And in that moment, they were infinite. Like audiences, Logan Lerman fondly looks back at his film The Perks of Being a Wallflower when he hears the Dexys Midnight Runners 1997 hit “Come on Eileen.”
“Any time I’m at a party and ‘Come on Eileen’ comes on — in the film we did it like 100 times. But any time that comes on it definitely makes me think about [Emma Watson] and Ezra [Miller] dancing at the school dance,” he exclusively tells Us Weekly. “It definitely brings a smile to my face every time I hear the song when I’m out.”
The scene is significant for his character Charlie, who suffers from depression. After leaving a mental health care facility, he becomes close with fellow high school student Sam (Watson) and her stepbrother Patrick (Miller), who help him break out of his shell. In the scene, he puts his drink down and slowly makes his way to the dance floor to be with them.
“I really enjoyed working with her,” Lerman, 26, says of the Harry Potter star. “We got lucky. We got to do two films together in a short period of time. She’s a good friend of mine and someone who really inspires me. I love collaborating with her.”
The coming-of-age movie is an adaptation of the 1999 novel of the same name, which was written by Stephen Chbosky.
“Bottom line, it’s a great script but then it comes down to collaboration. We just had a wonderful team. Everybody did a really good job on it,” he tells Us. “Perks of Being a Wallflower had an impact on people and it meant a lot to me. But it’s hard to wrap my mind around why it was good or really why it worked out or why people responded to it. I guess in my life I’m in a constant pursuit to film what affects others as much as my favorite films affected me. And it was validating at that period in time. It felt great and was really rewarding.”
The cast still remains close, but their individual careers have taken them in different directions.
“We do keep in touch on occasion. But I haven’t spoken to Ezra in a while. He’s a hard one!” Lerman says, laughing. “Everybody goes off and they carry on and continue to do great work. … We’re not hanging out all the time but it really was a special group and a momentous time in my life and I’m sure in their life as well.”
