John Cusack plays Nick Easter, a charming manipulator who works his magic on his fellow jurors in an attempt to secure the verdict of his choosing. Rachel Weisz co-stars as his girlfriend and assistant in the plan to sale the jury’s verdict to the highest bidder.
After playing a couple onscreen, John Cusack and Rachel Weisz teamed up for this interview to promote the 20th Century Fox movie, “Runaway Jury,” directed by Gary Fleder.
John, one of the reasons you were interested in this project is because of the chance to work with Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman. What did you learn from watching those guys on the set?
JOHN CUSACK: Yeah, when I grew up in Chicago there was [this theater] - it was huge, a thousand seats, it had the balcony, it had the stars on top, and a big screen - and we used to go there in the summer when they would have these retrospectives of all the great filmmakers in the 70s. They'd have Dustin's movies for a week or Gene Hackman's movies for a week, and all of the great directors. I used to go in the summer for a 10:00 show and listen to a retrospective.
These are two great icons of American film and veteran actors, and they're right among the very elite. I feel very fortunate to work with those people that I grew up watching. I think that they sort of inspire me and reinforce things. Dustin is obviously so tenacious and passionate and so hungry, and he never wants to rest on his laurels. Gene is more of a thinker. He just comes in and knocks it out of the park and knows what he wants to do.
RACHEL WEISZ: I guess coming from England, Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman, they're your country’s big stars, and in England, they're even more so. I mean, they star on the American screen. These are huge American icons. I think that what John was saying about Dustin, he works harder than anyone I've ever seen. He cares so deeply about what he's doing. His passion is tremendous and he still gets scared. I still get scared, and I was terrified working with these guys and he told me, “I still get scared myself,” and I think that's what keeps an actor good. And Gene has this incredible power. You can sense that he's doing nothing. It's so simple what he's doing, and he has this thing going on inside him. It's a smoldering power, and he comes in and does his job, he's very chivalrous, and very polite.
I've been a massive fan of John’s since I can remember. It was a genuine honor to work with him. I feel like I was better when I got to work with him. He has this unbelievable charm and a lightness of touch, which is so brilliant for his character on this jury. No one suspects that he's up to anything. He sort of makes everything feel light and charming, but he has this other side as his character. I think that he has a huge intelligence, a profound intelligence. He's just an unbelievable combination, that wit and charm.
Page 2: Playing Characters Who are Playing Characters, Accents, and Leading on the Audience
