The Tender Bar Stars Talk Coming-of-Age & Navigating Your Twenties

George Clooney tried his hand out at crafting a notalgia-inducing coming-of-age drama, and the results were none other than Prime Video's The Tender Bar!

Based on the 2005 memoir of the same name by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist J.R. Moehringer, the film takes viewers through J.R.'s (Tye Sheridan) story as he navigates his adolescence and early writing career in the '70 and '80s with the help of his beloved Uncle Charlie (Ben Affleck), who runs a popular Long Island bar, and mother Dorothy (Lily Rabe).

Out got the chance to speak with Tye Sheridan and Lily Rabe about what drew them to the film, why so many folks love the coming-of-age genre, how the twenties can actually be a difficult yet formative part of a person's life, and more!

"I think some of those coming-of-age stories are some of my favorites," Sheridan told Out. "I think that this movie, you know, more than it is about coming-of-age, I think it's also about J.R.'s entire journey. I felt very personally connected to his story as it relates to my own story. J.R., you know, he's a real guy. It was a very special experience just to be a part of it."

He continued:

"I don't think your twenties are easy breezy and I don't know if they are for anyone. I think that's just an ode to life in general. You have this idea as a kid that when you get out of school you'll learn what you need to learn and you'll be set. The truth is that you're constantly learning and you're constantly being challenged in new ways, and that's just part of life. The movie, in some senses, is seeing that through the perspective of J.R., so I think that there's a lot of relatable themes there about journey, about life, and in your approach, and the people that you have there to support you and the things that you long for that you realize maybe you don't necessarily need."

The Tender Bar is now playing in select Los Angeles and New York theaters and will open in theaters nationwide on December 22! The Tender Bar will be available for streaming starting January 7 on Amazon Prime Video.

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