Mr. Harrigan’s Phone star Jaeden Martell talks working with Donald Sutherland

Mr. Harrigan’s Phone arrives on Netflix this week and fans of Stephen King won’t want to miss it. The film stars Jaeden Martell, who you might recognize from the It movies, which was also based on one of King’s works. Martell also recently starred in the Netflix movie Metal Lords and the Apple TV+ series Defending Jacob. A talented actor, Martell’s star is certainly on the rise.

Netflix Life had the opportunity to talk to the talented 19-year-old about his role in Mr. Harrigan’s Phone. Martell plays a teenager named Craig. Craig is just trying to get through high school like everyone else, but unlike everyone else, he has a close friend in reclusive billionaire Mr. Harrigan (Donald Sutherland).

A few months after introducing Mr. Harrigan to the wonders of the first iPhone, the older man passes away. But then Craig starts getting ominous texts and calls from Mr. Harrigan… from beyond the grave.

While talking to Jaeden Martell, the actor told us what it was like to work with Donald Sutherland and director/writer John Lee Hancock, whether working on this movie influenced how he interacts with his personal cell phone, and much more.

Interview with Mr. Harrigan’s Phone star Jaeden Martell

Netflix Life: I love the It movies, so I was excited to see you were doing another Stephen King project. Are you a fan of his work?

Jaeden Martell: Yeah, of course. Huge fan.

Netflix Life: You’re by yourself a lot in this movie or acting opposite of a phone. Did you find that challenging?

Jaeden Martell: It’s a little bit challenging, I’d say. There is a lot that goes into making it look realistic and a lot of the time I was on the phone with John Lee, who was acting out, usually, Harrigan’s or my dad’s part, which was interesting. Luckily, I had the incredible John Lee Hancock to guide me through it. He was, in a lot of ways, my partner when I had to be alone. He made it much easier for me.

Netflix Life: Did doing this movie change the way you interact with your phone at all, or not really?

Jaeden Martell: Not really. [Laughs] There’s not much you can do. I’ve always tried to be aware of how much time I spend on my phone and how much value I give it, particularly on social media. So nothing really changed, to be honest.

Netflix Life: You got to act opposite Donald Sutherland, that must have been exciting.

Jaeden Martell: Yeah, very exciting, very nerve-wracking in the beginning, actually throughout the whole thing it was nerve-wracking to me just because I adore him. I was analyzing him as an actor but he was very very kind, and very funny and just a very special person. He ended up giving me a lot of advice that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

Netflix Life: Your scenes together were great, you had magnetic chemistry on-screen. It was fun to see you two interact.

Jaeden Martell: Thank you, yeah, obviously that was all written, but somehow, by someone’s design, it was what was our relationship in real life [ended up being]. I started very much looking up to him and still do. We eventually became close and were joking around a lot.

Netflix Life: Do you have him as “pirateking” in your phone in real life?

Jaeden Martell: [Laughs] What do I have him as? That’s a good idea, actually. I think he’s just Donald.

Mr. Harrigan’s Phone premieres this Wednesday, October 5 on Netflix.