|
IGN Interviews Aaron Eckhart
We talk with the star of Suspect Zero.
by Steve Head
US, August 24, 2004
"I love this genre," says Aaron Eckhart. "And just playing my character was intense, it was a challenge and it just really felt good to me."
This Friday Eckhart's back in theaters with Suspect Zero, the new psychological thriller from director Elias Merhige (Shadow of the Vampire). He stars as Thomas Mackelway, an FBI agent in pursuit of a prolific serial killer (played by Sir Ben Kingsley) who has an unusual psychic ability: he can see the crime in detail before the murder takes place and can draw a precise picture of the victim-to-be.
He recently spoke with IGN FilmForce's Steve Head about the making of the film.
IGN FILMFORCE: You did Suspect Zero with [director] Elias Merhige. Of course, Shadow of the Vampire was fantastic. And I think if there's a similarity here it's the editing. The editing in [Suspect Zero is what made the movie jump out.
AARON ECKHART: I thought that. I thought it was cool. Elias is just the best when it comes to that kind of thing. The guy knows how to edit.
IGNFF: It's flashy. Lots of interesting flashbacks. If you could take one element from the movie, which would you say is your favorite?
ECKHART: My favorite element... I would have to say I loved watching Sir Ben Kingsley doing all that stuff with the remote viewing. I really thought the way they filmed that was great. I thought the look of the film was great, really, just the whole thing. They did a lot of tricky things with the photography, and it's really impressive. But overall, I'd just have to say I just really dig Sir Ben's character. I really dug it.
IGNFF: What's also interesting is the film has this sort of extreme plot twist that happens three quarters of the way though.
ECKHART: Right, yeah it does.
IGNFF: It's something that could have been added as a trick ending. I mean, the film still has a tricky ending, but this plot twist gives this movie something other psychological thrillers don't have. Is this one of the elements that drew you to the script? Or let me just rephrase that by asking: what was that drew you to the script?
ECKHART: It had all the elements of drama and conflict and fun for an actor to go run around and get lost in this seedy, creepy world. You know, that kind of stuff. I love this genre. And just playing my character was intense, it was a challenge and it just really felt good to me. He's caught-up in this nightmare. The script just signaled that this was a great opportunity.
IGNFF: The movie has been on the shelf for a while, so I'm wondering, you made Suspect Zero after The Core?
ECKHART: Yes.
IGNFF: So this is your second lead?
ECKHART: Well, actually, my first role was a lead. I had a couple. The Core was a lead, of course. So I can't really say that Suspect Zero is truly my first lead.
IGNFF: And lucky you, this time you get to share the screen with Carrie-Anne Moss.
ECKHART: I know. Is she awesome or what? She's just a terrific, beautiful human being.
IGNFF: Apparently quite a jokester, too. She looks like she's a kick.
ECKHART: Oh, yeah. She had us laughing. She really relaxed the whole set and made us laugh. And she came prepared. She's a great actress. I had a lot of fun working with her because I felt like she and I really got along well and enjoyed being together on and off the screen.
IGNFF: Sir Ben Kingsley just does this amazing performance.
ECKHART: Oh, no doubt, he does.
IGNFF: And it comes across on screen as just extra-psycho-freaky.
ECKHART: (Laughs) He was. But you know, working with Sir Ben, he was just a real gentleman, very nice and supportive. He really loves to act. And, you know, he turns it on. He knows how to turn it on.
IGNFF: He definitely did that for this; it's a very impressive piece of work. I wanted to ask, you'd previously said that you wanted to see the movie again and you wanted to watch it more objectively?
ECKHART: Yeah, I saw the first screening of it a couple weeks ago and I want to see it again because I feel like I need to take it in again. I don't think I got the whole thing because I was so close to it, and I want to see it again from an outside point of view. Because I was so close to it can't, you know, see how some things happened. Seeing it the first time I was looking at things and going over what happened and how the story changed, and thinking about what happened when we were filming. And so I certainly was not objective while I was watching it. I'd like to watch it again more objectively. But I've got to tell you, I was stoked by it.
IGNFF: I know what you mean. Merhige tells the story in sort of this nonlinear way using these flashbacks and a lot of inserts with, you know, disturbing images. A half-hour into the movie, I didn't immediately get it. I thought I wasn't following it right. I thought there was something I missed. And then of course the plot twist. What would you say to a viewer who may think that things are undefined or hard to follow in the first half of the film? There's a lot of flashbacks...
ECKHART: True, but you know, what I think it is an accumulative effect. When you take the movie in as a whole, then you'll see what was happening, and in that way it's intriguing. You know, you might have to work a little harder, but all of this stuff adds up. You just have to work a little harder with this movie.
IGNFF: The production design is actually another stand-out element. All of the artwork that was done for the film. These pictures that these production artists drew. They're just quite...
ECKHART: Disturbing.
IGNFF: That's the word.
ECKHART: Yeah, it's raunchy stuff. It's not great stuff. Believe me, it's not pleasurable to work around those images. And these FBI agents are. A lot.
IGNFF: Did you get to meet with any of these guys?
ECKHART: Yeah, I met with the guys in Westwood, the headquarters of the FBI. I hung out with them, went to lunch with them, shot guns with them and got to know them a little bit. Plus we had Don Owens as a technical advisor, who was ex-FBI, on the set with us the whole time.
IGNFF: What do you think of these FBI agents, that they do this kind of thing on a daily basis?
ECKHART: They're battle-hardened warriors, even if they're wearing sport coats. I just think the world of them. I'm glad that they're there. I think they're under-appreciated and over-worked, especially now after 9/11. Those guys are out there like silent soldiers having all this crap heaped upon them. And they out there, knocking on doors, trying to catch the bad guys.
I mean, they really, really care about the victims as much as they families. They are affected by it, as much as they don't want to be.v
IGNFF: Did they let you in on anything that they were currently tracking?
ECKHART: No. (Laughs) I mean, they showed me some stuff, but I can't really say yes to that.
IGNFF: Can you tell us, what's next for you? What else have you been working on these days?
ECKHART: I just finished a played called Oleana in London with Julia Stiles.
IGNFF: Anything coming up with Neil [LaBute]? Are you doing Vapor?
ECKHART: Vapor, actually that's not happening. I knew Neil was going to make it, but I was never going to be in it. That's an IMDb error.
IGNFF: What's the word on Never Was?
ECKHART: That's definitely going to happen. I'm starting that one in two weeks. The word on Never Was is, well, it's with Ian McKellen, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange and Brittany Murphy. It's a about a paranoid schizophrenic in a rundown psychiatric hospital in upstate New York. And he thinks he's the king of a land called Never Was. And I'm his psychiatrist.
|
