David Jonsson & Tom Blyth Talk Intense Prison Movie Wasteman, Going Nude | Interview
ComingSoon editor-in-chief Tyler Treese spoke with Wasteman stars David Jonsson and Tom Blyth about their intense prison movie. The duo discussed their characters, Blyth going nude in an important scene, and more. Sunrise Films will release the film theatrically on April 17, 2026.
“Taylor is branded a ‘wasteman’ by society, his family, and even in prison. In a world of drugs, parties, gangs, and violence, so far, he’s managed to keep out of trouble. However, with the arrival of new cellmate Dee, the chance to make early parole and get his life back are put in jeopardy,” says the official synopsis.
Tyler Treese: David, your character is so close to release, and you really get to explore the fear that comes with that as well. What interested you in exploring those mixed feelings that Taylor has? Since it seems like he really doesn’t want to disappoint his son and he’s not sure if he’s ready.
David Jonsson: Yeah, it’s exactly that, mate. It’s the complexity of that. I think about the… obviously, this is a film about rehabilitation and how we can actually help people get better, and it’s a system that I think is inevitably flawed. I dunno how great it’s serving him. I think when I go back to Taylor and who that person is and how he’s trying to navigate it, I think he’s just trying to survive. The survival instinct really kicks in, I think, at a certain point when you’re not getting the help you need. So I think that’s probably where he is.
Tom, you have a nude scene in this film. It’s early on when you meet your character, but it tells you everything you need to know about him. So, knowing it serviced the script, did that ease any hesitations?
Tom Blyth: Yeah, I mean, I’m always of the mindset that if we live it in life, then it’s worthy of being put on screen, but only if it serves the story and the plot and the character. So my first question with anything like that, whether it’s a nude scene or sex scene or even violence, whatever it may be, is it gratuitous or is it telling us something about the character or the story or the plot and moving the plot forward?
For me, with that, I decided it was. Because even though he does come in and just strip right off right away, to me, that says everything about him. He’s someone who dominates the space. He’s not shy. He’s someone who is gonna come in and almost like a dog marking his territory. The first thing he does is take his clothes off and go pee in the corner, and he is telling someone, like, don’t f— with me, essentially. Because he doesn’t know who Taylor is yet. He doesn’t know if Taylor’s actually the most dangerous guy in the wing.
So it is his way of going, “This is my cell now.” So, to me, that, as you said, says everything about the character, and it was worthy of putting on the screen.
This is such a fun role because he has charisma, but he also seems like the absolute worst hang. Like nobody would hang out with him.
Blyth: In some ways, but then he is the guy who can get you whatever you need as well, which kind of makes him a great hang.
David, I want to ask you about the last act because you’re so visibly uncomfortable and sweating, and I felt as on edge as Taylor did. It is a great performance. How was it really getting into your own skin for those scenes?
David Jonsson: Oh, man. Yeah. I’m pretty sure editor James Demetriou, who’s brilliant, deserves all the praise for this as well. We have such a great team on this project. You worked out of passion rather than like a job, but yeah. He’s probably got a video of me somewhere getting ready for this scene. So I’m just almost like doing a boxing bounce. Because we shot that scene all the way through, so it was like about a 12-minute take, so I actually could sweat a lot.
Now, not all of that sweat is my sweat ’cause that would be gross, but a lot of it was, so yeah… I guess, again, you kind of give yourself a way to these things. If you’re lucky enough to find good projects, good scripts, good characters, good directors, you kind of surrender. So yeah, it was highly uncomfortable. Highly stressful, and I think that hopefully comes across in the performance.
Tom, there’s a scene about 40 minutes in where you just get brutally assaulted. How was it filming that? Especially being on the receiving end. We hear about people doing action scenes, but not just getting the shit beaten out of them.
Tom Blyth: Yeah, I mean, it is physically demanding for sure. I was bruised for a couple of days afterwards. I needed a couple of long, hot baths. It teaches you a lot about your character. He is a fighter, but also like no one is [unbeatable]… there’s always someone bigger than you. There’s always someone stronger than you.
In this case, there are two guys who are bigger and stronger than him. It’s kind of amazing to be playing this character who’s not very humble and then to experience him getting so humbled, you’re just experiencing all the highs and lows of the character and changes the way you move and walk and then we continue filming and I get to film all those scenes afterwards where he’s fighting through his embarrassment and his humility is coming to the surface, but it makes him lash out.
Yeah, we were so lucky with these characters. They both have so much color, so many ups and downs, so many peaks and troughs. It’s not every day that or every job that you get to play someone with so many different nooks and crannies to discover.
Thanks to David Jonsson and Tom Blyth for taking the time to talk about Wasteman.
Source: Comingsoon.net