As illustrated in "The United States of Leland," written and directed by Matthew Hoge, Cheadle isn't shy about portraying complex characters. In this interview with the talented actor at "The United States of Leland's" LA premiere, Cheadle discusses portraying 'Pearl' and working with writer/director Hoge.
INTERVIEW WITH DON CHEADLE:
Why this project?
I see quite a few scripts and this one was a real good one. It just handled issues in a way that I hadn’t seen done before, with a real even hand, which is I think a testament to Matthew’s bringing his personal experience to the film.
The film centers around Leland's crime, and Hoge deliberately left the reason for Leland's act up to the audience to decide. Did your take on why Leland did what he did change over the course of the movie?
No. I never thought that that was important. The ‘why’ is not really the point of the movie. But I think it’s there. I think if you watch it, it’s there, and you can come to your own conclusions as to the why. I think there is a why.
This comes from the writer/director’s experience working in a juvenile prison. Did you pick his brain to help get you into character?
Of course I picked his brain. I was playing a version of him, the writer in the film. We talked a lot about who this guy was and what made him tick. I just kind of asked him just who he was and what made him tick – not necessarily Pearl, but Matthew. So yeah, there was a lot of that.
What was the most important thing he said to you about his experiences in that facility?
I don’t know that there was one specific thing. It was just a sort of him telling me where he was and what he was dealing with. Just the sh*t that they deal with. Pearl kind of goes from a selfish, it’s all about me and what I want attitude to realizing that maybe very late – maybe too late – that he wasn’t necessarily providing the service that he needed to to the kids.
Do you every shy away from a controversial subject matter like this or is it something you seek out?
I didn’t see this as controversial. I didn’t know it was controversial until everybody afterwards started saying this is controversial. I didn’t know it was controversial. I thought it was just a good story with interesting characters.
ADDITIONAL "THE UNITED STATES OF LELAND" RESOURCES:
"The United States of Leland" Cast Interviews: Ryan Gosling / Chris Klein and Jena Malone / Writer/Director Matthew Hoge and Actor/Producer Kevin Spacey
"The United States of Leland" Photo Gallery
"The United States of Leland" Credits and Movie News
