Jake Nuttall
He played in Hayden Buhler‘s All That You Love Will Be Carried Away Dollar Baby film as Alfie.
SKSM: Could you start with telling me a little bit about yourself? Who are you and what do you do?
Jake Nuttall: My name is Jake Nuttall. I’m a technical writer by day and a different kind of writer by night. I’m a huge, huge Stephen King fan and really passionate about storytelling in all its forms. I aspire to be a novelist myself, and King has been a major inspiration for me.
SKSM: When did you know you wanted to become an actor?
Jake Nuttall: I’m not really an actor, but I love and respect the art and the process. I’ve only done some acting for childhood short films made with my cousins, but I’ve always been interested in doing more. What really inspired me to act more was meeting my now-wife, my amazing and beautiful co-star Taylor Vickers. She’s a singer and actress who performs and directs theater in Boise, Idaho, and she’s incredible.
SKSM: How did you become involved in All that you love will be carried away Dollar Baby film?
Jake Nuttall: My cousin and one of best friends and favorite people in the world, the director Hayden Buhler, approached me with the idea and I immediately was 100% in. We both are massive King fans and wanted to do some more filmmaking together, so when he saw the availability of All That You Love Will Be Carried Away, he jumped on it and wrote the first draft of the script. We collaborated on the writing of subsequent drafts, which was awesome. Trying to adapt King is a delight, whether we paid him his due or totally missed the mark. It’s just awesome as a writer to try to step in his shoes.
SKSM: What do you think it is about the story that attracts people so much?
Jake Nuttall: I think “All That You Love Will Be Carried Away” the story is a beautifully written meditation on suicidal thoughts, sick patterns, and mental distress. How we all can get kind of caught up in the madness and violence in the world. I think there’s a lot of really relatable stuff in it, such an interesting juxtaposition of absurdity and despair. It’s the kind of story that’s so uniquely Stephen King’s brand of empathy, where he’s willing to follow even the most insane or mundane aspects of our world down to its human core. I hope we captured any of that.
SKSM: You worked with Hayden Buhler on this film, how was that?
Jake Nuttall: An absolute delight. Hayden is the best, and the whole crew was fantastic as well. This was such a fun shooting experience in this cozy little vacation spot in Almo, Idaho.
SKSM: Can you tell us about the filming steps? Funny things that happened so far (Bloopers, etc).
Jake Nuttall: Yeah, so we found some kittens out behind a general store, fending for themselves. They were so precious, but on the day we were leaving, one of the poor things came trotting up to us looking all sickly with a goopy eye and everything. So long story short, we took him to get checked out by a vet, and now he’s a treasured member of our little family.
SKSM: Some parts of the script were cut, especially Easter Eggs. Why was that? Do you miss them now that the film is finished?
Jake Nuttall: Sure, we had a lot more Dark Tower in there, plus a bunch of Modest Mouse quotes in graffiti and everything. Those two things are like the lifeblood of Hayden and me, so it’s hard to keep that out of what we do. Overall, though, I think what needed to be cut was cut.
SKSM: In addition to acting you also wrote the script for the film, what were your greatest satisfactions and challenges in these roles?
Jake Nuttall: Oh boy, well, trying to capture this deeply meditative piece in a screenplay format was a challenge. Fortunately, Hayden did all the heavy lifting in creating a great setup with the Susan character so we had that foil for Alfie’s suicidality and outlook on life poisoned by his obsession with this graffiti. The short story also ends in a very ambiguous manner, where we don’t know if Alfie is going to be okay, and I hope we didn’t overstep by implying a happier ending for the character. By bringing in the concept of ka from Dark Tower in the initial draft so strongly (which is basically cyclical fate), Hayden also made me realize how well that worked thematically with Alfie’s sort of spiral. I think this adaptation became a story of breaking those negative cycles, and I feel like Susan gives him the key to do so. Basically it’s all a fan letter for Dark Tower and Stephen King.
SKSM: How do you communicate with a director to design a screenwriter strategy for a film?
Jake Nuttall: Well, unfortunately for the writing process, we were across state lines, so mostly our communication strategy on the film was exchanging notes and drafts. I think it helps that Hayden and I know each other very well and are largely on the same page when it comes to storytelling.
SKSM: You worked in a Dollar Baby based on a Stephen King short story. It was your most challenging film?
Jake Nuttall: Definitely, since it was my only real short film. It was a new challenge in terms of both acting and writing, but I loved every second of it, so is that really a challenge? It made me realize I would do this as my day job in a second if I had the opportunity.
SKSM: Do you still have any contact with the crew/cast from that time? If so with who?
Jake Nuttall: Yeah, Hayden and I talk all the time, which better never change! I’d love a chance to work with Julie and Steph as well. They were an absolute delight.
SKSM: What are you working on nowadays?
Jake Nuttall: Big question. Constantly revising novel manuscripts and trying to publish my work. You can find a short story of mine this July in The Arcanist: Literary Fantasy Magazine in July 2025.
SKSM: Are you a fan of Stephen King’s work?
Jake Nuttall: Oh boy, am I! I want it on the record here that I think Stephen King will be remembered the way Shakespeare is remembered. I find the kind of beautiful literary humanism I adore in writing gods like Steinbeck just as present in King, but then with him you get cars murdering people, and what’s not to love about that? Seriously, go back and read Christine. Read every Stephen King book. Everyone should. The world would be a better place.
SKSM: What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
Jake Nuttall: Nothing surprising here. I hope people are somewhat surprised to know how little I’ve acted before this when they see the movies. I’m proud of how it all turned out because of everyone’s hard work.
SKSM: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Is there anything you want to say to the fans that read this interview?
Jake Nuttall: Thank you for taking the time and for supporting art like this. I think it’s awesome that King gives fans the opportunity to show their love and their filmmaking skills this way. If you’re reading this, you probably rock, so keep doing you!
SKSM: Do you like to add anything else?
Jake Nuttall: All I want to say is that if I can get my hand’s on the rights to “The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet” I’m coming for you next…
