Yeah, we did maybe two takes, if we were lucky, but mostly one. [There wasn't any] rehearsal time.
Was that a good thing?
It gets you into a discipline to when the camera is rolling, you are there, you're ready. So when you come to work in the morning, you're ready to go. You know that when you get to the set, it's time to go. It's not get to the set, hang out, go to the makeup trailer, gossip, chat about this and that, go to the set, have a coffee, do a rehearsal. I mean, what
you learn is that it can be done really efficiently and effectively, if everyone focuses their energy.
You’ve said that working that way allows you to get home earlier to your family. Is that something that’s very important to you?
I think it really is important. I'm trying to inspire that next time I direct. It's one thing for an actor because we do, I personally do one or two movies a year. Most actors up at the higher levels don't worry about if you're working long hours [because] you're going to be home six months straight [or] something like that. But it's the crews that work day in and day out. You finish with your movie and they go on for another one. That's a hard
existence. That's stuff we fought for years to abolish as far as labor [laws go], to get an 8-hour day, to get a situation where it's a decent way to live, where you can see your family, [and] you don't get home exhausted. These crews work 16, 17-hour days and that's not even the issue. Sometimes [they] don't even get paid overtime and they go [from] film to film doing this - and they sometimes do six-day weeks.
Why are you so selective that you only work once or twice a year? Is that because your family is of primary importance?
Yes, family is very important. It's also [that] I got into a stage where I don't want to do bad movies. I don't want to work for the sake of working. It's very difficult to know what is a good movie, what's going to be a bad movie, but I try to use my antennae. You find yourself sometimes away from home, working on a movie, and miserable because you're
not in love with what you're doing.
Are you looking at directing more?
I don't want to do it right now. I don't feel like directing for a while because I want to act. What would happen would be every time I would direct, I'd kind of take myself off the market from acting for two years. And then I'd come back and [be] looking for a job and wonder where it was. I'd have a window of time to do an acting job so my choice was very limited.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Interview with Kevin Bacon
"Mystic River" Photos, Trailer and Credits
