Will Poulter Explains His "Daddy" Nickname Among The Warfare Cast

Will Poulter took his role of officer in charge seriously on the set of A24’s Warfare — so seriously, he became a father figure to the rest of his troop IRL. During bootcamp, the cast — which includes basically every internet boyfriend of the moment, like Kit Connor, Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton, Cosmo Jarvis, and D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai — gave each other nicknames, and the 32-year-old actor received the moniker “Daddy.”

“I was reminding the guys of timekeeping stuff, like when it was laundry day and making sure they had food, so that's how ‘Daddy’ came about,” Poulter tells Elite Daily. The nickname has stuck even after production. “Will's Daddy. Still is Daddy. Always will be,” Connor says, with Quinn adding, “Forever Daddy.” The Heartstopper and Fantastic Four actors, along with Jarvis, said Poulter would be the best emergency contact out of the cast, which also includes Finn Bennett, Michael Gandolfini, and Noah Centineo.

Poulter wasn’t the only star to get a loving nickname. Connor was known as “Babyface,” and Jarvis was “Booger Boo.” Melton originally was given the name “Romeo” because, according to Connor, “he’s a bit of a romantic.” (Ironically enough, it’s a name Connor is all too familiar with these days.) However, Romeo also stands for “R” in the phonetic radio alphabet frequently used in the movie, so it became too confusing to call Melton that on set. That led Melton to give himself the nickname “Top” — which he says was his dad’s military moniker.

While Poulter’s nickname has stuck with him, Quinn’s “Funcle” pet name didn’t last quite as long. Connor joked that it’s because the Stranger Things star is “not really that fun or an uncle.”

Warfare is in theaters now.