Kylr Coffman is stepping into the spotlight with Nimrods, a coming-of-age comedy inspired by Green Day’s early days as a band. Following its festival premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2025 under the title New Year’s Rev, the film brings together a standout cast including Mason Thames, Ryan Foust, Mckenna Grace, Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey, Fred Armisen, and Bobby Lee, with Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool making cameo appearances.

For Coffman, who plays the green-haired, chaos-loving bassist Fred, the role feels especially personal. A musician who grew up playing drums in garage punk bands in small-town Oklahoma, Coffman found himself bringing a piece of his own punk roots to the screen.

In our conversation, Kylr opens up about landing the role, transforming into Fred, working alongside his musical heroes, and why the film’s DIY spirit still matters in a world dominated by the internet.

Photography: Jared Kinley

What can you tell us about your audition process for Fred?

Kylr: I play the character Fred, the green-haired menace, and I’m the bass player, and I play some guitar in it. I originally was up for the drummer character, because I grew up playing drums. I grew up here in a small town in Oklahoma, playing in garage punk bands, and so initially I was up for the drummer role, and playing drums felt really comfortable. Then I remember we were in the Zoom audition, and the director was like, “Hey, read for Fred. There’s something about you that just seems like a menace. You’re an agent of chaos.” And we had so much fun reading it that the rest was just kind of history.

What was it like transforming into the character by dying your hair green for the role?

Kylr: The whole process in creating this character was something I wish I could do over and over and over again. I’m thankful I got this opportunity. I remember driving into our first rehearsals and I was like, I really want to dye my hair. I had that inkling that I really wanted to do it. I felt like one of the characters should. I was like, “Green Day movie. As a Green Day fan, I’m more than glad to have dyed hair.”

Kylr: And then, luckily, the director asked me, “Hey, I feel like you’re the character that needs to dye their hair. Do you want to do it? I was kind of feeling blonde, like just bleaching it. But what do you feel?” And I was like, green, green. I don’t know why, because green is like my least favorite color. But it grew on me. And then, this crazy thing happened; I was cleaning out my grandma’s belongings recently, and I found a picture of me from when I was 13 years old, and it’s me with green hair.

What was it like working with Green Day on this film and getting to be part of such a unique project?

Kylr: Don’t meet your heroes unless they’re Green Day. It’s everything they are. They are everything you would think, hope, and dream that they would be as the rock stars they are, and more. They are the coolest, biggest rock stars and the most humble, down-to-earth dudes. It’s so nice for this to be my first big [acting] opportunity and to be kind of stepping in the spotlight under the wing of Green Day because they show you how to be yourself in the spotlight.

Kylr: [They taught me] not to compromise yourself and being authentic, and how to be kind to another person, no matter what you may have achieved. You’re not better than anybody else, and they really live through that ethos. Everything they sing and talk about is exactly how they live. They don’t just talk the talk; they walk the walk. And I’m so grateful for my time with them, and really one of the things I will share that they said and told me, Mike [Dirnt], he was talking, and he reminded me about staying true to yourself, and that not every envelope needs to be opened. There’s going to be a bunch of shiny object dangled in front of your face, especially when you have a spotlight on you.

Kylr: And you can open every envelope if you want to, but they don’t need to be opened. You don’t have to go scratch every single itch, just be. And it was nice just to be reminded of that because it’s something I believe, and to see that from one of your idols, and to hear that from somebody that you really admire, it just reinforces that belief. And it was really nice for them to take time to give us this opportunity to create this film, to hire us, to take time to even talk to us. There are times when they would send us merch or send us little gifts, it felt so special. I’m so very lucky to be in the Green Day camp.

What does the DIY (do-it-yourself) punk spirit mean to you, and how do you think the film keeps that spirit alive?

Kylr: So DIY, there is a culture and an aspect that comes out of the punk rock ethos that is so important to keep alive and to feed that flame. And I’m thankful that we have bands like Green Day who are keeping that alive, and then they go and make this movie so that way we can inspire the next generation of weirdos to maybe go pick up a guitar and make some noise. I believe there still is a world outside of the internet, you know, and that’s why our band’s name [in the film] is Analog Dogs, and you don’t see a lot of phones in the movie. I don’t even think my character Fred could afford a phone or have internet, but when you have your best friends and you have a dream, you don’t need the internet all the time. What’s important is right there in front of you, and that’s captured in this film.

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Nimrods is now available rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home.

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