Exclusive: Timothy Granaderos and Radha Mitchell on Devil’s Workshop

Clayton (Timothy Granaderos, 13 Reasons Why) is an aspiring actor who is desperate for a role as a demonologist. He’s received a callback and is willing to do whatever it takes to beat out Donald (Emile Hirsch, Into the Wild), who is also gunning for the role. In an effort to gain an edge, Clayton contacts Eliza (Radha Mitchell, Man on Fire), an expert in devil lore, to help him prepare. What begins as a basic exploration into demonology quickly descends into dark rituals that force Clayton to face his past and question Eliza’s intentions.

“I think this story, in particular, is psychological in a lot of ways,” commented Granaderos, “there’s this element of realness to it. For me, it felt like a therapy session that just unravels and gets weirder and crazier as the movie goes on.”

“This move is kind of like watching a train wreck. You have a sense of what you’re in for… you meet a woman named Eliza, who has the persona of kind of an acting coach, but she’s a demonologist, and she’s obsessed with this particular demon that she is worshiping and ultimately conjuring, and she’s going to take this young actor on the ride of his life,” added Mitchell.

Also in the cast of Devil’s Workshop are Sarah Coffey, Brooke Ramirez, Miles Doleac, and Chris von Hoffman, who also served as the writer and director.

Timothy Granaderos and Radha Mitchell in Devil’s Workshop

Granaderos and Mitchell deliver strong performances in Devil’s Workshop, most of the time playing off one another as scene partners, in addition to the layers they individually bring to their performances.

“I created a whole backstory if it wasn’t there,” said Granaderos. “I spoke with Chris who was like an encyclopedia of information for this particular story… it’s always a bit weird preparing to act like an actor who’s preparing for an audition,” he joked.

Some of the things he and Chris would speak about included the “emotional subtext,” as he explained, “Clayton, like most humans, is at his core vulnerable but doesn’t necessarily allow the world in. I think it was important for us to kind of start him somewhere and then have him grow into something by the end, for better or worse.” He continued, commenting on how Mitchell also helped draw the best out of his performance as “she’s so interesting in the ways she doesn’t allow you to be fake in any way, which was very helpful for me on the day.”

“Every day, we get up and face each other and the next sequence of events, and he was willing to experiment, let go of his ego, and play the role,” commented Mitchell on sharing scenes with Granaderos. “I don’t think it could have been done without an actor who had his sort of level of commitment and talent. We were very lucky to have him, and I was happy to be working with him.”

“We had an opportunity to get a sense of what the other person was going to bring to the scenes, but honestly, I think I was discovering what I was doing whilst on set, drawing on years of experience, but it was a collaboration, also with Chris who was open to things being a bit fluid and flexible,” Mitchell added.

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Demonology in Devil’s Workshop

As the film progresses, the escalated demonology becomes more and more urgent between Granaderos and Mitchell’s characters. In one scene, without giving too much away, we can see the usage of effects to really ramp things up. “Seeing it on the day was as incredible as it was on camera,” commented Granaderos when asked about this pivotal scene. “It looked amazing and honest… so it made it easy to be a little frightened and off-put by it.”

“I don’t really recommend it as a positive life experience unless you like sitting still for an hour with your head covered in stuff,” joked Mitchell. “I was amazed, considering the scope of this project, we didn’t have a lot of time to shoot, and it wasn’t a massive budget. I thought it was bold to do… and we were lucky that we were working with people, especially in the VFX department who were quite experienced.”

“I’m just excited for this movie to come out,” added Granaderos, of which Mitchell echoed similar sentiments, commenting, “I think they’re [audiences] are going to like this story. I haven’t seen anything like it. I think it’s very cool.”

Devil’s Workshop comes to us from Lionsgate and is set to release in select theaters, on demand, and digital on September 30, 2022. It will then receive a later release on Blu-ray and DVD on November 8.