Ellar Coltrane on 'Boyhood' Oscar Buzz: 'It's Awesome. It's Crazy'

Ellar Coltrane, the star of Richard Linklater’s acclaimed Boyhood, is adjusting to life in Hollywood on his own terms. Now 20, Coltrane spent 12 years of his childhood intermittently making the film — which is considered a serious Oscar contender and just won four L.A. Film Critics awards.

Coltrane, who possesses a quiet thoughtfulness that comes across in conversation, confesses to Yahoo Movies that the Boyhood experience has been “overwhelming.”

He admits he was initally tentative about the idea of a career in acting. But in the past week he has taken a clear step to pursue future roles — by signing on with high-power talent agency UTA. Though, he tells Yahoo, he’s determined to keep his feet on the ground, and ultimately plans to attend college.

Read on for more of the fledgling actor’s impressions of Hollywood and watch an exclusive clip from the Boyhood digital HD, available tomorrow, Dec. 9 (the Blu-ray comes out Jan. 6):

Looking back, what was the biggest challenge in making Boyhood?

The biggest challenge really has been releasing it, just because it was so personal and such an intimate thing. It was really scary to give it to the world, but it certainly has been rewarding.

Watch Exclusive Blu-ray/DVD Clip About the Challenges of Boyhood

Biggest stroke of luck?

Aside from just being found by Richard [Linklater] in the first place, is just that I never turned into an a—hole — for lack of a better phrase. I think the fact that I never watched any of the footage [while it was being made], I was able to remain a pretty normal person growing up. I feel lucky that my head didn’t get messed with too much.

How many times have you seen the movie now?

I think eight or nine times. It’s been a little while, though. I’m starting to feel like I should watch it again.

What goes through your mind when you see yourself growing up before your own eyes?

It’s very emotional — the first couple times it was. Watching myself age — it was just really kind of cathartic and touching. But as I’ve watched it more I’ve been able to remove myself from it more and more, and just enjoy it as a movie. It’s really not about me, and it’s not really entirely about Mason either. Boyhood is the perspective, definitely, but it’s just about the passage of time.

What has surprised you the most about Hollywood?

How many really cool people are out there and genuine creators. It was really just kind of overwhelming at first, and I was feeling kind of cynical. But recently I’ve really been making a lot of great connections, so that’s been nice and [it] kind of surprised me. Maybe it shouldn’t have.

Any good celebrity run-ins?

I met Andy Serkis. I was pretty excited about that and he liked the movie a lot. That made me really happy. But I’ve met a lot of really cool people. Eddie Redmayne is a real sweetheart, too.

What made you finally decide to sign with UTA and give acting a go?

I always wanted to. I was just taking things slow. I think I’ve had a lot on my plate this whole year and trying to jump into a new career at the same time just seemed like too much. But I met [UTA agent] Jeremy Barber and he was just really cool and that was encouraging to me.

What roles are you interested in?

Just good movies. I’m very visually oriented, so I’m really interested in using aesthetics and visual themes to tell stories. Like Under the Skin this summer was really a good example of how well that can be done. But I really like all kinds of movies.

Have you been getting advice from your on-screen parents, Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke?

They’re very supportive. They’ve been in this game a long time. [They tell me to] be careful and trust my instincts. It’s so overwhelming, and your head is spinning, and you kind of feel like an alien. But you learn how to deal with it. It’s really always going to be weird.

What sort of guidance does Richard Linklater give you?

Recently he’s been telling me a lot — just to enjoy all of it because this doesn’t happen very often, that a movie is received like this, and it’s true. It’s really incredible and I’m very grateful.

Do people stop you in the street now?

Sometimes. People my age or closer to my age [say], “That was my life.” They’re pointing out these poignant things that happened to Mason, that happened to them in their lives. A lot of people my parents’ age say that it’s very touching to them in relation to their relationship with their kids. People are really warm and genuine. It’s nice.

Are you determined to stay grounded?

Very, very much so. As much as I am pursuing acting, I’m going to go to college hopefully next year. And I definitely feel a need to kind of ground myself and figure out what I want to do before I start doing it.

Now that you’ve had time to get used to the Oscar buzz around you and the movie, what do you think about it?

It’s awesome. It’s crazy. I never thought it would be like this. It’s really just amazing. We put a lot of ourselves into the movie and it was kind of scary to give it up to the world, but we’ve been rewarded so wonderfully. Awards are the peak of that, so it’s very exciting.

Photo: Markku Ulander/REX USA