My Last Best Friend follows a strange and mind-bending journey centered around Walter Stoyanov. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City two men, both named Walter Stoyanov, watch as their lives spiral out of control. While one falls ill the other is investigated by an FBI Special Agent.
My Last Best Friend is written by Filippo M. Prandi. My Last Best Friend stars Eric Roberts, Carol Alt, Rico Simonini, Brian Byus, and Adrienne Laurén. Roberts is also a producer on the movie.
Screen Rant spoke with Eric Roberts about his new movie My Last Best Friend. He revealed what drew him to the role and why he’s been wanting to play a role like this for so long. Roberts also discussed filming during the pandemic and developing the two different characters he portrays in the movie. Editor’s Note: While this interview was conducted during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, the movie covered here is not produced by any AMPTP company.
Eric Roberts Talks My Last Best Friend
Screen Rant: I just watched My Last Best Friend. I loved it! It was a mind trip. I felt like it was a mixed blended genre film. I thought it was a lot. It was great and a pandemic film too! That had me guessing all the way through.
Eric Roberts: Thank you so much, pal. I’d love to hear from you.
What attracted you to the role of Walter in My Last Best Friend?
Eric Roberts: It was just the challenge of playing those two people on screen talking to each other was something that I’ve seen done and I’ve never been satisfied with it. And so I wanted to accomplish it. So that’s why I made the movie and I also liked the filmmaker. I thought he was cool and I wanted to work for him. It’s as simple as that.
You disappear into the role of the Walter that socializes the one that is a higher pitched voice a little bit. Can you talk to me about developing that version of Walter?
Eric Roberts: Well, I patterned him after the guy who always greets you for the executive when he comes out to greet you in the lobby. He’s the the middleman before the executive. That’s who I patterned that guy after. He’s the guy who’s always always sweet, always accessible, always approachable, and always, “What? That’s so kind.” So that’s who that guy was. And the other guy was the other guy.
The other guy was definitely the other guy. They’re both completely different roles. Can you talk to me about the difference in shooting those scenes and how that was done? Because you’re right, the one thing I loved about this is it seemed like you were just interacting with yourself. So, can you talk to me about just how the process was done?
Eric Roberts: Well, that’s a Filippo question, because I go out of my way to not pay attention to that. So I don’t get absorbed with it while I’m on set. I go out of my way to avoid understanding any of it up till I have to. And when I do, I do. But if I don’t have to know it, I don’t want to know it.
Filippo’s an Italian filmmaker, and he’s brilliant. He wrote, directed, and produced this film. Can you talk to me about working with him as a collaborator?
Eric Roberts: He’s a wonderful little genius. He’s gonna make a lot of noise in moviemaking, because he knows how to make a movie. And the fact that he would choose something this hard this early in his career is amazing.
This film touches a lot on the pandemic as well. And if I’m not mistaken, you guys shot this during the second wave of the pandemic. Can you talk to me about that experience a little bit?
Eric Roberts: Well, it was uncomfortable. It was hard. And everybody was cranky, because the second time around, everybody was done with it. So masks, no masks. Everybody had fights over masks. I mean, it was just ridiculous. And everybody was sick of it. So, the fact that we’re like quarantined from the world. People didn’t like it. It was hard. It was very difficult. But we got it done.
What did you want to bring to the role of Walter that wasn’t necessarily on the page?
Eric Roberts: We don’t ask to have life. And one of my Walters knows that and one of them doesn’t. That’s kind of the difference.
Talk to me about this a little bit about preparing for the role of Walter. Did you kind of know the choices you wanted to make going in to distinguish the two?
Eric Roberts: I just knew they had to be different. So the way I talk is kind of unimpressive. I just talk like a guy. I don’t talk like an actor, kind of a thing. So I wanted one to sound very unaffected, and one that sounds slightly affected. Because one wasn’t, and one was.
Can I switch gears for a second? I know about a charity that you’re involved with, and I did a deep dive on this, because it was so intriguing to me: The Natural Child. I started reading about the attachment parenting stuff and it was just so eye-opening. How did you get involved with that? And can you explain that a little bit further for anyone that may not know what that is?
Eric Roberts: Well, it’s a website called naturalchild.org. You must go if you haven’t. It is the answer to all your questions about anything that has to do with your relationship with and to your child from infancy to the end. It’s everything you need and we all need it. That’s the thing. And we all have to understand that we do need it. So we go after it, and we get it because this book is absolutely the most valuable thing I can ever give anybody in my whole life.
How did you get involved with the charity?
Eric Roberts: My wife! My wife is a genius who does everything well, if not perfectly. And we were talking one day about children and she said, “Have you read this book?” I said, “No.” So she gave me a copy and she inscribed it. I read the book and I fell in love with my wife even more. I said, “You know what can we do to to help this woman Jan Hunt? Because people are not going to make her rich with this knowledge. We have to help her. We have to get it out there.” And so we promote her every time anybody says the word child.
Another thing that you would Eliza are really proud of and you guys have is a pet sanctuary. Where you guys rescue animals, dogs, cats, birds, squirrels. Can you talk about that a little bit?
Eric Roberts: About 18 years ago, I found a little baby hurt squirrel in our yard. We have these huge trees they’re like five stories tall. They’re like 50-60 feet tall, big old trees. And so I take it to the animal place where they fix animals, like say fix a squirrel. And I leave my number and they call me say well the squirel is well. Can we bring him back to your property? I say of course they come to the property. Oh my God, you have all these trees.
Can we bring all the hurt squirrels here? We get tons. I said sure. So 300 squirels later, we have a squirel sanctuary to the point where the city gives us 100 pounds of walnuts every month. They eat walnuts and they’re so spoiled they won’t eat peanuts. We have a whole group of yearlings that are very thin but all our squirrels are obese because they get all they want when they want it and they do it all but the yearlings.
Is it just squirrels, or are you encompassing more animals?
Eric Roberts: No, we have lots of animals but we have a squirrel sanctuary. And that part of our property is about it’s about a quarter acre which just sees two huge five story trees and they’re apartment buildings for squirrels.
Last question I have for you: is there a role that you want to play? My Last Best Friend is something you’ve wanted to do for a long time; playing two different roles in a single film. Is there anything else on your filmography bucket list that you’d like to check off?
Eric Roberts: I want to play Núria, but after he stopped dancing. We’ll see. Somebody has to write it. I am not a writer. I am not a director. I am an actor.
A fantastic one at that.
Eric Roberts: Oh, thank you, brother for your kind words. But I would love to I would love to play that man. Because he lived at a time he was an incredible athletic artist and he lived at a time when to be homosexual in Russia was worth your life. And he was. And so I want to explore that and the understanding of mankind.
About My Last Best Friend
New York City. March – April 2020. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, two men, both named Walter Stoyanov, watch their lives getting turned upside down, as one of them falls ill and the other one is being investigated by FBI Special Agent John McCallany.
My Last Best Friend is currently playing in New York City and opens in select Los Angeles theaters on September 22, with a premiere at Cinelounge Sunset.
