ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with Never Let Go’s young stars Anthony B. Jenkins and Percy Daggs IV about playing Halle Berry’s twin sons in the horror movie. The two discussed their characters, working with Berry, and more. Lionsgate will release the thriller exclusively in theaters on September 27, 2024.
“From visionary director Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes, Crawl) and the creative minds behind Stranger Things and Arrival comes Never Let Go. In this new psychological thriller/horror, as an Evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, the only protection for a mother, played by Academy Award winner Halle Berry (Actress in a Leading Role, 2001 –Monster’s Ball), and her twin sons is their house and their family’s protective bond. Needing to stay connected at all times – even tethering themselves with ropes – they cling to one another, urging each other to never let go. But when one of the boys questions if the evil is real, the ties that bind them together are severed, triggering a terrifying fight for survival,” says the synopsis.
Tyler Treese: Congrats to you both on Never Let Go. You both are really great in the film. Percy, I wanted to ask you about playing Nolan because your character winds up being the skeptic of the two brothers. He’s questioning everythin that’s going on and if there is a real danger. What did you like most about that element of your character?
Percy Daggs IV: The thing that I liked most about that part was that I loved the fact that he’s always willing to know more. He always wants a better understanding, and if he doesn’t understand something, he’s gonna go figure it out. I love that part about Nolan. I try to add that to my daily life, making sure that I always know what’s going on around me and in me especially. So, yeah, I love that about Nolan.
Anthony, your co-star is Halle Berry, which had to be incredible. How was it building that mother-son relationship with her? She’s very protective in the film.
Anthony B. Jenkins: The audition process was a month long and we would keep going into this room and we would rehearse with Miss Halle. It would be me and Percy sometimes rehearsing with her, just Percy, just me. We got to build a quick relationship. Miss Halle, she wasn’t really avoiding us, but she was making us comfortable. So we would talk to her a lot, and whenever we would see her, we would be like, “Oh, Miss Halle. So…”
Percy, you and Anthony really feel like brothers in this film. It incredible. How would you describe your bond? There’s a real deep friendship that you see on screen.
Daggs IV: Me and Ant’s bond is very, very close. We do really feel like brothers when it comes to our relationship. We always love to hang out with each other, even talking to each other is just super fun. Always telling jokes to each other and making stories and stuff like that is really cool. Then the brothers’ relationship, they kind of clash, but they also love each other no matter what. Rain, sleet, hail, they’ll always be together.
Anthony, building on what Percy said there, there is a clash in there where Samuel wants to follow his mother. We see that come to bear later in the film. How is it filming those more intense moments?
Jenkins: Filming the intense moments, especially the emotional ones, I usually listen to some music that helps me get emotional because it reminds me of something sad. They don’t rush us. They’re like “Are you ready for the scene?” Then after I listen to the music, I’m ready and I’m crying, I’m like, “Yeah.” So then right once I go up there, I just let it all out.
That’s incredible. What kind of music are you listening to?
Jenkins: It was called [“See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth]. It goes, “We’ve come a long way from where we began. Oh, I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again, when I see you again.”
Percy, you work with this wonderful dog in the film and you get to share some scenes with him. How is it filming with a canine?
Daggs IV: Super awesome. Brass is one of the most well-trained dogs I’ve ever met. If I had a dog like brass, I would be happy forever. We built such a quick bond. I don’t have a dog myself, so being able to hang with Koda like that was really cool. I felt like it was my dog, really. When we had to part, it was a sad moment, but I was really happy to be able to work with Brass.
