What advice did you give your brother when he had to kiss Evan Rachel Wood in the film?
“Go for it.” I think I just validated him. He thought, “I’m supposed to be subtle about this, right?” And I said, “Yeah, that sounds good.” And I think he turned in a wonderful performance. I’m so proud, which I’ve got to stop saying, I’m sorry dude. But he also learned from watching all of us how wild real life can be, and how unsubtle real life can be, which is a great and fun lesson for an actor to learn. So I’m sure he’ll always be happy with this performance as well, in his first film. But I think he’ll change.
What advice did you give him about dealing with any hype that comes with rising success?
That’s a good question. I think he’ll be able to handle it. He and I just went to Sundance, and he dealt with it fine. It kind of comes with the territory. I’m like, “Okay, so we’re going to walk down the street and there’s going to be a bunch of photographers.” And he goes, “Okay, that’s the way it works.”
You’ve got “Flight Plan” with Jodie Foster coming out later this year. Is “Flight Plan” a suspense thriller?
Yeah, it’s kind of a psychological thriller with some action thrown in there, not that I get any of the action. It’s a good psychological thriller and Jodie [Foster] has a really intense role which, of course, she knocks out of the park.
Who do you play?
80% of this movie takes place on a flight from Berlin into JFK, and I’m one of the flight attendants. I can’t tell you how fun it was to wear a uniform. I’ve never done that before. I think it puts me in a whole new category, like cops and whoever wears suits and stuff like that. But I’m one of the flight attendants that’s a little more sympathetic to Jodie’s plight.
Did you hang out with any flight attendants?
Yeah.
What did you learn from them?
I learned overall how the business has changed and how they are somewhat less appreciated now by their companies. But also one of the huge main things is how much they are not waitresses in the sky, how they are really security guards and they’re fully trained in first-aid and all these things. They have much more important duties than serving you coffee.
Is there any connection between “Flight Plan” and “The Forgotten,” which also had to do with missing people and no one believing there is really anyone missing?
It does have that in common with it, and the fact that it’s kids -parent to child relationship. You don’t know if the parent has their sanity or not, but not as a contrast just as a statement. It’s very realistic.
What would make the story believable? If you’re on a plane, there aren’t many places you can go.
Well, that’s the whole point is you’re in an enclosed space, how can someone be kidnapped? And so nobody pays her much mind for a lot of the movie, and then it’s kind of, “Okay, begrudgingly we’re going to help you look for your kid.” But it’s one of these airbuses, they make these planes now, I think they’re coming out this year, it seats 600 passengers and it’s a double-decker.
600 passengeres? It sounds like the movie used a lot of extras.
Yeah, it’s funny because we shot one level of the plane at a time. They used the same set, they just redressed it, and like the stairs that were going up, they put them on top so they were going down. But I’ve never had that experience where you’re working with the same extras every day. It was crazy. It was such a community feeling, it was really cool.
How much does working in an enclosed space every day affect your acting?
Wow, well first off it didn’t drive us as crazy as we all thought it would, because you can leave the stage and wander around the lot. And I don’t know how it affected my acting, or our acting. The best thing about that set is that it felt like a plane.
What’s happening with “The Sisters?”
I’ve done that already. It just got accepted at Tribeca.
Did you do it as the standard play or is it set in a different time period?
It’s modern and it’s fairly different. It’s very loosely based on Chekhov. The vocabulary of these characters is very impressive, and I liked that. I thought it was beautiful.
Is it still set in a remote area?
It’s actually somewhat reversed. Instead of yearning for the bustling metropolis of Moscow, they’re in New York City and they’re yearning for the peace of their original homestead, which was in Charleston.
