A few years ago, Chase Infiniti – then an aspiring actress, wanting to land her first big job – auditioned for two projects in the same week.
One of them was Battle after battlethe stunning thriller that would go on to shower director Paul Thomas Anderson with Oscars and make Infinity, fresh-faced and stunning, an overnight star. It’s been a whirlwind awards season in which Hollywood has bowed at the 26-year-old’s feet: She’s walked away with BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations, Leonardo DiCaprio in her corner and a loyal fan base of millions rooting for her next film.
The next film happens to be the other project I’ve been reading about alongside One battleAnd Nicky Byrne Julia group It was an important experience for Infiniti, as were the beloved PTA Awards. “One battle and Julia group You’ve been in my life for about the same amount of time,” the rising star begins Hollywood Reporter. “It was one of those things that gave me butterflies when I first read it, and it’s hard to find things that do that. But I’m someone that when I find something, I’ll put everything into an audition for it — to get as close to it as I can. Because I know it’s very special.”
Byrne’s coming-of-age story starring Infinity, Christopher Prinny, Gillian Anderson, Nina Hoss, Jason Isaacs, Alex Dillard, and Nico Hiraga will have its world premiere at TIFF on Friday night, and it’s definitely a special one. The film, which is represented in the United States by Gersh and internationally by HanWay Films, follows Infinity as Julia, a math student with untapped talent who is groomed to prepare for the country’s most challenging math competition. She is swept away by the broken-hearted Pascal (Brené), a fellow student eager to break free from the shackles of his famously brilliant father (Isaac). But Julia’s gifts soon threaten Pascal’s genius. It’s a poignant and powerful story of a young woman who realizes she is the main character in her own story, anchored by a powerful performance from Anderson as Anne, Pascal’s mother, who had to give up her sporting ambitions long ago.
And for Infiniti, who also serves as executive producer on Julia groupIt has been a very personal and empowering journey. “As I was reading it, I thought to myself, ‘Oh, I remember a point in my life where (I was) kind of afraid to grow into what I’m capable of.’” THR. “I remember when I was afraid to show the world what I could actually do, and seeing that in a world so far removed from what I do, high-level mathematics, I thought it was really interesting to see.”
It wasn’t a smooth ride. There was a moment in time when Infiniti was “heartbroken” by it Julia groupThe shoot collided with Hulu Covenants (A television role that would earn the actress her first Emmy nomination.) But she and Byrne formed a close relationship, kept in touch, and when Infiniti told them, “Guys, I’d really like to be a part of this,” Byrne and her crew made it work and postponed production for a month.
Gratitude doesn’t cover it – Infiniti was thrilled. Although it was the same feeling of chaos aboard Brainy, who was riding high in the stratosphere The summer she turned beautiful He longs to make a career for himself in projects by distinguished and original filmmakers. “I don’t know what to call it other than maybe a rush job,” the 28-year-old laughs. THR Before the first show. “I know they’ve been trying to get this movie made for years, and I think there were a few different iterations of it that almost went into production and then didn’t. And as far as I know, they lost Pascal a few weeks before they started shooting.”
Chris Breeny plays Pascal Julia group.
Antonio Calvaci
Brainy was traveling to Vegas when the text arrived in his inbox. “My boss said, ‘Can you read this? Because it’s really good.” At that time, he was actually looking forward to taking a much-deserved vacation. “Once I finished it, I was like, ‘Fuck, man. This is a special movie, and I’m going to do everything I can to be a part of it,” says Brainy, his determination to work with Byrne echoing that of his co-star.
Much of Brainy’s work – which was done in a matter of weeks – was aimed at finding sympathy for his character. Some fans may leave Julia group Believing Pascal to be the villain in Julia’s novel, Brienne and Berne’s discussions focus on two gifted people who grew up very differently. “I will leave it to others to debate whether his actions can be tolerated or not,” he says. “But the mission was to find the place where I loved him and in all the ways he was shaped by the world he was put in. He’s not without blame and ignorance and the things we see him doing, but he wasn’t really prepared to succeed in a social way. He was expected to be a great mathematician.” Brainy feels very bad for Pascal in many of these moments. “I have so much love for this child who can’t do the right thing.”
He couldn’t help but be impressed by Byrne and the sense of freedom she fostered during the 25-day shoot. “Credit to Chase and Nikki for just being game to play,” Brainy says. “I think it helps that we all really care about this movie, and obviously I’m very close to the source here, but meeting Nikki and hearing about how she wants to shape the world was a weight off my shoulders because I was like, ‘Oh, I can put all my trust in you, and I can do what I want, and you’ll guide us in the right direction.’” I don’t want to speak for her, but I imagine Chase took the same approach.
What was also liberating for Infiniti was flexing some new muscle as an EP. She laughs as she thinks about how daunting this prospect must have been at first. “I remember when I did my first job, I kept asking everyone what their job was. I couldn’t really understand what the product was, and it felt very foreign to me,” she explains. “(It was) like you had to… not be afraid of them,” she paused. “But you say, ‘I don’t really understand them, so I’m a little afraid of them.’” “At least that’s like what it was like when I first started,” she laughs.
Coming from Julia groupInfiniti is more confident about product responsibilities. “Over time, I learned how important a product’s job is — not just getting things done in the day, but also standing up for something,” she says. “It was a way for me to express my needs and protect myself and protect the cast in a way that I had never experienced before.” For example, she remembers taking a picture of what she wanted Julia’s hair to look like at school. “Little things like that, but also if a cast member had something they were struggling with or had a question about or felt a little embarrassed to ask, I could be a gentle intermediary and enable them to bring it up into production, or I could do it if they were comfortable doing so,” Infiniti says. It’s like having a security blanket on set.
Of course, with seasoned professionals like Anderson, Isaacs, and Hoss, not every actor needed a middleman. Both Infinity and Brainy admit they like to watch their elders at work, and Brainy says it was a bit Shakespearean. “It’s wonderful and amazing, and they got it from different places, and they were all wonderfully kind,” he says. “We had a moment watching him in the classroom and (Hoss) was giving these passages from a technical mathematics speech. It sounded like Shakespeare,” he laughs. “She was so talented and it was really amazing to see her up close.”
Infinity teams up with Brainy for the work of Hoss, who plays an elusive and difficult-to-impress mathematics professor. “She has this ability to completely draw you in. She can’t even say anything in the scene, she can just draw you in right away. I’ve come to love watching her,” Infinity says. “I remember the days being there with Gillian and Jason, and they were the kind of people that when you called for action, everyone would stand (in front of) the screen and be drawn into the scene, laser-focused on them. “I’m someone who’s always watching, always learning, asking questions, but I was really blown away by the confidence in movement they had,” she adds.
She’s no stranger to A-list talent, having had an entire awards campaign alongside DiCaprio, Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, Teyana Taylor and Regina Hall. But it’s hard to compare my shooting experiences, because it’s weird Julia group It was much faster. “(on me) One battle “We had 100 days of shooting and that was probably 30 days or less,” Infinity says. “Luckily, it wasn’t a rush day because Nikki was there to make sure that if anyone — at any point — was rushing in for an unnecessary reason, she would say, ‘We need to slow down.’” We have to make sure we care about the scene, we care about the characters, and we do their words justice. So not rushing actors was always something she stressed.
Byrne’s approach sums up exactly where Briney wants to go from here. “I don’t know if I can overstate this, but this movie is all I’ve ever wanted to do, and I knew that right after reading it,” he says. THR. “Nikki has this deep sense of storytelling that I just wanted to be a part of, and I think it’s a great story. She’s a phenomenal director. That’s why I fell in love with films; there were good directors, good writers and good storytelling,” he says, adding that the small budget and intimate shooting made it feel like an independent film. “We did it for ourselves in that moment, and now we can share it, and I think that’s where I find the most joy in this profession,” he says.
He was thrown for a loop when asked about other filmmakers he dreams of working with – there are simply too many. “Greta Gerwig does interesting things, and Joachim Trier proves his brilliance time and time again in all his films. And Ruben Östlund too. I could go on for days,” says Brené.
The American star has something long awaited The summer she turned beautiful The movie is on its way. Just this summer, Prime Video creator, writer and director Jenny Han was forced to put out a statement asking fans to stop crowding Brainy and his co-stars on set. He tells us about his latest journey as global heartthrob Conrad Fisher: “I try to go into everything with the idea that we’re doing it for ourselves. Because I think if you go into a job trying to serve someone else, you’re doing a disservice to the project and the characters and the story. And obviously we spent a lot of time with that world. So, yeah, I hope people like it, but I think we did our best and we got it done, and I’m grateful for everything we put in.” The things it brought to all of us and the people involved.
Brainy, who insists he’s not a natural mathematician — “I thought I was…the last 10 years haven’t been kind to the mathematical side of my mind” — arrives at his second TIFF. For Infiniti, this is its first appearance at a film festival ever. “For the most part, everyone was like, ‘Don’t forget to enjoy it,’” she says of advice from those around her. “I’m excited. It’s so hard to envision it when you haven’t done it yet. That’s what’s on my mind right now.”
Both Chase Infiniti and Christopher Briney are on the verge of huge careers. with Julia groupthey just hope the love and care poured into this film shines through for a Toronto audience. “I hope people discuss ‘being a product of your environment,’” adds Briney. “It highlights a lot of things that I think are easy to take for granted — the way I was raised, how the world works, but everyone grows up under their own circumstances, and I think this film addresses that in a really interesting way.”
The 2026 Toronto International Film Festival takes place from September 10-20.
