Richard Linklater accomplished a feat with 2014’s “Boyhood.” The director filmed the coming-of-age movie focused on a mother and son over 12 years. Mason (Ellar Coltrane) was six years old at the beginning of the movie, living with his mother, Olivia (Patricia Arquette), and sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater). The movie ends with Mason at 18, with Coltrane portraying him as a teenager.
The young actors didn’t have a normal child star experience because they were young adults when the movie was released. This is what Lorelei Linklater is doing now.
Where Is Lorelei Linklater from ‘Boyhood’ Now?
The director’s daughter played the main character’s younger sister. He told Cosmopolitan that it was easier to cast his daughter and have “one less volatile thing in our complicated and practical idea of how to do this movie.”
Her character, Olivia, was eight years old when the movie began. “I remember wanting the part, for sure, being really happy that I was going to get to do this,” Lorelei said in the same interview. “I was very interested in acting as a kid. I loved to perform.”
She currently paints and shares her art on Instagram. Lorelei continues to act in independent horror films. She also costarred in an action movie, “American Trash,” and a drama called “Hi.”
Richard Linklater Is Taking 20 Years To Adapt ‘Merrily We Roll Along’
Coltrane is 31 and revisited the Best Picture Oscar winner for the movie’s anniversary. He did a Q&A and gave an update on his life.
“I live in the middle of nowhere, and I’m pretty far away from film,” he said, according to Variety. He acted in a few short films and was in the independent film community.
The actor looks back at his unusual experience of working on one project for 12 years positively. “It’s fantastic. It’s magical,” he said. “It’ll be interesting to see what comes of Richard’s new long-term project (‘Merrily We Roll Along’), and if other people try to emulate that.” He admitted that at six he didn’t comprehend how long 12 years was when he signed on to the project.
“Because it’s a gimmick in a way, and it also very much works,” Coltrane said. “It’s also kind of a crazy thing to sign a child up for.”
The director’s “Merrily We Roll Along” will show Paul Mescal switching from his Broadway composer career to filmmaking with his friends in Los Angeles. Linklater is taking 20 years to adapt Stephen Sondheim’s musical.
The director told Screen Daily that the process will address a problem with the original format. “They cast the actors too young, so they’re playing dress-up in their 40s, and people just don’t believe it,” Linklater said. There was a portrayal of the musical starring Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez released on Netflix in 2025.
Ben Platt plays Charley Kringas and Beanie Feldstein plays Mary Flynn. It’s unknown when the adaptation will be released, and if its reception will be different from “Boyhood.”
