Director Paul McGuigan and his leading man, Hartnett, have nothing but admiration for each other’s work. In fact, after finishing up “Wicker Park,” McGuigan and Hartnett decided to work together again on “Lucky Number Sleven.”
In this interview, Josh Hartnett discusses what drew him to “Wicker Park,” as well as his work on “Sin City” with Robert Rodriguez, his role in “Mozart and the Whale,” and the status of his involvement with “Superman.”
INTERVIEW WITH JOSH HARTNETT ('Matthew'):
Why were you so passionate about this project?
I really wanted to work with Paul McGuigan and I liked the original movie. I was passionate about it because the movie was all about passion. I don't know, I just felt like I could understand. I thought it was a cool, different kind of movie that hadn’t been made like this in a long time. I just thought it was cool.
How different was your interpretation of the character from the original?
Well, there’s not a lot of interpretation involved in the character because he’s mostly a reactive character. So, you just kind of go in there emotionally and just let yourself loose.
How challenging is it to play a reactive character?
It is challenging. It’s challenging to stay on point all the time and try and make sure that you’re in the right place all the time, especially on any given day. In a certain location, we’d have all the big scenes to do in one location, different times in his life. Yeah, it was a challenge in that way. Time constraints were a challenge. But it wasn’t like… I just finished this movie called “Mozart and the Whale” and it wasn’t like playing an autistic man. That was a huge challenge in a different rite.
This character is antisocial. How did you find something sympathetic about him?
I found him sympathetic in my reading of it, so I just played him the way that I heard it - or read it.
How many times have you been asked about obsessive love recently?
Hmm… 7,542 in the last two days. But it’s good.
And have you experienced obsessive love?
Yeah, I have, but never to this extent. I think what the movie is about is this fine line between love and obsession. I think that love, true love or whatever they call it, is just requited obsession. If you look at what you do when you’re first in love with someone, then it’s always pretty ridiculous and it is a little bit obsessive. I think everybody experiences some of that in their life, but not to the extent of the Alex character [played by Rose Byrne].
How does Wicker Park differentiate itself from the French version?
I don't know. I didn’t pay a lot of attention to [the original]. After I saw it and I knew I liked the French version, I didn’t watch it again. I tried not to pay any attention to what the similarities would be because I wanted this one to stand on its own. I don't know, I haven’t seen it since. I know that there are certain things like the visuals, and the characters. I think we act quite a bit differently, the ending is different. I don't know, but you don’t want to give too much away.
Does this version tie things up more?
I’ll just ask you this. Who did Vincent Cassell end up with at the end of “The Apartment?” He ended up with Monica Bellucci. I think ours is a little bit more true to life, a little bit more true to fashion. I just felt like when I watched “The Apartment,” I was like, “What?” I mean, I liked the movie, but the ending really confused me. I understood it intellectually, what he was trying to say with it, but I was like, “You can’t be- - that’s just wrong to flip that at the very end for no reason.” So we just did it this way. We thought it worked better.
How did you come to this project?
I read the script, watched the movie, and then kind of said, “Yeah, it’s a good deal.” But there was somebody else directing it and I wasn’t that interested in the project at the time. And then when McGuigan signed on to do it, I saw “Gangster No. 1” and I said, “Yeah I really want to work with this guy.”
Can you talk about “Mozart and the Whale?”
Playing a man with Asperger's is a difficult challenge. But playing anybody who is going to represent, in a way, the average person’s idea of what people with this specific disorder or whatever might have is a huge challenge because you don’t want to…it has to be right on. You can’t be over the top. I [would] just always ask this woman psychologist who we had with us every day, “Am I diagnosable? Am I in the right spot?” And aside from that, just trying to create the character in the midst of this love story. This is a true story about him meeting his wife. It’s a big responsibility.
