“I offered him the part right there,” recalls Hedges. “You could probably find the audition footage and see the moment when he got it. Not since Leonardo DiCaprio auditioned for ‘Gilbert Grape’ have I felt like I was in the presence of someone so special.”
What attracted you to “Pieces of April?”
I think we met halfway. What I mean by that is that I had a chance to read the script - I had just got finished shooting "Antwone" two months prior [and I was] finding out how it works with the business. I read the script and I fell in love with it. I didn’t know what was next but my heart was crying out.
What was it about the script that you fell in love with so fast?
You know what? I’m a big holiday movie guy. Now me, I love Thanksgiving but because I’m a movie fanatic so to speak, I love to sit in my room and dream. “Home Alone” was one of my favorite films. And this had almost a similar Thanksgiving-winter feel to it. It just fit, it just fit. I just loved to be a part of this film. Plus Bobby, I liked what he stood for.
What was working with Katie Holmes like?
I really enjoyed it. We had to learn about each other on set because there was no rehearsal. We met only a few days before we actually started shooting. That was interesting.
In “Pieces of April,” the audience doesn’t really know what you or Katie do for a living. Did you work or what was behind that character?
That’s a good question. What was behind Bobby was that he was an artist. He painted on the side but Peter [Hedges] didn’t think it was that important to explore that part of Bobby. I can’t speak for him, but I thought maybe that was his intention.
How much freedom did Peter Hedges give you with the character?
Well, there was a little conflict of interest. There was a little conflict with me and Peter to the point of I didn’t agree with everything that Bobby did. I thought Bobby needed a different edge to him. We just came to an agreement on where you should see that edge with Bobby.
Who won?
You know what? When a director is able to allow you to put some of you and some of him in, I think we all did. That was a great answer (laughing). That was political, too.
You said you wanted an edgier part. What did you want to see Bobby do differently?
[After] talking and investigating people that are in love, it’s not always a smooth sail. When I studied attributes of love, I looked at love as a pie and if I cut the pie in quarters, what makes love love? I started seeing different character parts of love. I saw that love is patient, kind, and all this, but at the same time, what makes it beautiful is that there are highs and lows in a relationship. I thought at first that maybe we should convey that. Just because Bobby loves her doesn’t mean he follows her all the time. Maybe if he loves her, sometimes he has a fireside chat with her. “Listen babe, let me tell you my experience. This is why I’m coming from this point of view. I feel like I missed this point in life.” He was coming from somewhere and I felt like for Bobby, now, he was trying to live his life vicariously through April. He didn’t have a chance to tell his mother what April has to tell her mom. It’s just different little perks of why he was being so nice, why he seemed so oblivious to what was going on.
Page 2: Derek Luke on Putting His Guard Down, Passion and "Spartan"
