Interview - Cold Wallet : Let’s talk with director Cutter Hodierne and actor Josh Brener

By Mulder, Los Angeles, 25 february 2025

As the world of cryptocurrency continues to blur the lines between fortune and disaster, Cold Wallet dives headfirst into this volatile landscape, delivering a gripping crime thriller that explores the dark underbelly of digital investments. Directed by Cutter Hodierne and featuring a strong ensemble cast, including Tony Cavalero and Josh Brener, the film turns a home invasion scenario into a high-stakes psychological showdown, where deception and desperation collide. Through its tense narrative, Cold Wallet captures the moral dilemmas of those caught in financial ruin, offering a thought-provoking look at the promises and pitfalls of decentralized finance. Ahead of its highly anticipated release, we had the opportunity to sit down with actors Tony Cavalero and Josh Brener to discuss their roles, the film’s unique take on financial manipulation, and the intense dynamics that unfold on screen.

Q: Hi, Cutter. Cold Wallet creates an incredibly tense atmosphere. How did you approach crafting that sense of claustrophobia and psychological suspense through your direction ?

Cutter Hodierne: Well, good question. I think, you know, I'm always trying to just focus on what a particular scene is calling for. Like, if it's calling for something that needs us to really create some tension, we're looking at it on a scene-by-scene level—what's the way to tell this moment as simply as possible? So, if we want to make something feel claustrophobic, it's kind of the same thing. Is that what that scene is calling for? Okay, then how is the story going to help create that moment? But it's really about approaching it on a sort of moment-by-moment basis.

Q: Hi Josh, you’re widely known for your comedic roles, but Charles Hegel is a much darker character. What was the biggest challenge in stepping into this manipulative and sinister role ?

Josh Brener: Thank you very much for the question. As you said, I mostly end up in comedy, so it is so exciting for me when I get to sink my teeth into something like this—a true baddie. And, you know, most of the credit for this character really goes to Cutter and our screenwriter, John Hibey, who did such a great job creating, like you said, a character who just has this kind of sinister, nefarious, you know, really sociopathic nature. And yeah, it was just really fun to get to dig into some of that.

You know, it's a little hard, kind of putting on some of those yuckier characteristics, but it's also a little fun. I remember during production—we were a couple of weeks in, kind of getting towards the middle to the end of the process—and this wonderful guy we had, who was our medic on set, we had been having a conversation, and he goes, "Wow, Josh, you're actually like a really nice guy!" And I was like, Oh yeah, I think so. And he goes, I think maybe you were just really into the character for the first couple of weeks because I was a little bit like, Oh, I'm not sure what his vibe is. So I think maybe it does seep in a little bit, and you kind of get some of that dark stuff—you can't help but have it infect you a little bit.

Q: Cutter, you’ve called the film a pulp crime thriller that reflects economic frustrations. How did you balance the thriller elements with the film’s social commentary ?

Cutter Hodierne: You know, I think we wanted to keep there being an element of humor and dark humor. And so I always thought of it like—if the movie was leaning toward the edge of a cliff, and the edge of the cliff was thriller and darkness, then comedy was like the strings or the rope holding the car back from going over the edge of the cliff.

So I think it was about just going really hard and leaning into the thriller but letting the performances and the instincts of, you know, guys like Josh and Tony, who come from a real comedic background, balance that with Melonie and Raul, who come more from a traditional dramatic background. Everyone was sort of holding each other up in a cool way. But I always like to look at it like that—this is the edge we don’t want to go over and have it become just a totally dark movie. We wanted to have some kind of gallows humor in there.

Q: Josh, Hegel spends much of the film restrained, yet he still feels in control. How did you and Cutter Hodierne work to maintain that tension in your performance ?

Josh Brener: Again, I just have to give credit to Cutter and John Hibey for crafting this really, really intricate piece where you never quite know who you're rooting for and who you're rooting against.

You know, it starts out—you’re with Raul's character, Tony's character, and Melonie's character, and they've been wronged, and you want them to get their revenge or to be made whole. So you're following them, and you're like, let's get them! Then you see the bad guy, but he's just kind of this meek dude who's hiding out, who's terrified because there's a gun and people are breaking into his house. And you're like, oh wait, now I'm confused—are they the bad guys? Are they the assailants?

And then it turns again—you've got this guy who has this very devious, very sinister mind, starting to toy with people, starting to manipulate them and pit them against each other. And then, of course, it goes to a place where he really escalates into kind of the full big bad. Those twists and turns, I think, are what make it so satisfying and what definitely made it so fun to play.

Q: Cutter, the film’s premise feels ripped from the headlines, especially with real-world financial scandals. How much of the story was inspired by actual events ?

Cutter Hodierne: Well, it was inspired by a variety of true stories that we took a little bit from each. You know, there are stories of platforms that collapsed and people getting kind of screwed over, stories of kidnappings that happened over crypto thefts and things like that—so we were sort of taking from those.

But then also, in the personalities of the characters, we were drawing inspiration from different places too. A documentary called This Is Not Financial Advice had a lot of influence on Billy, which is R.A. Castillo's character. But we were kind of picking and pulling from all sorts of sources. I know Josh had some cool character inspirations as well, but we were pulling from all over.

Q: What can you tell us about your upcoming projects ?

Cutter Hodierne: Josh, are you under any NDA?

Josh Brener: What can I talk about? Pass.

Cutter Hodierne: Okay, I'm working on a UFO movie that's set in the Andes in South America.

Synopsis:
A team of Redditors lose everything after a cryptocurrency scam leads them to plot to kidnap the “financial influencer” who screwed them over.

Cold Wallet
Directed by Cutter Hodierne
Written by John Hibey
Produced by John Hibey, Benjamin Wiessner, Cutter Hodierne
Starring Raúl Castillo, Melonie Diaz, Tony Cavalero, Josh Brener, Zoe Winters
Cinematography: Oliver Millar
Edited by Kate Hickey
Music by Andrew Silagy, Patrick Taylor, Maciej Zieliński
Production company: Vanishing Angle
Distributed by Well Go USA Entertainment
Release dates: March 8, 2024 (SXSW), February 28, 2025 (United States)
Running time: 93 minutes