Boston is a character in the film, a very important character. There are things that are uniquely Boston about these neighborhoods, and about this group of people. I knew we were going to have at least four weeks in Boston, which is something I'm sure Clint had to fight for. Probably the first thing they said was, “Let's go to Montreal or let's go to Toronto.” It's something that happens every time. Right before we were about to start shooting, it [became] eight weeks in Boston. We were going to do four with exteriors and then go to L.A. and jump on the soundstage. It was so valuable for us to come back every day to the city where we were shooting, to go to the bars and go hear some music, have drivers who were from Boston and day players who were almost all from the Boston area. It was great. Films so often don't have a good sense of place, and I think actors sometimes don't give their characters a sense of place.
Is your character morally ambiguous?
I don't know. I don't see him as morally ambiguous. I see that he's troubled, that he's certainly questioning his life that he has. I think he's carrying a tremendous amount of baggage around but he's tried to do the right thing. To me the biggest mistake the character makes, from a moral standpoint, is that he takes on the case. It's a very small thing. It happens like a heartbeat. Fishburne says, "You know, you're sure you want to... Do you know this guy? Were you that close?" And I'm like, "It was a long time ago." He's drawn like a moth to the flame to this world, and that's the mistake.
He's never escaped his culture, has he?
No, he's tried to leave the neighborhood. There's a lot of great stuff in the book that is about that. He's father tried to get a better job and Jimmy's father and Dave's father, because they were friends as kids, and he moves out and is college educated, but in a strange kind of way he doesn't quite escape all the way. He goes and takes the test and becomes a state trooper. It's a great job, it's an honorable job, but I think he's probably thinking about something a little more white collar.
You worked with Jane Campion on “In the Cut” and Eastwood for this movie. Can you compare the two directors?
It's really different. Jane really wants to talk a lot about character. We had very, very long talks. She talks a lot about what's about to happen. She's very poetic and she's very philosophical. She's like an artist. You see that movie, it's kind of like a painting in a way. Every shot is painted. And Clint, the only thing he ever told me was to talk faster.
Is that seriously all he said?
No, that's about it. One time I asked him, "When we get to the end, what am I supposed to be playing there?" He said, "That's for the audience to decide." And I said, "Okay, great." And you know what? It's better for me. Not that Jane's not a great director and I had fun working on that film, but what you see in that movie is the character that I brought, that guy. I brought him ready to go, ready to play. That's what I do. I go, I read the script, I go away. If I have questions, I'll ask, but then I do my work. I do it on my own and I'll bring it. I'm ready to go. If you don't have it in 10 takes, you're not going to have it. My best sh*t is going to be in the first three takes almost inevitably.
Which movie did you shoot first, this or "In The Cut?"
"In the Cut" was first. That was only like about three days. But I like having both pictures coming out at the same time, just because if there's one thing I've tried to work for my whole life, it's been to try to play different kinds of guys and not kind of do the same thing ever.
What are you working on now?
I'm going to start directing a picture called “Loverboy” that Kyra [Sedgwick] and I optioned a couple years ago. I'm going to start shooting in two weeks.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Interview with Tim Robbins
"Mystic River" Photos, Trailer and Credits
