Mike Hatton, born in the suburbs of Chicago, is seen opposite Russell Crowe, Bill Murray and Zac Efron in Apple’s latest feature The Greatest Beer Run Ever. The war comedy drama directed by Peter Farrelly is based on the true story of a man named John “Chickie” Donohue, who as a young veteran sneaks into Vietnam to bring beer to his friends.

Director Farrelly has worked with Hatton previously and gave the multi-talented actor his first break towards stardom when he cast him opposite Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali in the Oscar-winning feature film Green Book. Hatton’s performance as the sarcastic bassist George won him a Hollywood Film Award for Best Hollywood Ensemble as well as a Vanguard Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. 

In The Greatest Beer Run Ever, Hatton plays Captain Dyer, an Air Force captain who plays an integral part in Chickie’s (Zac Efron) journey in Vietnam.  The following are excerpts from our interview conducted via Zoom.

You are an artist with many talents: you are an actor, director and producer. Which of those disciplines lies closest to your heart?

In 2020, during the pandemic, I said to myself, “I have to do something with this time,” So I decided to get back into writing and pursue directing and fell in love with that side of entertainment, it fulfills a different creative area. I love all aspects of moviemaking and get excited at the thought of just being on set in general. Yet, at the end of the day, I have to admit that acting is my first true love. I am about to start directing my first feature, so perhaps directing will be my next chapter. I may fall in love with it just as much, we’ll see. So far, so good.

You are portraying Captain Dyer in Apple’s new feature film The Greatest Beer Run Ever.  The film is based on a true story: does that make it more challenging when you are diving into the character?

When you’re making a movie based on a true story, I always ask myself when reading the script, “Is there creative freedom to make a good movie?”  You look at what’s real, what’s factual, and this man Chickie Donohue’s journey was true. In terms of preparation, we were also lucky to have our military advisor Hans, he was awesome. The military training made it authentic and genuine. Captain Dyer runs an airport, yet at heart, he really was an Air Force pilot, so I added those colors to his character, knowing he’d rather be up in the air than in the office dealing with Chickie.

You’ve worked with director Peter Farrelly before on Green Book. How was it to be part of a movie that took home the Oscar for Best Picture in 2019? And how did it feel to be back on set with the director for The Greatest Beer Run Ever?

The experience of Green Book was lifechanging for me as an actor. I’d done lots of little indie bits, tons of stage work, sketch comedy amongst other things, but Green Book was my first jump into the big league. Then of course, ending up on stage at the Oscars and also at the Golden Globes was amazing. That script has been the best script I’ve ever read. It still is today. I remember I just wanted to audition for Peter Farrelly. Not in a million years did I think I would get the role, certainly not the fourth lead! Truly, it was one of the greatest experiences of my life – to be surrounded by so many great people and perform on that level was amazing! I was humbled and felt very lucky that Peter cast me for The Greatest Beer Run Ever and flew me during the pandemic to Thailand, a place where I had never been, where I had a blast.

You were surrounded by a stellar cast: Zac Efron, Bill Murray, Viggo Mortensen, Russell Crowe. How was that experience, did you learn anything from them?

I didn’t get to share the screen with Russell – nonetheless, I watched his process which was really interesting. He was totally submerged in his characters, in his photography, and Zac was just awesome and great to work with. For some of the scenes, they gave us room to improvise, which was wonderful for me as my background comes from improvisation. We didn’t end up using any of it, but we did have a little fun in between some of the takes. I hope that people who are watching his performance will come to realize what a truly great actor he is.

Before your acting break, you started out as an entertainment reporter interviewing the talent. Do you believe in luck, faith and destiny?

I do. I do believe in destiny, but I also think you can make your own fate by hard work and never giving up. I grew up in the Midwest, a very blue-collar area, and my parents had always instilled in me that if you work hard, you can achieve something. I love making films, I love acting, and luckily I have a great support system. My wife is incredible: especially in our early years, she supported me emotionally, and at times financially, for as you know, being an actor is hard, you can get pretty beat. Honestly, I would not be where I am today without them, without my family’s support.