"Whiskers"—A Christmas Short Film: Interview with Jim Byrkit and Hugo Armstrong
- Elizabeth Gracen
- 11 minutes ago
- 8 min read
By Elizabeth Gracen:
I made the mistake of doom scrolling first thing this past Sunday morning, and it truly sunk my ship. I should know better, right? I mean, it's the holidays! Why would I do that to myself?! It took me most of the day to recover, but by the time afternoon rolled around, I received a text from my good friend Jim Byrkit. I wasn't sure what it was at first, but in the thumbnail image I recognized the man behind the beard as Hugo Armstrong, my "movie husband" from Coherence.
Both of these fine fellas have been pals and collaborators for a very long time, their wit and skill well-matched to experiment on stage and on camera with wildly creative projects. So it came as no real surprise to me that they'd be able throw together a jewel of a short film to lift our spirits this season.
The film is called Whiskers, and it arrives on YouTube just in time for you to remember what it's like to be charmed by the idea of celebrating holidays with your family, friends, and fellow man. It's just what I needed, and I think it will do the same for you.
I reached out to Jim and Hugo to talk about the making of Whiskers and what it was like to create a feel-good movie for the ages. But, first . . . here's the film!
Elizabeth Gracen: Jim, what a lovely holiday surprise to receive the link to Whiskers! Congrats on the perfect holiday film. It’s charming, poignant, sexy, and sweet. What more could you ask? Tell me how this all came about. How did you put this magical short film together?
Jim Byrkit: So glad it’s connecting with people. It’s really just a Christmas card from Hugo's beard to the world. We thought we should capture some of the responses he’s been getting the last year from random people making little comments. So we met for about four hours one Sunday, and it started forming very organically. I love working with total improvisations, and this was the most unplanned shoot ever. Somehow, a very poignant character study started to emerge.
EG: Hugo, congrats on a truly golden performance. I’m starting with an obvious question: Which came first—the role or the whiskers? Regardless of the order, what was it like to grow such magnificent facial hair, and how does one maintain it? Are you keeping it?
Hugo Armstrong: Thanks! I’ll glad you find so much in it. Makes me so so happy.
The whiskers came first, for sure. They’re about seven or eight gigs deep now. It started off as a little dusting, a Wolf Blitzer. And I got a gig with it, they said keep the facial hair. I did. The next gig came along, they said, “Great, keep the beard.” And so on and so on, everything I was cast in said they wanted it kept. Now it’s, what? About two years later, and here we are. As long as it is paying rent, it can stay. But it’s like wearing a Persian cat on your face; sheds like crazy. My lady, Melissa, says she can tell where I’ve been thinking in the house. Little scattering of white hairs. And you really have to pay attention when you eat. Two napkins, minimum. Helps to assign the friend next to you with beard-monitoring duties. The last thing you want is to step back out into the world with a sample platter on your face.
EG: You two have been friends for a very long time. I would assume that the actual filming process for this short was fast and furious. What struck me about the film was the real-life reactions from all the players. You were able to capture a true American slice of life with a simple walk around a neighborhood. You caught authentic reactions to a magical moment, as well as Hugo’s response to each encounter, from receptive and happy, to guarded, annoyed, or resigned—almost to the point of melancholy. How did you pull that off? How much of it was straight-up improv, and how much was scripted?
HA: Basically I was telling him over some smash burgers how everyone keeps calling me Santa and how a lot of it is flirty and a lot more of it has a fun and kinda magical quality to it, especially with kids. I mean, they really think I’m the guy, and I love it. So Jim came up with the bartender and her ear, and at that moment we pretty much had enough for a short, and it evolved from there. And he’s wondrously good to work with. He’s a chum for sure, but I also trust him implicitly with whatever he has in mind. Case in point is the Santa hat. He threw that in at the last minute, and I show up all stressed out about how it’s all gonna go, and there’s this damn Santa hat. Not at all a part of our original idea. And it was really making me uptight, and when I finally noticed that, I just said to Jim, “Hey, man, the hat. I don’t understand it. But you DO, right?” And he said yes, and that was good enough for me. And when I finally saw it, I completely understood what he was going for. I love the guy. I didn’t think about it until this little Christmas card project, but we’ve worked on a lot of stuff together. It’s good to know someone that long and be able to cut through all the usual nonsense and just work. We did this thing in about three hours or something. Slapdash’n.
JB: We've done so many quirky projects together, each one with a vast difference in Hugo's physical appearance. Something about a sexy Santa with a bit of melancholy kept pulling at me, so I just blurted out the idea one day and he quickly had his own ideas about it. The shoot day was pretty wild because, unbeknownst to me, Hugo had scheduled a parade of his friends to show up at 15-minute intervals on the sidewalk of Highland Park, and I had to instantly decide what to do with them. All of it was done with about 25 seconds of preparation, and then the camera caught whatever it caught. I was just trying to keep it in focus. But fun surprises kept happening—the dog encounter and the fire truck, for example. All gold.
HA: I have incredible friends. Everyone just showed up and hung out while we figured out how to put them into the life of this guy cruising around. All those folks you see in the film are special to me and it was, and always is, tremendously moving to me to have people say yes to something you want to try. One person said, “I’ll always say yes to your artistic booty call.” And that's just it, cuz I’d always try to do the same. Got an idea? Let’s do it. I love my friends and love what they bring. Everyone in there is a pro, and for them all to show up on a tiny little beast on a Sunday morning? Love ’em. Love ’em. Love ’em. And yeah, there's a smattering of the reactions I get to this ziff I got going on my face. There’s also a lot of congratulations, even though it’s a truly passive accomplishment. And there’s also a recognition between other people who have beards. There’s a whole series of silent happy acknowledgments that can pass between the bearded that go unnoticed by our baby-faced brethren. Pogonotrophy is a wistful cult.
EG: Hugo, did you ever think you would be playing such an iconic character? How old were you when you started to question the whole concept of Santa Claus? Do you think the film serves as a reminder to look for a little magic in this beautiful, horrible world, and do you think that’s a relevant reminder? What do you think it takes to make the “nice” list?
HA: My mom ran a costume-rental business, so I found out pretty early with all the piles of Santa beards waiting to be washed. But in a way, it had the opposite effect, because Mom also said that Santa was as real as we felt, not what we saw. That the spirit of the season wasn’t rolled up in a big white dude who’s into breaking and entering or consumerism or even liking anything that was being presented at all. She taught us that the spirit of the season had to do with leading through Love. That’s it. It was a reminder that being present in the family of our fellow human beings was the real deal and that the gifts of our being in the space between what is said and what is heard was the ultimate solstice. That said, we were also hoping for something from Toys-R-Us.
It would have been easier to make something about Santa kicking ass or something, and maybe we can do something like that in the future cuz I love that stuff. But right now things are so tender and scary for folks, I’m glad there’s something a little more inviting out there.
As far as the “nice list” . . . well, I just hope “trying” is factored in.
EG: I feel like this little film will be around for a long time—as in viral . . . and on someone’s playlist every holiday season. How would that make you feel? What kind of impact do you hope the film achieves?
JB: We can only dream. It’s a little love letter to Christmas, tapping into the feeling of finding just a tiny respite, magical or not, from all the concerns and expectations of the world. Something about the inner world of this character really struck me. The contrast of the snowless, hot city with the holiday season. The constant judgements he had to endure. And the simplicity of finding a moment to drop all concerns, a moment to feel safe and understood.
EG: Hugo, are you ready to go down in filmic history as the ultimate sexy
Santa who carries along a touch of melancholy with his Christmas cheer? ‘Cause that’s
what you’ve created, my friend!
HA: Ohhhh, Lady Lady, I'm bustin' my buttons . . . you’re wonderful, aren’t you. Thank you for loving it so much and for being my friend. Happy Holidays and even more for a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! May the very best of the last be the worst of the next.
EG: Jim, I feel like our lives are almost devoid of magical moments these days. Our tanks are running low on goodwill and hope. Whiskers shoots a quick lightning bolt of joy straight to the heart. Through one man’s eyes, we see random human beings react to a concept that is deeply embedded in our culture, providing a barometer to holiday spirit and maybe what it means to be on the naughty or nice list. Why do you think this reminder is important at this juncture of our lives? Why should we keep “leaning to the light” and believing that we can make the world a better place?
JB: That’s often a question at the core of a short story—is this a positive message or not? For me, I have to follow the energy of an idea to wherever it leads, and in this case, I guess my natural inclination toward a positive outcome was revealed. It’s a little too obvious sometimes to concentrate on the negatives, even when surrounded by seemingly endless bad news. As someone who has lived through very high highs and very low lows, I can’t help but see that when you simply remove anxiety and concern, what’s left isn’t emptiness but love. The normal, base layer of existence, without even trying, is love. And Hugo Armstrong, beard or no beard, really embodies all aspects of this.
So Happy Happy Holidays, and I hope this little clip gets shared a bit with people who could use a moment of joy.
Elizabeth Gracen is the owner of Flapper Press & Flapper Films.
Comments