HEN YOU’RE A YOUNG ACTOR WHO SUD-denly gets a pivotal role in a big movie with screen legends like Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman, it can be life-changing, and that’s exactly what’s happening to Charles Melton after the release of the Todd Haynes’ film. “I have a lot of people that I love and trust and [who] speak truth to me, that really kind of grounds me.” Inspired by the case of Mary Kay Letourneau, the Washington state sex offender who raped a 12-year-old boy and later married him, Melton plays Joe as the adult husband of the sex offender, named Gracie (Moore) in the film. Portman plays Elizabeth, an actress set to play Gracie in the multilayered movie. Melton says he “came to Joe with empathy and without any sort of judgment. With this sense of caretaking for Joe and his experience.” As the film progresses, we see Joe unravel in his slow, quiet way. “Todd plays a lot with mirrors. When we see Joe look at himself for the first time; to me, it’s the first time Joe ever [really] sees himself, [the first time he] ever actually looked at himself.” —
