It was fascinating. He’s a fascinating guy, incredibly dynamic, multi-layered, not an easy individual to peg you know. And vulnerable as well, which I think is why he’s so good in this film. He’s a great actor, above and beyond all those things, but there is a vulnerability to Jim that he definitely tapped into for this role. It was fascinating to watch him do that. I think this is a difficult role, [it] would be a difficult role for anyone to play. It’s an incredibly subdued, sort of emotionally wrecked, kind of insecure, awkward character, and that’s a difficult place to exist in every day for a couple of months - and he had to do that.
I think he dredged up a lot of past experiences in terms of heartbreak and heartache, and so it was actually quite emotional for him. It was amazing to watch someone who can be in one breath so dynamic and extroverted and insane to [go to] these incredibly intimate, amazing moments. After seeing the movie for the first time, I was so proud of him for doing what he’d done. This is by far the best thing that I’ve ever seen him do. It’s really amazing, and a true indication of what he’s capable of doing. I can’t wait for people to see it.
It really was wonderful to work with him and be around him, and mainly to hear stories of his past experiences. I loved hearing about him playing Andy Kaufman. That’s a fascinating story because the way that he talks about it, it’s as if he channeled him. He had a lot of interesting stories about Andy’s family and friends and how they reacted. [It’s] pretty amazing. He’s had an incredible life and some amazing experiences.
How was it to watch “The Lord of Rings” winning Oscars, knowing they didn’t nominate you guys as actors.
I really didn’t think too much of it, to be honest. I don’t think that the movies were particularly marketed for performances - individual performances. The movies were marketed as these incredible adventure stories with a great ensemble from the beginning, with “The Fellowship,” certainly, at the forefront of that. I think this last year, I think they tried to sort of turn that around a little bit and to see if they could get some nominations. I think it was just too late. They’d already sort of created this perception as to how we’re supposed to view these films and the actors in them. I think at that point it’s quite difficult to then say, “Well, you know, you should at least nominate one actor out the whole that you’ve now seen as one cohesive thing.”
But from my perspective, I see the movies as ensembles, as well. We felt like such a fellowship of actors working on them. I think it’s very difficult when I see them to single anybody [out] and I think everyone’s wonderful in the movies. And in some ways, maybe it’s because they lose themselves in the characters too much. When I see Ian McKellen as Gandalf, I see Gandalf. I think it’s difficult when you see something so a part of a fabric of the world that is a new world for you, maybe that had something to do with it. But it didn’t bother any of us, really, not to my knowledge. Certainly not me.
How do you continue to love your job without getting jaded?
Because I’m lucky enough to be a part of something like this and to be a part of something like “The Lord of the Rings.” It’s easy to be cynical and this industry is at a point right now where it’s extremely easy to be cynical. I mean, it’s very frustrating, because it’s getting harder and harder in some ways to make certain movies. The studios don’t want to take chances, much less than they’ve ever wanted to. It’s definitely hard to exist in this industry and maintain your perspective, and yet, these kinds of things come around.
This last year, actually, has been kind of amazing for film. Independent film was huge this last year. It’s the first year in quite a while actually that we’ve seen so many movies get nominated for major awards that were independent releases. It’s a really great sign for the future of cinema in some ways. But yeah, I guess I’m not jaded because I still believe that there are good films out there. And there are, and there are great directors, and there are great writers. It just takes a little bit more perseverance and a little bit more time to find it.
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