Landon Liboiron shot by Paul Maffi for HERO 11: Shift Zero

From Degrassi days playing the “Canadian Chuck Bass” (a tag he laughingly outed in Issue 11) to a werewolf alter-ego as Peter alongside our cover star Bill Skarsgård in Hemlock Grove, Liboiron has seen his fair share of hyped roles and hit TV series.

But the Canadian’s pick for our new film recommendations series has nothing to with high school heartthrobs or transforming gypsies – rather, it’s the sharp, dry and hilarious dialogue of Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges that has him clinched. It’s also in contrast to the summer experience he’s currently enjoying in his adopted home of Vancouver (he’s originally from Jenner, Alberta).

Liboiron talks excitedly in the new issue about the energy with which the city’s inhabitants embrace their fleeting summer (“Everyone’s so happy!”). It’s a feeling no doubt echoed by the thousands of shirtless Londoners currently downing beers in every outdoor space that will hold them.

Whilst recovering from your sunstroke, Liboiron recommends chilling out with Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes and Brendan Gleeson under the chilly skies of Belgium’s old town. Crack a Hoegaarden, apply the aloe and take a load off.

Landon Liboiron on In Bruges

“I’ve honestly watched it so many times that I can’t even recall the first time I saw it. But I could watch In Bruges over and over and it would never get old to me,” says Liboiron about his first memory of watching the film (or lack of).

If I were to pick one moment I usually get a good laugh out of it’s a scene where Ray (Colin Farrell) and Harry (Ralph Fiennes) are about to have a shoot-out in a hotel, and the pregnant owner of the hotel gets in-between them to stop it from happening. They end up negotiating a different location for the shoot-out and the dialogue is hilarious.”

“Martin McDonagh is a playwright (he also wrote the film), so it’s full of his unique voice. The world he created is very much in the vein of his plays, which are also great (The Pillowman, The Lonesome West, The Beauty Queen of Leenane).

To me it’s a perfectly executed film in its writing. Every single detail is placed for a reason, and from that it’s secrets are revealed as the movie progresses along, so it’s a lot like a play in that way. The acting is phenomenal (Colin Farrell won a Golden Globe, Ralph Fiennes is a hilarious villain, and Brendan Gleeson is sadly heroic).

The soundtrack is in my top three favourite soundtracks to listen to. Also, the city of Bruges becomes it’s own character in the film, and McDonagh captures some beautifully haunting imagery of it.”

Season two of Hemlock Grove is now available on Netflix.