all things that help us serve that. But that is definitely not the thrust of our series.
To hear our full interviews with Sweet Tooth actors Nonso Anozie and Christian Convery, as well as director Jim Mickle, writer Beth Schwartz, and comic book creator Jeff Lemire, click the podcast players below. And as always, be sure to share your thoughts in the usual spot!
This episode features the incredible behind-the-scenes talents that have brought Netflix's latest DC Comics adaptation, Sweet Tooth, to life. We chat with Jim Mickle, who directed the upcoming series, Beth Schwartz, who wrote the Netflix show, and the creator and writer of the DC Comic series Sweet Tooth which the series of the same name is based upon. The team tells us about their research into animals, spending time with Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey at their personal petting zoo, and the process of adapting the pages to the screen.
What a wonderful and touching chat this is. Anyone who is interested in watching Netflix's upcoming DC Comics adaptation Sweet Tooth when it launches on June 4th will want to hear what the stars have to say. We speak with the main actor, 11-year old Christian Convery, about his starring role as the titular character in Sweet Tooth and the research he did on deer to immerse himself in the scenes.
Nonso Anozie, best known for his Game of Thrones portrayal of Xaro Xhoan Daxos and his roles in Ender's Game, Cinderella, and RocknRolla also took part, talking about doing his own stunts after six months of pandemic couch-surfing. We also dug into the charismatic relationship between the two actors' characters and what they do behind the scenes to help build that comfortable comradery on screen in the series.
Sweet Tooth is currently streaming on Netflix.