The 19-year-old makes a bloodcurdling transformation into Ted Kaczynski—the domestic terrorist who killed three people and injured 23 more between 1978 and 1995 through mail bombings—in a first look photo for Netflix’s upcoming film Unabomber.
And for Tremblay, the role offered new insight into the lone bomber.
“I didn’t even know he went to Harvard until I read the script; I think most people don’t,” Tremblay shared with Netflix’s Tudum in an interview published July 29. “But he was a mathematical genius when he was 16. It’s quite fascinating, actually.”
According to the streaming platform, the film follows Kaczynski’s story as a 16-year-old math prodigy who enters Harvard in 1958, where he is subjected to controversial psychological experiments by Professor Henry Murray (Russell Crowe). Kaczynski ultimately moved to a remote cabin in Montana in 1971 and by 1978 had begun his nationwide mail bombing campaign against those he believed were responsible for the destruction of nature. The move earned him the FBI nickname the “Unabomber.”
Kaczynski was arrested in 1996 and sentenced to several consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. He received a terminal cancer diagnosis in 2023 and died by suicide in prison that same year.
But despite the gruesome story, Tremblay wanted to make sure that his take on the murderer didn’t feel like he was playing a caricature.
“I really wanted to make sure I went into this role playing him as a real person,” Tremblay said. “I wanted him to feel real. I drew from my own personal experiences of what it feels like to be involved in a career where I’m surrounded by a lot of people who are older than me, and that feeling of not fitting in a bit.”
The Room actor also felt like the perfect choice for director Januz Metz, who believed Tremblay was able to convey the “sensitivity” he envisioned for the character of Kaczynski during his years at Harvard.
“There’s a vulnerability and intelligence to Jacob’s look and performance that this story needs,” Metz told Tudum. “I was convinced that Jacob was right for the part after our first conversation, and it has been a huge pleasure to now finally be able to do the work and hone in on the character with him.”
Unabomber, which also stars Shailene Woodley, premieres on Netflix Sept. 25.
For more films hitting the big and small screens this year, keep reading.
Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and the gang return as the toys take on tech in the form of a frog-shaped smart tablet voiced by Greta Lee.
When a ruthless adversary strikes too close to home, Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl (Milly Alcock), reluctantly joins forces with an unlikely companion on an interstellar journey of vengeance and justice.
The little yellow guys return for a new animated adventure set in 1920s Hollywood. Featuring the voices of Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Zoey Deutch, and Jesse Eisenberg.
Disney adds to their live-action remake roster with this reimagining of the 2016 animated hit. Dwayne Johnson reprises his role as demigod Maui and Catherine Laga'aia stars as Moana.
When a couple invites their enigmatic upstairs neighbors for a dinner party, the night spirals into unexpected places. Starring Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton.
A seriously all-star cast assembles for director Christopher Nolan's epic take on the ancient Greek poem. Starring Matt Damon, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Anne Hathaway and many more.
This new chapter of the superhero franchise finds Peter Parker (Tom Holland) living and crime-fighting alone in New York, having erased himself from the lives and memories of those he loves. Zendaya returns as MJ and Sadie Sink joins the cast.
Callum Turner and Monica Barbaro co-headline as two strangers searching for love in New York City.
After a mysterious cosmic event rips Oak Street from suburbia and transports their neighborhood to someplace unknown, the Platt family soon discovers that their very survival depends on them sticking together. Starring Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway.
After their ship gets caught in a mysterious storm, the PAW Patrol pups crash land on an uncharted tropical island filled with dinosaurs and are thrown into a series of high-stakes, dino-sized rescues.
The witchy Owens sisters return in this sequel to the 1998 classic. Starring Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, Lee Pace, Joey King, and Maisie Williams.
Based on the New York Times best-seller, The Love Hypothesis follows Olive (Lili Reinhart), a Ph.D. candidate who impulsively kisses her department's most intimidating professor, Adam Carlsen (Tom Bateman). Their mutual need for a fake relationship turns into an experiment in chemistry that might actually solve for love.
Adapted from Colleen Hoover's best-selling novel, this psychological thriller follows renowned author Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway) and Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson), a struggling writer who relocates to the remote Crawford estate to ghostwrite for Verity.
A companion piece to 2010's The Social Network, writer/director Aaron Sorkin's new film is inspired by the true story of a young Facebook engineer (Mikey Madison) who enlists the help of a Wall Street Journal reporter (Jeremy Allen White) to go on a dangerous journey that ends up blowing the whistle on Mark Zuckerberg (Jeremy Strong) and the social network’s most guarded secrets.
Daisy Edgar-Jones stars as Elinor Dashwood in this latest adaptation of Jane Austen's beloved novel. Also starring Fiona Shaw, Caitríona Balfe, George MacKay, and Esmé Creed-Miles.
Based on the beloved Dr. Seuss book, this animated adaptation will feature the voices of Bill Hader, Quinta Brunson, Bowen Yang, and America Ferrera.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping - November 20, 2026
This highly anticipated prequel revisits the world of Panem and follows young Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada) twenty-four years before the events of The Hunger Games. Also starring Glenn Close, Whitney Peak, Elle Fanning, Ralph Fiennes, Mckenna Grace and Maya Hawke.
Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro reunite alongside Ariana Grande for this new chapter in the Meet the Parents franchise.
This animated coming-of-age saga follows an impulsive teenage girl named Billie (Hailee Steinfeld) who discovers secret magical abilities which hurtle her into a spectacular journey out of suburbia and into a vast witch realm called Hexe.
An insanely star-studded cast of MCU fan-favorites return to our screens in this fifth installment of the Avengers film series.
Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet return to deliver the epic conclusion to director Denis Villeneuve’s trilogy. Also starring Jason Momoa, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert Pattinson, and Javier Bardem.
The core cast (Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Jack Black and Kevin Hart) returns for this final installment of the reboot trilogy about a magical board game.