WILLOUGHBY, Ohio — You can draw a straight line from the acclaimed 2021 Hulu limited series “Dopesick” to the new Ohio-set film “Union County.”

In the former, Will Poulter — known for myriad performances in movies, including “We’re the Millers,” “The Maze Runner,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and “On Swift Horses” — portrays a pharmaceutical sales rep who comes to realize he is contributing to the United States’ opioid epidemic.

In the latter, an independent film that’s getting a limited release this week, the British actor steps into the shoes of the fictional Cody Parsons, an Ohioan who’s dealt with opioid addiction for years. Directed by Ohio native Adam Meeks and an offshoot of his 2020 short film of the same name, “Union County” is a fact-meets-fiction indie drama that, in part, serves as a portrait of the drug-recovery program run out of the courtroom of Logan County Judge Kevin P. Braig by Annette Deao, both of whom appear onscreen as dramatized versions of themselves.

“I was left after (‘Dopesick’) wondering, ‘What is there to be done?’” Poulter says this during a recent interview at the studio of Cleveland’s WKYC-TV 3, where he’d just appeared with Meeks to promote the film and hours before they were to screen it at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. “There was so much irreparable damage, and (I wondered) what workable programs, what actionable responses are there to the challenge of substance use disorder?

“And when I came across Adam’s short, I saw one such program being held up and celebrated.”

It wasn’t so much the appeal of portraying an addict after “Dopesick,” he says, but instead a feeling that there was more to be explored that led him to the role of Cody, who, you learn watching the film, had introduced heroin to his brother, Jack (Noah Centineo, “The Recruit”), who is also in the recovery program.

“This, in a way, is a direct challenge to the stigma that exists around addiction and some of the slightly reductive narratives that exist around how addicts are portrayed and how the subject matter of addiction is portrayed,” he says. “It’s so powerful and perception-warping that we fail to extend the kind of empathy and compassion and consideration that we would to anybody else once they become an addict. And I think just by telling the stories of so many people in this recovery community and so many of the real-life participants, Adam’s able to challenge that directly.”

As Meeks had done years earlier, Poulter says he and Centineo visited Bellefontaine months before the shoot to spend time with Deao and participants in the program. (While much of the filming took place in the Logan County seat, the Brooklyn, New York-based Meeks chose “Union County” for the title.)

“It was an invaluable experience from just about every perspective in terms of better understanding what the experience is like for folks out there living in that part of the country and how the program is set up,” the English actor says.

“The other thing is you’re very wary, whenever you’re dealing with a sensitive subject matter like this, of being the film crew that descends on an area and extracts what they want narratively and then kind of never comes back,” he adds. “I think there was always an intention to make this in collaboration with the community as opposed to about (it).

“We (tried to ensure) that the fictional elements didn’t take precedence over the reality of the situation — that this is a real program and that people are reliant on it for their recovery.”

“Union County” feels like the rare film that, instead of criticizing a system for failing the people it’s designed to help, champions one for the positive impact it’s having.

“Absolutely,” Poulter says. “In the pursuit of things that are entertaining, we run the risk of dramatizing or sensationalizing, and we are naturally, for whatever reason, drawn towards the tragedy or the tragic arc.

“This film doesn’t shy away from the realities of that, but it is certainly more focused on the success and the hope, and I think that needs to be celebrated and at the fore of the conversation in respect to recovery — because people are succeeding all the time.”

Asked what he’ll take away from the experience of making “Union County,” he says it’s the people he got to know while in Ohio, especially those depending on the program.

“There’s far more that connects us than divides us — that’s really the thing that stuck out to me,” he says. “Everyone is talking about issues that really affect everyone. It’s your relationship with your dad. It’s a relationship with your mom. It’s your brother. It’s your sister. It’s your car. It’s your house payments. It’s work. Those are the things that are (contributing to the substance abuse).

“I think the difference between me and anyone in the recovery program is the fact that they didn’t have as much support. They didn’t have better options.”

He points to statistics that connect rates of addiction to an area’s socioeconomic environment.

“Places where they’re making cuts to arts centers and they’re getting rid of shopping malls and there aren’t any bowling alleys and there aren’t skate parks and places to play ball — the rates of addiction are highest.”

Off-topic with Will Poulter

We had to hit the actor with a couple of non-”Union County” questions while we had the chance, starting with how he went from a guest spot in 2023’s second season of the recently wrapped TV series “The Bear” — for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series — to a series mainstay as Chef Luca?

“I met (series creator Christopher) Storer after the first season, and we had this really beautiful meeting, where I was able to articulate how … special I thought the show was. I say that I kind of just ‘fanboyed’ out on him for, like, an hour. But he was very gracious and, in return, was kind enough to write me this role, which was very special to me.

“Getting to play a chef — a dream-come-true situation. I have so much reverence for the hospitality industry and admire chefs.

“I didn’t necessarily think that I would come back (after the second season) — certainly to the extent I did, and it’s been one of the most enriching and rewarding experiences of my life.”

And given that we were sitting with him in Cleveland, we felt obliged to ask if he may reprise Adam Warlock — the powerful being he inhabited in the 2023 Marvel Cinematic Universe movie “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3” — in one or both of this year’s “Avengers: Doomsday” and its 2027 follow-up, “Avengers: Secret Wars,” both of which are being helmed by northeast Ohio natives and brothers Joe and Anthony Russo (“Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.”)

“I get asked about it a lot,” he says, “but, honestly, I have no idea.”

But you wouldn’t be able to tell us if you were — if you’d not already been announced, right?

“Right, right. Yeah, yeah. Sadly, I got nothing. I wish I had something to tell you.”

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