In 65, an astronaut named Mills is one of the only survivors as his ship crashes on an unfamiliar planet. But to his great surprise, he soon learns that this is actually Earth 65 million years ago. On a planet full of prehistoric creatures, including dinosaurs, he and the only other survivor of the crash, Koa, must race to find safety.
65 stars Ariana Greenblatt plays Koa alongside Adam Driver, who plays Mills, Chloe Coleman, and Nika King. 65 is written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, best known for writing A Quiet Place. Acclaimed horror director Sam Raimi also served as a producer on this sci-fi thriller.
Screen Rant spoke with Ariana Greenblatt about her new movie 65. Greenblatt discusses the physicality of her performance and speaking a new language created for 65. She also teases her upcoming videogame adaptation, Borderlands, and what fans can expect from her portrayal of Tiny Tina.
Ariana Greenblatt On 65
Screen Rant: Ariana fantastic job on this film. I absolutely loved it. It's such a fun sci-fi thrill ride that keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole way through. Can you talk to me a little bit about your character, Koa, and the themes of family and found family in 65?
Ariana Greenblatt: Koa is the last survivor on Mills' little crash-wreck on the planet. She's the last survivor, and she's a really strong, independent girl. We see a big evolution between how she starts off very scared, nervous, and confused, and then we end up seeing her [become] very strong, independent, and fearless almost. Koa's a very complex girl, and she's so young, but she goes through so much. And she grows up very quickly. And she has to; she's been put in very difficult situations, and Mills is the only person she has to rely on now. So that's definitely why they bond and build a relationship so quickly. But she was so great to play. And she was definitely sweet.
Can you talk to me about your approach to Koa, especially since she speaks an entirely new language?
Ariana Greenblatt: That was definitely a first for me, creating a whole language. My process for that was really interesting. I really wanted to match her language to the tone of the film. And with so many languages that we have in the world, we have French, Spanish, and Italian, and I feel like those all sound too warm and comfortable. So I was like, "Okay, let me just listen to a bunch of people speaking different languages and pick the one that sounds the most accurate to the tone of the movie." So that's what I kind of did. And then I created my own accent, [choosing] which letters to emphasize and all of that. And I definitely collaborated a lot with Scott and Bryan for that process. And it was really interesting and cool.
Both of you managed to portray such strong emotions with very little dialogue. Can you talk to me about the physicality of your performance?
Ariana Greenblatt: It's really challenging to convey so much emotion [with] just your eyes. It was definitely a first for me, but I learned a lot through that experience. And I think it's a really great strategy and tactic to convey so much emotion; that was really important for me to portray what she's thinking and going through in such a short amount of time with so little words. It was great to really dial in who she is as a person and exactly what she's thinking and exactly what she's going through. In order for you just to look at her and know how she's feeling in the moment, uncomfortable or scared or nervous or confused. You all had to play it with just your face and your facial expressions. So that was a first and really interesting, and I love it. It's great.
Now switching gears for a second, you have a project coming up that I'm really excited about: Borderlands. Can you talk about what fans can expect from Tiny Tina?
Ariana Greenblatt: Yeah, the fans can expect a lot of laughs. Borderlands is a big joyride of laughter and explosions and confusion, and Kevin Hart yelling at me and just a lot of situations like that. We have Cate Blanchett and Jamie Lee Curtis; an incredible cast that I'm so happy I got to work with.
Borderlands is so fun, and I feel like you can watch it a thousand times over and find something new every time. Tiny Tina was really important to me because, obviously, she is a beloved character in the video game. But I was like, "How can I take this girl and make her mine? What can I do?" I have my own little flares of Tiny Tina, but I kept her core loving personality traits [from] the video game. I created this Ariana-Tiny Tina baby, and I put it on screen. I had so much fun, and there's a lot to expect with that film, and I hope everyone loves it.
About 65
An astronaut, Mills, crash-lands on an unfamiliar planet but realizes he's actually been marooned on Earth 65 million years ago. Mills and the sole surviving passenger, Koa, must travel across an uncharted and dangerous landscape full of prehistoric beasts, including dinosaurs, as they struggle to survive.
Check out our other 65 interviews: