Exclusive: Kyle Gallner Talks Dinner in America and Playing an Angsty Punk on a Journey

Dinner in America is a newly released coming-of-age story with an in-your-face punk rock twist. Written and directed by Adam Rehmeier, the film stars Kyle Gallner and Emily Skeggs as Simon and Patty, an unlikely duo who cross paths and connect.

Lead Kyle Gallner has been featured in TV and films since the early 2000s with memorable roles in Scream (2022), The Walking Dead, Smallville, Jennifer’s Body, Red State, the A Nightmare on Elm Street reboot, The Haunting in Connecticut, Big Love, Veronica Mars, and many more. Even with so many credits under his belt over the last two decades, it is evident that Dinner in America is not just another film for him. This one is special. Or, as Gallner tells us, “it’s its own special little animal.”

This “epic journey… through the decaying suburbs of the American Midwest” had its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. It has been met with critical praise and appreciation for its quirky characters, punk rock theme, and big heart. There is, indeed, something special to be found within Dinner in America. Gallner and Skeggs’ performances are empowering, endearing, and just raunchy enough to have an awkwardly good time.

We talked with Kyle Gallner about the film and Simon’s complex nature, and falling in love with Skeggs’ Patty. Dinner in America is now showing in select theaters and coming to Digital and On Demand on Tuesday, June 7, 2022.

Simon & Patty are Unexpectedly Relatable

MovieWeb: So, you play Simon in Dinner in America. Do you see yourself in Simon a bit?

Kyle Gallner: I grew up listening to punk and hardcore music; I was a gutter rat skater kid stealing beer from people’s garages in Pennsylvania. There’s definitely a part of that in me, so it was fun to let that part of me back out. It was taking that side of me and just cranking it up to like 11. I had some of that angst and rage and all that as a kid. I think we all have that to an extent, and it’s pretty relatable. A lot of people want to buck the system or push back. There is something refreshing to that, and it’s an abrasive assignment.

Simon is an acquired taste for sure, but by the end of it, I think people relate to Simon more than they realize at the beginning.

MovieWeb: Absolutely. You and Emily [Skeggs] have great chemistry, and your characters complement each other well. What was the vibe, the energy like on set?

Kyle Gallner: It was like summer camp. We had so much fun. We got there two weeks early to record the music, get to know each other, and go over some script stuff. We got to know Adam and do wardrobe and all that. In those two weeks, we just hung out all the time and cooked dinner. We would go do stuff together, and we built a real bond. By the time we were shooting, we trusted each other to be able to take these characters to the places they needed to go and know that the other person would be there. Emily was my safety net. Simon’s a lot. [laughs]

Me and Emily are like buds; we’re for real good friends. Me and Adam [Rehmeier] are super close; I talk to Adam all the time. It was just one of those situations where you walk away with real relationships and real friends. You’ve made something special together. It was a really unique experience.

Related: Exclusive: Emily Skeggs Talks Dinner in America: ‘A Napoleon Dynamite-Punk Rock Love Story’

MovieWeb: That’s great to hear. Can we agree that the world needs more leading women like Emily and lead characters like Patty?

Kyle Gallner: Yeah, I mean, 100 hundred percent. The fact that Emily’s not in every movie on the planet is an absolute crime. She’s so f***ing talented. This is an interesting movie because they put the sidekicks as the leads. They put the people that are more true to life front center, and I think people relate to that. And even and to your point, even more so than Simon, it is Patty there should be more of because it’s infinitely more relatable. What Emily has done with Patty is truly a special thing. I think a lot of people are gonna watch that and feel empowered by Patty and Emily. I think that is one of the gifts that this movie gives.

MovieWeb: Some expectations get set up initially, and it all shatters in a great way. You expect Simon to take over the main lead because he’s abrasive, but he does not overpower her at all.

Kyle Gallner: You’re right. It’s kind of like a passing of the torch but without it being a passing of the torch. It’s more just like Simon’s reached his expiration point, and she’s a total punk rocker herself. She’s just got a different version of it, and she takes over. I love that it’s equal. She helps him, and he helps her. He’s not coming in like, “Let me save the day, weirdo!” These two are offbeat, and they’re there for each other, and I think that’s huge and real.

What’s interesting about the first 20 minutes is that it is so abrasive and intense on both characters’ sides. Simon is a larger-than-life kind of ball of rage, and then you see Patty getting relentlessly bullied. That’s important because it gives these characters somewhere to go.

Kyle Gallner’s Simon Goes On a Complex Journey

MovieWeb: As Simon, you had a lot to balance. He is rude and rough around the edges, but on the other hand, he’s still so likable, and you want him to be okay. Was it a challenge finding that line without going too far in the wrong direction?

Kyle Gallner: Yeah, there are specific moments where I intentionally made the choice to not really show much of a shift until Patty sings. You really see that this is what’s important to this person. He loves music, and he loves sharing it with this person. He truly sees this person at this moment, and it’s a beautiful moment for both of them. So, it’s balancing those things out.

It’s also finding why Simon says horrible things. He says things nobody should say, but in Simon’s mind, or at least his warped version of things, he’s a button pusher. I think he’s truly gauging Patty’s reaction at that moment. He’s not a great guy and has issues, but I do think at the end of the day, his heart is in the right place. He just has a messed-up way of showing things and doing things. I think you come to understand Simon a bit more. I’m not saying it’s okay what he says. I’m just saying there is a journey.

Related: Exclusive: Dinner in America’s Lead Actress Emily Skeggs Co-Wrote the Film’s Watermelon Song

MovieWeb: Simon is a fantastically complex character, as you just described. Do you think it fits his story more that it isn’t rainbows and sunshine by the end? Everyone isn’t just fixed and cured.

Kyle Gallner: Right, yeah, they’re not just magically these changed people. They are unapologetically themselves to the end. When Simon comes out of prison, I don’t expect some reformed guy coming out of there. He’d slip his jacket back on and be like, let’s go. Let’s see how the world has changed.

MovieWeb: Before we wrap, you have stayed busy over the last few years with Scream, Dinner in America, Shudder’s The Cleansing Hour, and you have a few things in the pipeline. Is there anything you want to highlight?

Kyle Gallner: I did Something’s Wrong with Rose, and that’s a cool one, but I can’t really talk about it too much. I just did another one called The Passenger that we just finished. It’s all really early stuff. I actually wrote a movie that we are in the process of getting off the ground. I’m working with some cool people on that, but it hasn’t been announced, so I can’t really talk about it much.

I’m very grateful to have been busy, especially in such a crazy time. It was so chaotic, and I’m very fortunate to have been able to work. I’m very excited for people to finally get to see Dinner in America, and we’ll see what happens. Indie film, man. I hope it finds people. I think it’s its own special little animal and, hopefully, it finds the right people.

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