‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’ moves both audience and cast

TORONTO – “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” star RJ Cyler describes his experience at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year as “shock and awe.”

The 20-year-old Jacksonville, Fla., native makes an impressive acting debut in the touching dramedy, playing the best friend of a teen (Thomas Mann) who bonds with a cancer-stricken schoolmate (Olivia Cooke).

Watching it on the big screen for the first time, Cyler found himself as emotional as the audience, which gave film a standing ovation.

The film ended up winning the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize (U.S. Dramatic) at the fest.

“I was just like, ‘OK, I’m going to take all this in, I’m going to try to stop crying right now. OK, I can’t stop crying right now, give me a few hours,'” said Cyler.

“I feel like ‘Me, Earl,’ it set the Sundance bar really high. I don’t know if I can go back to Sundance and be as happy as I was this time.”

Said Mann: “It was one thing after another and slowly I’m realizing, ‘OK, something special is happening.’ It’s just overwhelming.”

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon directed and Jesse Andrews wrote the screenplay, basing it on his best-selling young-adult novel of the same name.

Mann plays Greg, a high school senior who doesn’t identify with any particular clique, only bonding with longtime pal Earl (Cyler).

Connie Britton plays Greg’s mom, who insists he reach out to Rachel as she embarks on a battle with leukemia.

Greg takes a straightforward approach to Rachel’s condition and doesn’t fawn or fuss over her, which she appreciates.

“I just thought it was incredibly realistic and it reminded me of the way that I would’ve handled the situation when I was in high school,” said Mann, 23, who grew up in Dallas.

“When you’re a teenager, you’re not equipped to deal with these tragic situations and so you don’t say necessarily the right thing, you just kind of say what’s on your mind.”

To build chemistry, Mann, Cooke and Cyler hung out for a week before filming in Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Mann and Cyler embarked on movie marathons to watch the classic films their characters parody in their own homemade movies.

The story felt intensely real when they had to shave Cooke’s head.

“That was a very eye-opening experience because it started off as kind of fun, like ‘Oh, we’re going to shave Olivia’s head today,’ and then by the end of it all her hair was on the floor and she’s feeling her head and she’s got tears in her eyes,” said Mann.

“It’s not like we’re faking it. She actually shaved her head. That’s a transformation and it’s a big moment.”

With “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” hitting theatres in Canada on Friday, Cyler said he feels like he’s still in a daze from the experience of being in the film.

“I feel like I’m just in a long coma and this is one of the best coma dreams ever, like I got knocked out in the audition. That’s what probably happened. I’m not really here, I’m asleep.”