with james franco about the james dean movie from TNT
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Q: What were your thoughts when you first read the JAMES DEAN script?
A: I have always admired James Dean and I have always thought about playing him. I think that anyone would have fears about playing a real-life legend. I have thought about how I would be accepted by audiences and critics, but there is no point to that. As an actor, you have to take roles for yourself. Once I came to that conclusion, the role sounded like a tremendous opportunity. I think my favorite types of roles are those in which the character fights against the grain to get his individual message across. James Dean was the epitome of that. |
Q: Is it hard to go to those tormented and anguished places when you're trying to get into a character?
A: It is hard to do tormented roles, but it comes with the territory. I think actors want to stretch themselves and most would jump at the opportunity to get entrenched in a challenging role. |
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Q: What was your audition like?
A: Mark Rydell and I just talked. I found myself talking about my father and mother, and it was like a therapy session. After that, he had me do the father/son scene from East of Eden. It was the most comfortable audition that I have ever had, and afterwards he came up and gave me a big hug. The next day he called and told me I had the part. |
Q: How did you prepare to play James Dean?
A: I read as many books as I could find on his life. I also met with a lot of his old friends, including Martin Landau, Dennis Hopper and his old girlfriend, Liz Sheridan, who recently played Seinfeld's mother. I often found that if people did not have that much personal information about James Dean, the experiences they had with him were mystical. I also watched all of his films. My favorite film of his was East of Eden. I think I can honestly say that I have seen that film 75 times. I believe that film's character most closely resembled his real persona. On a physical level, I learned how to play the congas and ride a motorcycle, which I had never done before. I also smoked two packs of cigarettes a day and I was not smoking before I made the film. Lastly, I isolated myself a lot during the filming. I did this because I think he had a pervasive loneliness throughout his life and I wanted to feel what that felt like. Not talking to my family or loved ones had quite an emotional effect on me.
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Q: Did Martin Landau give you any special advice on how to play James Dean?
A: Martin was the most informative person that I spoke too. He helped me tremendously with James's physical mannerisms. It was interesting because everyone I spoke to had a different perspective on James Dean. I think it is because he compartmentalized his friends so distinctly that everyone saw a different side of him. |
Q: Was there a certain trait that you were trying to pull out from him that we may not have seen before?
A: I tried to show how personal James Dean made each of his roles and how the roles so strangely paralleled his real life. He was a very dedicated artist who would sacrifice anything for his work. Part of his greatness is that he was so tortured and he was able to tap in to that and show everyone what he experienced through his acting. It takes a lot of courage to do that.
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Q: How do you now see James Dean in comparison with his legend?
A: I think his icon status speaks to his attitude, rather than to the truly dedicated artist that he was |
