How Kaitlyn Dever put the “rom” in the George Clooney-Julia Roberts rom-com Ticket To Paradise

Having a movie role written with you in mind is rare enough, but to also have George Clooney and Julia Roberts pre-cast in the film as your parents? Kaitlyn Dever could never have dreamed of such a thing when she began booking commercials as a child actor. Years after their last leading film roles, and practically eons since their last romantic comedies, Clooney and Roberts headline Ticket To Paradise, the story of a long-divorced couple reuniting to disrupt their daughter’s whirlwind wedding in beautiful Bali.

As Lily, daughter to Clooney and Roberts’ David and Georgia, Dever had to sell not only a coherent family resemblance, but also the “rom” part of this rom-com; without the ineffable chemistry she shares with Maxime Bouttier as her Balinese finacé Gede, there’d be no movie. Given Dever’s recent string of stunning performances, it’s easy to see why writer-director Ol Parker knew she could handle the genre as she has every other: from the comedic Booksmart to the brutal Unbelievable to an Emmy nomination for Dopesick, Dever is on a roll. Plus, Ticket To Paradise comes on the heels of Dever leading Karen Maine’s Shakespearean riff Rosaline. But yes, as she tells The A.V. Club, there are still inherently going to be nerves when starring opposite two of cinema’s biggest stars.

The A.V. Club: So let’s start with the obvious: you star in a movie with George Clooney and Julia Roberts as your parents! What was that like, and what did it entail?

Kaitlyn Dever: It’s still blowing my mind, you know? I remember the first Zoom call I had with Ol Parker. Well, actually, I knew about this movie because I ran into Ol, I had met him a couple of years before bumping into him at this party. And he told me, “I’m writing something with you in mind.” I was like [rolling eyes], “Sure, yeah, okay.” I feel like you get that all the time and it never actually pans out. Or at least that’s just my negative energy. But sure enough, he sent me this script, for Ticket To Paradise. I was shooting Dopesick at the time, so it is a real treat to be able to read something like this. I remember I was literally in Virginia and it was snowing outside and it was cold, and I’m reading this movie about being in Bali. But then he told me on Zoom that George Clooney and Julia Roberts are in. And I was like, “And you want me to be in it, right? Are you sure?” It was so overwhelming [feigning weeping with joy].

AVC: And what were your expectations, what you thought it would be like working with them, versus how it turned out?

KD: You never know, obviously, when you’re going to meet the people who are going to play your parents or your best friend. There’s always sort of an unknown feeling there. And I kind of have gotten used to that unknown aspect. But it’s a big deal. I mean, they are two of the biggest actors on the planet. And I have admired their work for so long and I am obsessed with both of them. And just one of them would be a lot in a movie, but again, it’s like, the two of them at once and that they’re playing my parents, it’s kind of insane.

But I was nervous! I was obviously nervous. I didn’t know what to think, I didn’t know how they would think of me. And I just thought that I’d be just working with them and then we’d go home and we’d have our separate things. And as soon as I met them, first of all, they were both so kind and sweet. Julia is such a bright light of a person. George is a person that just loves making everybody laugh and is just always a good time. But then actually working with them was really, really a breath of fresh air. And then on the side we were actually spending time together and getting to know one another.

AVC: You mention that process of constructing a family, that unknown aspect. Are there considerations of physicality or mannerisms to achieve a family resemblance? In this case, you have so much material to study! Did you watch any Clooney or Roberts movies to help prepare?

KD: Yes, I obviously watched Ocean’s Eleven before shooting. And I just was reminded of, first of all, how amazing that movie is. And second of all, the two of them together, I’m like, Oh, yeah. I get why everybody is obsessed with this. And they’re going to be obsessed with the idea of them coming back together in this movie. Yeah, I had already seen a lot of Julia’s classic rom-coms that I grew up on. One of my favorite George movies is Up In The Air, which I rewatched. Actually, I don’t think watching their stuff really fazed me and made me even more nervous than I already was. Because I had seen all of their films already, it was more refreshing my memory.

AVC: A lot of the emotional stakes in Ticket To Paradise fall to you. How do you portray being in love as convincingly as you do?

KD: Well, it’s a fine line because I want to be thinking of how the audience is going to view certain scenes and certain moments. That point needs to come across that, yes, I am in love with this person and this is a place that [has] been missing from my life. And so I definitely wanted to think about the audience. But then at the same time, there’s something great about just letting the dialogue be what it is. Ol’s writing is really great and grounded. And then the added layer on top of letting the dialogue breathe was maybe the chemistry I had with Max and letting that be as great as it was when we first had our chemistry read. Because it really was a tough role to cast, but I remember our first Zoom chemistry read—we couldn’t have an in-person chemistry read! We were off in so many different parts of the world—obviously we’re staring at each other on a computer, which is difficult. But there was something about him that just lit up the screen immediately. And when he started speaking, it was just like you knew. That’s Gede. So I think, yeah, there were conscious choices that I was making throughout and making sure certain points landed…and then building that chemistry with the person that’s going to be your husband, the people that are your parents.

There’s certain little things that you can do that make a huge difference, even physical. George, for example, on my first day, we talked about the scene where we’re sitting next to each other on that boat… It could have played out where we were just kind of sitting next to each other and having this nice talk. But I decided it would be nice to get closer, and he suggested I lean my head on his shoulder. There’s little things like that that make a huge difference in building that history.

AVC: Does everything you just said apply to all creative processes for all kinds of roles? What does specifically the rom-com genre require of an actor?

KD: This was my first real—well, I think Booksmart was definitely a comedy…

AVC: With romance!

KD: And there was romance, for sure. And I think that even me and Beanie’s relationship is the core love story of the movie, really. But this is like a different kind of comedy and it’s obviously a big—again, it feels like that classic rom-com that we’ve all been hoping to see more of. But yes, it’s my first time doing this kind of movie. And you do work a different part of your brain. A lot of it is just like being loose and in the moment. I think when I answered your question earlier, it was mainly speaking about this movie alone, because I think other projects require different things. This in particular required more spontaneity feeling kind of organic. And a lot of the times we had to! Because we were fighting clouds covering the sun constantly. Once there’s cloud cover, then the ocean looks not crystal blue anymore. And so it was a lot of fighting light and working really quickly. And George was so down to do anything. “Let’s just get in the water, shoot handheld, let’s just do it.” And it was great because then you really felt like, Oh, this is actually happening right now and it’s very fast. This definitely does require a specific kind of mindset that’s very fun.

AVC: You see that mindset when the credits roll on this movie and we’re treated to bloopers. Was there a favorite improvised moment or anything that really surprised you?

KD: The scene in the bar when they start dancing, I think, is probably one of the more shocking moments for me. Just because I really wasn’t expecting it from either of them. We were rehearsing and it was originally supposed to be a choreographed thing, and they were like, “No, this will be fine.” It was all very chill, relaxed, and we’re just hanging out. And then all of a sudden, the cameras start rolling and they start doing this thing. And then they just get more [making air quotes] “drunk” as the minutes went on—they were completely sober, it does not seem like it in the movie, but that just is a testament to their brilliant skills. But I was really shocked by that. And George is really good at beer pong.

AVC: This might be a strange question coming off a George Clooney and Julia Roberts movie, but do you have a dream co-star or collaborator you’d love to work with next?

KD: What’s cool is, I kind of don’t really know what’s next, work-wise—right now, in this current moment, on this exact day. But tomorrow, something, you know, could pop up. And I kind of like not knowing. Obviously, I’m obsessed with Frances McDormand. I love Regina King, I love Meryl Streep. There’s so many people I’d love to work with, but this job is so unpredictable that I’m just going with that wind.