Actors Mary Stuart Masterson and Rob Corddry talk about starring in the new Angel Studios film “The Senior,” which will be in theaters on September 19th.
In “The Senior,” Mike Flynt (played by Michael Chiklis), at 59, might be too old to play college football—but not too old to settle unfinished business.
Nearly forty years after leaving his team, he returns to his alma mater to face the moment that changed everything.
Bruised, doubted, and nearly broken, he fights for one last game—not for glory, but for the teammates he lost, the family he fractured, and the ending he still believes is possible.
Masterson on playing Eileen Flynt
“It was a great experience,” she said. “Eileen is an amazing woman. Well, it was an amazing thing to ever be in a movie like this because I love sports.”
“I love the sports movie genre, the redemption story, and all of it. So, I was really happy to be part of it in any form. Then, I met Eileen and she is a wonderful person,” she said.
“Then, you feel a little bit of pressure to properly represent a person,” she said. “When I arrived on set, she was right there the whole time. She was great, very supportive and just a really cool person. I had a good time!”
Working with Michael Chiklis
On working with Michael Chiklis, Masterson said, “Michael is such a warm hug of a human. He’s a true bald man… like all great bald men before him.”
“Michael was just wonderful in every way. He had very positive energy, and he brought it each day on set with him as you can see in the movie. Michael was amazing, and I’ve always loved his work,” she elaborated.
“I was very happy to have every single scene with Michael,” she added.
Working with Brandon Flynn
“Brandon Flynn is just a darling person… he really is,” she admitted. “He’s just very warm and loving, lovely and smart. I’ve loved watching his career take off right now too. So, that’s really exciting. I’ve had a great time being his mommy. Brandon has a good head on his shoulders so that’ll serve him well too.”
“I met Brandon at the table read and that was it. I never saw him again. It’s so interesting how that happens sometimes because we are not in any scenes together, but Brandon is a good actor,” Rob added.
Lessons learned from ‘The Senior’ screenplay
“I already know everything about myself. Uh, very self-actualized,” Rob said. “It’s hard to say, right? You have this full experience, not just with the meaning of the movie and the part you’re playing and your part in the making of the movie, but as part of that team, and then it ends.”
“I never try and force what that meant to me, it sort of just falls into place. This, for me, had a lot to do with what the movie is about… sticking to something, making your past mean something different,” Rob said.
“This movie took 18 years to make, so practically speaking is a lesson in stick-to-itiveness, you know,” he added.
“I loved being part of a story that is about redemption and pushing yourself to complete what you started, as well as second chances, and all those themes,” she noted.
“Eileen is sort of a breaking mechanism on blind faith and your ability to do things. She will support you but she will be honest with you, and I think that’s real love. Unconditional love includes giving feedback to people that they might not want to hear.”
“Ultimately, she’s really a supportive person and a faith-centered person. I think that life requires that. Also, Mike and Eileen are both wonderful actual people. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know them a little bit and I think they are great people. So, it’s nice to meet good people,” she added.
Rob on ‘Bookie’
Rob opened up about his experience in the Max series “Bookie.” “It was fun! See, I’ve only been in sports movies tangentially. I’ve never been on the gridiron until now,” Rob said.
The digital age
On being a part of the digital age, Rob said, “You know, I don’t know anymore. I got into that whole thing pretty early.”
“I was like an early adopter of Twitter when it was Twitter and all that. It’s guys like me who then find themselves just getting out of it. It’s a young person’s game. I don’t really find much meaning in the whole thing,” Rob elaborated.
“So, I really just set myself apart from it all. I don’t bother with it too much,” he added.
Mary Stuart remarked, “I was a late adopter because I believed not in any of it because I came up at a time where there was privacy and then there was your public work and I only did publicity around projects that I was doing to support individual projects and they were sort of handled by someone else.”
“Now, as a young actor, you have to brand yourself. You have to stick to that brand no matter what, forever. You’re not allowed to change or evolve or grow really without paying for it in some way,” she noted.
“I don’t think you should be able to drink, do drugs or social media until you say your brain is a little more mature. You might regret certain things. Also, the other thing is that it puts pressure on actors and artists to do everything,” she explained.
Rob stated, “That’s what I’ve loved about this experience too, is that it’s a very classic promotional experience, where we’re not leaning on our social media accounts. We are talking to the media/press about the movie and it’s really nice.”
“Yet social media can be a tremendous way to get your message and your content out into the world. You just have to be so deliberate about it and so careful. So, in terms of being an actor in the digital media age, that would be my response,” Mary Stuart said.
“As as you release movies, you have to use all of these platforms to get people in seats,” she said.
“To watch and support a movie like ‘The Senior’ is really amazing. This type of movie plays best in theaters and it’s going to be great to be able to actually bring families to the movies,” she concluded.
For more information on “The Senior,” visit the official Angel Studios website.
