Leaning in: Josh Duhamel finds plenty to relate to in ‘Neglected’

Admittedly, Josh Duhamel was scared of his role in the new film “Neglected.”

Playing a detective on his last day of work, he has the ultimate assignment: Find his son before he runs out of oxygen. The teen has been abducted by a serial killer and hidden somewhere in town. To locate him, the detective must find other victims, who have clues.

With a clock ticking, it’s a rush, Duhamel says: “We’re going 100 miles an hour for two weeks straight and I have to maintain this level of desperation throughout. How do I find levels within that? Luckily, we moved at a really fast pace.”

Director David Lipper helped Duhamel find the colors necessary.

“Being an actor, you’re sort of forced to confront some pretty dark stuff, sometimes things that you would never otherwise think about,” Duhamel said.

Weirdly, he added, the role was therapeutic: “I don’t want to think about my kid ever getting kidnapped, but I had to for this. And what would I do in that situation? It makes you appreciate what you have.”

For Dylan Sprouse, who plays the film’s serial killer, “Neglected” was a chance to prove he could play something other than a “charming, swarthy jokester who is infatuated by some beautiful lady.

“I only played one other bad guy, in this movie called ‘Dismissed,’ when I was fresh out of college. And he was, arguably, a bad guy. But this is very rare for me.

“I don’t like a villain that’s just a villain for villain’s sake. I want to see a villain have some depth.”

Sure enough, Sprouse’s character has been victimized throughout his life and has a story to tell.

When the two come into each other’s worlds, plenty of truths emerge.

On that last day, Duhamel’s character wants to leave early to be with his son.

“He knew he’d fallen short as a father. He hadn’t been as present as he should have been and he’s got a lot of guilt for that,” Duhamel said. “I have some of that myself, too. Art does imitate life in some ways.”

Like Lipper, Duhamel has taken on multiple roles in films, including producing the hit “Buddy Games.”

“It’s all-consuming,” he said of the director/producer/star trajectory. “You’ve got to be decisive. You’ve got to have a plan and then you have to jump in and get in front of the camera. And that, to me, is the hardest part.”

Finishing a film could take two or three more years.

“My movies are much different than this one,” he added. “They’re comedies … and that’s the fun.”

Sticking to life in front of the camera is just fine for the star of “Las Vegas” and the “Transformers” films.

If that means he misses a child’s game, that’s OK.

“This job takes me away a lot, so I’m constantly carrying this guilt that I need to be home more,” Duhamel said. “But you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. Ultimately, the kids will see me out there working … and that’s the reality of this world.”