Patrick Wilson recently addressed the growing threat of gun violence over the years in the United States in an emotional speech during the premiere of his new film, Run Amok. The film featured Wilson playing a high school teacher. He is seen grappling with the lasting impact of a school shooting 10 years earlier.
Patrick Wilson reflects on gun violence during Run Amok’s Sundance premiere
Patrick Wilson plays a teacher dealing with a school shooting a decade earlier in his new film, Run Amok. He addressed the rampant gun violence over the past few years in the United States of America. The Conjuring star gave a passionate speech about this during his appearance at the Sundance Film Festival.
“We all, as artists, whether you’re on that side or this side, are trying to figure out how to reflect how we normalize violence, gun violence,” Wilson said during the post-screening Q&A session (via EW). “There have been many scripts and projects with good intentions and strong voices that are trying to make their way through as we, as artists, try to reflect the social issues that are going on right now,” he continued.
He explained that he was drawn to the project by debut director NB Mager. This is because the story resonated with him. He was told from the perspective of children affected by the tragedy. “I don’t want to hear adults talk anymore about normalizing this,” Wilson added.
As he became emotional during the speech, Wilson continued, “I get so emotional, but I’ll power through it. When you think about the coming of age stories that we all grew up on, many starring Molly Ringwald, many in my generation have a totally different sense of coming of age. And of course, those themes of love and loss and high school importance are still extremely valuable. But this generation, the generation that has grown up normalizing lockdowns and what that means, we have to listen to kids, and we have to understand their point of view.”
He concluded, “They are living it, and they, of course, will lead us to the future. Because God knows we are not doing enough right now.”
The audience garners Wilson’s remarks with applause.
