Douglas Booth Talks Young Werther: Love, Rejection, and Going The Extra Mile

Douglas Booth (The Riot Club, LOL, Romeo & Juliet ) known for his versatility and charm, bringing characters to life across both period dramas and modern films. Many first fell for Booth in his role as Kyle in the Miley Cyrus coming-of-age hit LOL, where he captured hearts with his boy-next-door appeal. From there, he continued to rise, taking on more complex roles such as Pip in Great Expectations and now the romantic dreamer in Young Werther.

Young Werther, which first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and is now coming to theaters, showcases Booth in a witty and modern take on the classic story, blending his natural charisma with the complexity of a character driven by passion, love, and ambition.

Off-screen, Booth is just as inspiring; sharing wisdom on rejection, perseverance, and the importance of living fully. Whether he’s dazzling on set, reflecting on his craft, or connecting with fans, Booth continues to leave a lasting impression in the world of cinema.

TEM (The Extra Mile):  Young Werther is actually an adaptation of the novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther. So I’m curious, did you read the novel prior, and what kind of initially attracted you to the role?

Douglas Booth: So, first of all, we’ll start at the end of the question. What kind of role was the script? Like, I loved Jose’s script. It was brilliant. It made me laugh. It was witty. It was an original character that I’d never played in any of my books. And I had not previously read Goethe’s Work, but I… And I can’t tell you, I read the whole thing, the whole thing of this. But no, I dipped into it, and I did actually listen to some… There was a great radio play that my friend Jack Farlane, who’s another actor, was in. So I listened to some of it. And then, yeah. The rest was in the script, really. But it’s a really fun, modern, witty telling that sort of just pays homage to that story.

TEM: We  get to fall in love with that Werther  and his journey. Do you have any traits of Werther that you can personally relate to?

Douglas: There’s probably more in there than I’d like to admit. No, but he’s, he loves to have a good time, you know, he sees everything with fresh eyes, he wears his heart on his sleeve, which I definitely do, you know, I definitely, I’m a romantic and I fell in love quite quickly growing up with, you know, and obviously it was made quite easy to have my heart broken probably. Um, but yeah, I think, I think he’s just, just his zest and love for life, I’d say. I hope, I love to, I love to travel. Um, I love to eat ice cream. Uh, you know, so I, I, I, yeah, I love, I love, uh, I love the life, I’d say.

TEM: Do you have a favorite flavor of gelato? Because  he really liked the gelato.

Douglas: I can’t tell you, I ate so much gelato that day when we were shooting, and it was a really good ice cream shop, but I, I went back to my trailer and I, the whole thing was spinning, I didn’t know sugar could do this, I felt like I was like drunk or something, I was like, because I ate probably about 40, 40 ice creams. Um, and yeah, I don’t advise that, but my favorite, you know what actually blew my mind? I thought I’d like, I like chocolate, chocolate’s my favorite, but they had this like lemon ice cream, it’s like, it’s a store here, famous store in Toronto, I can’t remember the name of it, but it’s like, it’s like lemon ice cream with like white chocolate on the outside, I thought it was the best thing.

TEM: So some may see Werther as a let’s say, a dreamer, or could be a disruptor. Well how do you view his idea of love? Do you think it’s, he was chasing love, right? Or do you see him as selfishly chasing his dream?

Douglas: Yeah, I mean, I don’t think he’s black and white, right? I think he is a dreamer. I think he is a lover. I think he did feel that he was falling deeply in love with this woman. I think he did fall in love with this woman. But I think he was falling in love with his, maybe his, his idea, idea of who he wanted her to be. And that’s often what happens, you know, in relationships. But, you know, I don’t think he’s a bad person at all. But yeah, he definitely, it’s about following your own, you know, his own impulses without really thinking in desires and lust for life and people, without really thinking about the consequences, you know. And not really thinking about how society is normally structured or how things should be done. He doesn’t really think about that. Hopefully he learns from his mistakes. Yeah, I mean, we do see that.

TEM: Throughout your acting career, you’ve done a lot of great pieces. Do you have a preference of kind of doing period places or like a bit more modern films?

Douglas: I like… I like both. There’s something fun about the Period piece, because it’s like time travel. Sometimes you walk into these sets, and you’re like, this is just… You know when you go and have an interactive experience in a museum? It’s like that! It’s like… It feels… you can really trick yourself. You’re walking down the street, and it looks exactly like it looked in the 1800s. There’s horses and cars going past, and you’re like, this is quite a privileged position. I feel like I’m seeing something that other people wouldn’t see. But it’s definitely easier to get ready in the morning to do modern piece. Just putting on a pair of sneakers and a hoodie. Yeah, you’re ready to go.

TEM: You’ve been acting for quite a while, and you’ve done a lot of great films. What would you say is the one best piece of advice that you have ever received?

Douglas: I think as an actor you have to deal with a lot of rejection, so I think you have to, you really have to want to do it, you have to have a love for it, otherwise there are a lot of other things you can do. I don’t think becoming an actor, recognizing your work or being famous is a good part of making you happy, so I think it’s really important to understand that you love, you need to love and really get excited about the craft of acting and the process of it, because otherwise it’s a tough job. Because you deal with rejection day in and day out, even me, lots of people, everyone does. There’s only so many good scripts out there, we’re all fighting to try and be in the best possible projects that come along. But I think it is to work hard, but at the same time have fun, and really all acting is, it’s simpler than what I used to think it was. I used to think it was something more complicated. Acting is just listening, and reacting. It’s really that simple, it’s thinking someone else’s thoughts. There’s not a huge rocket science, yes there’s technically stuff you can learn wether it’s doing stunts, or where the camera is and how to move, things like that. But i think the best thing is to forget all of that, the technicality. And just to be present, i think thats the real key. Be present is the advice.

TEM: How do you go The Extra Mile whether that be in your personal life or professional life?

Douglas: Where do I go above and beyond in my life is in my relationships, my friendships, I give everything I can to them, to my wife, to my family. I love to travel. I think just really investing in life, because I think you’re only going to be on this planet for a very short period of time. So I think you should just enjoy it, make the most of every minute, and be grateful.

Young Werther hits theatres on January 10, 2025