Joseph Cross Talks Intense Horror Movie Affection, Reflects on Jack Frost | Interview
Affection star Joseph Cross spoke with ComingSoon editor-in-chief Tyler Treese about the new horror movie. The actor discussed the film’s themes, working with his co-star Jessica Rothe, and getting recognized the most for Jack Frost. The film is out in select theaters on May 8, 2026.
“Afflicted by a mysterious condition that resets her memory, Ellie becomes trapped in a cyclical nightmare with a man who claims to be her husband. She soon must uncover the horrifying truth of her existence—before she forgets it all again,” says the official synopsis.
Tyler Treese: Joseph, congrats on Affection. I really enjoyed the film. Thank you. And this is such an interesting role for you. I don’t want to get into spoilers, but we get to see a lot of different sides and dimensions to your character. How was that experience of having a script where you get to show him being tender and aggressive? You really get to show your whole range as an actor here.
Joseph Cross: Yeah, I mean, it’s great. I think that the way to approach it was this: he’s very much singularly focused on this task at hand. Again, not to spoil anything like you said, but he is very much focused on putting the pieces of his life back together, and that’s what he’s doing all the time. So when you see him tender, when you see him angry, when you see him aggressive, it’s all with a fixation on putting the pieces of his life back together, bringing these people back. So from a performance perspective, that is really kind of the driving force
The film has a big twist in it, but it doesn’t wait until the last act to reveal it. It comes about 40 minutes in. What did you like most about actually getting to live with the twist, the aftermath, and the fallout of the twist, rather than having that build up to a big reveal?
Yeah, I mean, you get to see kind of what he’s been up to the whole time. What he’s been working toward. And you get to, I think that you get to see the physical and emotional toll that this has taken on him, the price that he’s paid, trying to play God in his life in this capacity, what humanity he’s lost. And so for me, that was a really interesting, exciting thing to see. He’s had to compromise his own; I don’t wanna say his own morality has been compromised, but he’s not a psychopath. He’s not a sociopath. He’s somebody who is attempting to make things right in his mind, and in doing so, is doing things that are morally questionable.
I wanted to ask you about playing a character that does some pretty bad things. Yeah. Do you try to find the justification in his mind, and that’s kind of how you find the heart of the character, or what is your approach there?
Yeah, no, of course. I think that even people who are psychopathic or sociopathic, they’re not usually able to express that to you. There’s always a reason in their mind. There’s something reasonable as to why they’re doing what they’re doing. And for Bruce, that was very clear and very simple. I think that the tricky thing is, again, without spoiler alerts, so I’ll just say this as like a theoretical, like, if you have created life, do you have a right to extinguish that life, to recreate something closer to what you intended? I think that’s where things get really, really morally gray. I think for Bruce, and I think maybe he knows, I think he at least knows that what he’s doing is taking a toll on him. I do think that he believes that the outcome is right for him and for his family.
Tyler Treese: I wanted to ask you about Jessica as a scene partner because, just like your character, you guys have so many different types of scenes. There are some tender moments, some romance. There are also some intense action moments. Totally. How was it just really getting to see her range as well and interacting in so many different ways in one film?
Joseph Cross: Yeah. Well, Jessica’s a phenomenal actress. She’s so talented, and she really can do anything. And Bruce loves his wife, but his wife being the operative in that sentence, he loves his wife, and I think he would be an amazing husband to his wife, should he be able to do that. So I think he misses her desperately and loves her entirely. And Jessica’s just so wonderful that creating that dynamic was easy. And then from there, his desperation and his frustration births his anger and his physicality from there. So it’s from that place, Bruce is unable to grieve. Bruce is unable to let go. So Bruce is dead set on making life what he thinks it should be, and that is the root of his suffering.
Tyler Treese: I wanted to ask you about the director, BT. I was really impressed. This was the debut film for BT. What stood out about him as a director?
BT wrote a great script. He wrote great characters, fully fleshed out. Had a very clear vision for the movie he was making. He’s already a very well-established commercial director and music video director. He had made a short that I thought was really fantastic. So he certainly was primed and ready to make his feature debut. Everybody had their first movie at one point. These icons of cinema that we think about. There was a day when they called action on their very first set. So, for me, I’m just happy that I got to support him and help bring that moment to be and his vision for this movie to life.
I love that because you’ve worked with some icons, Spielberg, Fincher, PTA, Gus Van Sant. Those are some of the all-time greats. How has it been knowing that these masters of cinema have trusted you to play a role in their films?
JI mean, it feels great, to be honest. It’s intense. You go in, but that’s what I’m here for. I have ever since I did Running with Scissors when I was 18, I was like, I just want to work with the people that I am enamored with. With the people whose movies I love. It’s really been the sole focus. Everything to me is getting to be on set with these filmmakers and understand what they’re trying to do. Let yourself be directed toward it. Let yourself fall into their process, which is so different. Everybody’s process is so different. And to rise to that occasion, it just feels so good. I mean, honestly, there’s no better feeling than being on a set. The more intensity, the more pressure, the better for me. I just love it. I think it’s the best thing in the world.
You’ve been acting for a long time. You started as a child actor, and you were in Jack Frost with Michael Keaton in one of your first movies. I watched it just last year for Christmas; that was in my Christmas marathon. How has it been being attached to a film that wasn’t lauded at release, but there’s still an audience that comes back to it every single year? That film has had such a lifespan. How has it been just growing up with that film always being on, and I’m sure you still get reached out to about it.
Honestly, it’s the thing that everybody knows me from, which is so funny. It’s like, not everybody has seen Mank. Movie people have. The movies that you mentioned, I don’t mean to say not everybody’s seen Mank. A lot of people saw it and loved it. It’s a great movie, but Jack Frost is this movie that plays every single Christmas, and so many people that I come in contact with have seen that movie or seen pieces of that movie, or know of that movie. It’s like being on a TV show that only plays once a year, but plays the same episode and does the last like 28 years. So it really, honestly, unless I’m with movie people, it’s the thing that most people know me from.
Thanks to Joseph Cross for taking the time to talk about Affection.
Source: Comingsoon.net