What Happened to the Boy From ‘Boyhood’? Ellar Coltrane on 12 Years of Linklater’s Classic, Coming to Set High and More
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- Ellar Coltrane, now 31, reflects on starring in Richard Linklater's "Boyhood" — cast from an open call of hundreds of kids (Linklater specifically sought homeschoolers) and filmed across 12 years — as Independent Film Company rolls out the 12th anniversary release to 100+ U.S. theaters and Canada via Mongrel.
- Coltrane lives "in the middle of nowhere," works as a volunteer fireman, is doing EMT training, and takes occasional indie roles — telling Variety simply, "I've moved on," from chasing film and TV stardom.
- Independent Film Company is anchoring the 12th anniversary release with a special filmed Q&A this week and additional live Q&As and special screenings rolling out through August.
- Coltrane was shielded from child-star pressure because the finished film didn't reach audiences until he was 18 — a "saving grace" he says contrasts with peers like the Harry Potter cast who lived in the public eye during childhood.
- Coltrane once arrived on set at 17 "very high on marijuana," anxious and self-conscious; that scene did not make the final cut and he never repeated the mistake.
- Mason's photography in the film came from Coltrane himself, inspired by unit photographer Matt Lankes — whom Coltrane notes has since died ("rest in peace") — who gave him lessons outside of set.
- Linklater is developing a new long-term project, "Merrily We Roll Along," which Coltrane calls "magical" while questioning whether other filmmakers will try to emulate the format.
Why it matters: The 12th anniversary re-release across 100+ theaters is a commercial test of whether a decade-old indie can still draw audiences, but Coltrane's disclosures — arriving high at 17, his volunteer-fireman life, his deliberate exit from Hollywood — give the campaign texture most retrospectives lack. For child actors and the parents who sign them onto multi-year projects, his account is an unusually candid case study in what happens when the cameras finally stop.
