Former child actor Ellar Coltrane has stepped away from Hollywood to work as a volunteer firefighter and paramedic trainee in New Mexico. The 30-year-old star of the 2014 film Boyhood revealed in a new interview that he moved away from the spotlight to perform manual labor in the middle of nowhere. He explained that he has largely moved on from major filmmaking while continuing to pursue smaller creative projects in independent cinema.
Coltrane achieved fame after starring in Richard Linklater's experimental drama, which followed the upbringing of his character Mason. The picture was shot at intervals from 2002 through 2013, capturing Coltrane on camera from ages seven to 19. Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette played his onscreen parents, with Arquette earning an Oscar for best supporting actress for her role as his mother Olivia, while the director's daughter Lorelei Linklater played his sister Samantha.
Despite receiving widespread critical acclaim when the movie debuted, Coltrane found the sudden fame to be an overwhelming experience he did not particularly enjoy, according to Variety. He subsequently turned his back on Hollywood and retreated to an out-of-the-way area in New Mexico, where he performs manual labor, serves as a volunteer firefighter, and works on his Emergency Medical Technician license.
Independent Film Work in Texas
Although Coltrane lives far away from major studio productions, he maintains his creative interests by working with the independent film community in El Paso, Texas. He praised the local arts scene in El Paso as wonderful, adding that he is really inspired by the energy there and what his friends are up to, noting that it reminds him of Austin 20 years ago.
Coltrane recently played Lee Harvey Oswald in a small picture shot in Mexico City called El Fantasma. In addition to that project, he confirmed that he has acted in a couple of short films within the regional indie community.
Coltrane was raised in an artistic family in Austin, born to a musician father and a mother who conducted horse therapy for autism. Director Richard Linklater cast him as the lead in Boyhood when he was six years old, three years before his parents divorced.
Growing Up on Screen
Coltrane revealed that the multi-year shoot ran alongside his real-life upbringing in a pretty tumultuous household. Because of his home environment, scenes involving his character's abusive alcoholic stepfather, played by Marco Perella, didn't seem shocking at all to me, Coltrane recalled, adding, That was just kind of how adults were.
However, Coltrane was affected by an explosive scene in which Perella's character throws a dinner plate at the table while drunk. Coltrane recalled that moment with the dinner plate and just how viscerally scary that was, noting that even though he knew it was acting and everyone laughed between takes, the production broke up tension for the child actors and kept takes to a minimum.
Describing his upbringing, Coltrane referred to himself as an odd kid who didn't have a lot of friends my own age, having been homeschooled and raised by the Austin arts community. Coltrane expressed a preference for gender-neutral pronouns in 2021 before later returning to he and him pronouns.
Coltrane acknowledged growing into a really wild teenager during the filming years. At age 17, he arrived for work on Boyhood very high on marijuana, which left him extremely anxious and self-conscious. He noted that the resulting scene was terrible, did not make the final cut, and prompted him never to perform under the influence again.
Publicity Struggles and Personal Life
Although Coltrane had no misgivings about acting during the wonderful shoot, he disliked the intense publicity following the movie's release shortly before his 20th birthday. He explained that when he became famous and attended a million Q&A sessions and parties, he did not enjoy that aspect of celebrity.
His family life also attracted media attention when the Daily Mail reported that his grandmother was a hippie living off-grid in a parked, rusting school bus in rural Texas with two cats, five dogs, and 17 chickens. She claimed at the time that her grandson was happy, happy, happy being famous, though she admitted they had not spoken in three years.
Coltrane reflected that he did pretty well coping with notoriety and coming out the other side not too damaged, calling the experience a lot to handle. He considered it a saving grace that Boyhood was released when he was already an adult, contrasting his experience with child actors in franchises like Harry Potter whose work was released during their childhood. Avoiding early public exposure allowed him to avoid being a child star, which he noted is difficult for many people.
Potential Return to Acting
Director Richard Linklater recently remarked to The Hollywood Reporter that Coltrane grew up to be this sensitive poet guy living in New Mexico. Linklater explained that the film was a mix of autobiography for himself and developmental growth for Coltrane.
Although Coltrane enjoys his quiet life in the Southwest, he admitted to missing being on set after attending an Austin Film Society event last month, where he joined a Boyhood panel with Linklater, Hawke, and Arquette. He stated that he works best collaborating closely with a director on a passion project to express their vision.
Coltrane noted that he was never formally trained as a traditional actor, having been trained by Linklater and Hawke as a collaborator. He pitched himself for future roles, expressing hope for small, independent passion projects where he can contribute.
