Long before Jesse Eisenberg and Sebastian Stan received 2025 Golden Globe Award nominations, the duo appeared together in the indie coming-of-age drama that marked the directorial debut of rocker Fred Durst. The Education of Charlie Banks Hitting theaters in 2009, the film stars Eisenberg as Charlie, a freshman at an Ivy League university who is disturbed when high school bully Mick (Jason Ritter) mysteriously resurfaces and inserts himself into Charlie’s life in upstate New York.
Director Peter Kerr (The dangerous life of altar boys) was initially attached to direct a script by Peter Elkov, which was based on the writer’s autobiographical experiences. Eventually sitting in the director’s chair was Durst, who became a regular MTV star in the late 1990s as the front man for the rap-metal band Limp Bizkit. Durst cited Matt Dillon’s role in the 1980 film My bodyguard As an inspiration for the The Education of Charlie Bankswhich co-stars Stan as Leo, Charlie’s charming college friend, as well as Eva Amurri (Susan Sarandon’s daughter) and Charles Parnell. “I’ve had a lot of opportunities, a lot of big movies offered to me over the years — blockbusters, horror movies,” Durst said at the time. “I’m more into timeless pieces.”
The Education of Charlie Banks It premiered at Tribeca in 2007, where it won the Made in New York Feature Film Award. “Fred grew up in the South, but he was very determined to make films [the film] “Originally on location in New York,” Eisenberg said while accepting the award. Anchor Bay released the film on March 27, 2009 THRThe review praised it for going in “thoughtful and unexpected directions.”
Fifteen years later, Eisenberg and Stan compete for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy – Eisenberg for Real painwhich he wrote and directed (for which he was also nominated for Best Screenplay; see page 10), and Stan L. A different man. Stan is also in the running for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for his role as young Donald Trump trainee. As for Durst, his last directorial effort was in 2019, helmed by John Travolta The fanaticWhile he had acting roles in 2024 projects I saw the glow of the television and Y2K. At a time Charlie Banks Following his release, Durst admitted that some viewers may have been surprised by his participation: “Hopefully there will be some people who leave [and] They were inspired and surprised by just such a strong and powerful character piece.
This story first appeared in the January standalone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To get the magazine, Click here to subscribe.
