Single in real life - and bored with playing the same type of role - Corbett changes it up as the teacher Hilary Duff turns to in "Raise Your Voice," a teen drama also starring Oliver James and Rita Wilson.
INTERVIEW WITH JOHN CORBETT ('Mr. Torvald'):
How’d you feel about this film when they came to you to be the cool teacher?
I was happy. When I got the script I thought, “You know, I’ll give this a read.” They offered it to me, and I tend to read those scripts right away because I want to tell them no as fast as I can so they can get on with their search. You know, not leave them hanging. I thought, “Okay, this is going to be another no but I’ll do my due diligence and read it. I’m sure I’ll be bored out of my mind by page 10.” And by page 10, I was, “Where’s 11, 12?” I thought it was a real interesting, great little movie that I was totally proud to be in.
Do you see yourself as the cool mentor type of guy, one kids can look up to?
No… I’m not really around kids that much so I don’t really think of myself like that. I play the guitar so I could probably teach a kid or two to play the guitar and have some success with that.
Your character isn’t always totally likable. He’s still got to be tough on the kids. Do you think that’s needed in a teacher and did you make sure that was included in the script?
Yeah. I didn’t have to make sure because it was already there. But definitely, yeah, kids will f***ing run all over you. You have to be a strong teacher, you know? They have to get their whacks, man. Their emotional whacks, at least. I’m still for whacks on the a** too, man, they have to bring that back. That’s what’s wrong with society today: kids don’t get whacked at school.
How were you as a teenager?
I was a pretty disruptive student in class in school. I had a hard time paying attention. I had what they call A.D.D. now, back then I was just a hyper kid. I couldn’t concentrate and I was an F student. Ds and Fs all the time. So, you know, since I couldn’t concentrate… I remember I had a Spanish class when I was a sophomore and a week into it the teacher said, “Listen. If you just sit in the back, you can do whatever you want. Just don’t disrupt the class and I’ll pass you with a C. You don’t have to take a test, you don’t have to do anything. Just f***ing be quiet please.” So it was the last class of the day and I’d just go in there and draw. I held up my end. I’d be quiet. It was the perfect class, because it was Spanish, to just make puns all day long on words that sounded funny, you know?
So someone should have whacked you a little bit more…?
Well, that’s the thing. They did away with whacking when I was in school. I never got whacked.
Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks produced “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” What did you and Rita talk about this time?
You know, she’s just such a sweet, nice person and she’s always got jokes. She’s always got funny jokes. I didn’t know she was in the movie until two days before I went to shoot. I was really looking forward to it. I wish I would have had some scenes with her. I didn’t have anything to do with her in the movie. I think at the end I’m kind of standing by her when all the kids are jamming. But, I love to actually be in a movie with her because she’s good. And when she cries… With Hilary, in that first scene when she’s folding up the brother’s clothes, and Hilary comes upstairs and they both have a little meltdown. That was strong. I started weeping in the theater.
Were you impressed with Hilary Duff?
Totally, yeah. I was impressed with her when we were working together. You know, all my scenes were kind of light so I didn’t – I wasn’t there for any of her heavy stuff. When I saw the movie, I was really blown away by how intense she was, especially in her emotional scenes where she had to really get worked up, you know?
Looking at her lifestyle and taking into account that she’s really young. Where do you see her going?
That’s a good question. I think she can do music as long as she wants. She can act as long as she wants. She’s 16 so, you know, in 10 years she’s still only going to be 26. If she really, really enjoys acting and likes it, I think she’s got the chops to become a woman who is a good actress.
Were all the musical references and speeches in the script? Do you consider yourself pretty well-versed?
Pretty well-versed. I play. I play piano and guitar and bass and sing.
Are you in a band?
I do have a band.
What kind of music do you play?
Country music – country/rock. Yeah, I’m actually making a record in Nashville right now.
