Director Wes Ball and actor Will Poulter talked with Comic Book Resources at WonderCon this year to discuss making THE MAZE RUNNER and the character Gally.
Wes Ball on the quick pace of filming a movie:
You have literally hundreds of people coming to you everyday asking for this, I need this… because in two hours they have to get this ready for when we start to shoot this scene here. You really are having to fire off decisions fast, which means you have to have a lot of time and prep to decide what you want and actually figure out what that movie’s going to be, so they’re not all trying to figure that out on the day when you’re spending lots of money and time, and you’re just executing them. It comes with lots of conversations with me and the guys. We just sit around, figure out what this thing is going to be about and try to get to the heart and soul of that scene when we’re in there filming it. That’s probably the biggest shock to me, was just how fast you actually have to move on a real feature set.
Will Poulter on Gally not being a villain:
I was very much attracted to the role, but I think it’s because of what the writers – and notably T.S. [Nowlin] – had come and done with him in later drafts, and what Wes kind of envisioned for Gally – and we always use this word – is more of a conflicted character, not quite the villain. He’s the guy who, in some instances, you are going to hate, but I think ultimately you understand him. You reason with him. You see rationale to his actions and the way he thinks. I think there’s going to be some people that really understand where Gally’s coming from. Sure, there’ll be some that don’t, but it’s interesting.
Will Poulter on acting with Dylan O’Brien:
Me and Dylan, our two characters that kind of go head-to-head in this movie. It’s a strange relationship at first, it’s sort of just a bit of suspicion and kind of like playful banter and then as that suspicion builds. It kind of crescendos into a full-on hatred, and we nearly go at it at points. There were points on set where we’re so close as a group, and yes we became a family, but there are points where through improvisation and what Wes allowed us to do, where we literally are nose-to-nose. It was cool. That’s the stuff that as actors, you love.
You can read the entire interview here.