A song in his heart
When Ed Harris hits the screen in “Westworld,” premiering Sunday on HBO, it won’t be the veteran actor’s first time working in the world of Michael Crichton. The New Jersey native’s first film role was in the sci-fi writer-director’s 1978 film, “Coma.” He played “Pathology Resident #2.” “I was holding up a cow lung and talking about something,” recalls Harris with a laugh.
It may have been the last time that the Tony nominee and four-time Oscar nominee played second fiddle to anyone. Harris, 65, went on to a distinguished and prolific career in film (“Pollock,” “The Right Stuff,” “The Truman Show”), television (“Empire Falls,” “Game Change”), as a director (“Appaloosa”), and onstage, including a recent New York run of “Buried Child” with wife and frequent co-star, Amy Madigan.
We recently chatted with the man who has played everything from astronauts to farmers to senators to artists and beyond about “Westworld” — in which he plays the mysterious “Man in Black” — and his full dance card, with more than seven projects in the pipeline.
You have this great line in the series: “In a sense, I was born here.” It gets at the idea that people come to “Westworld” and find out who they really are. Is there something analogous to acting about that?
Yeah, it’s true. It’s a whole process of discovering.
I think the people that use the park [Westworld] in a positive way are open to learning something about themselves. And I think that’s what happened to my guy. Because when he initially came to the park he certainly wasn’t “The Man in Black.” In all his trips he’s identified this aspect of himself that was pretty violent and ruthless and was a part of his character that he didn’t really recognize until he came to the park. Part of it was, rightfully so, sublimated.
We talked a bit about some of your many upcoming roles, one of which you described as “not very nice” in “Kodachrome,” and a “cranky old salt” in “In Dubious Battle.” So is there a part of Ed Harris that is sublimated that comes out in his parts?
No, but there’s a part of Ed Harris that’s getting older, and this is the kind of parts he gets. [Laughs.] They’re fun.
With a career as long as yours, you can usually look at the filmography and see “That’s the one he did for the money,” which some actors do to finance their own projects or just, you know, eat. But the lion’s share of your roles have been interesting characters at least.
Yeah, the lion’s share. [Laughs heartily.] There’s a few clunkers in there, and there’s a few that were definitely done for financial reasons but we don’t need to articulate which ones.
But it says something that you have sought out interesting work or that it has come to you.
Yeah, I feel really fortunate. I am still doing this, and I’ve been doing it 35 years I guess or more. I still get a chance to do some interesting things.
I’m really excited about this film I want to direct next year. I bought the rights to this book “The Ploughmen” by a Montana writer named Kim Zupan, and I’ve written the screenplay, and I really feel pretty strong about it. It’s really hauntingly beautiful. It’s got some suspense and great drama, but it’s a real character thing. I want my wife to be in it and my daughter, and Stacy Keach is one of the main guys, and I’m looking for a young 29- to 30-year-old actor who is great to play the focus of the story. I haven’t directed a film since “Appaloosa,” and I’ve been looking for something because I love the directing thing.
What do you love about directing?
You’re collaborating but ultimately you get to shape your vision of something. You’re not just a hired hand coming in to do one role. It’s your film, you’re responsible for every actor, every shot, every detail, the look of it, the words, the music, in terms of making decisions. You’re occupied and focused. It’s really thrilling.
It’s great that you and Amy aren’t sick of work- ing with each other.
No, I love it. We were together 24/7 when we were in New York working on the play. We really enjoy being with each other especially when we’re working together. I mean we were much more intimate during that time than we are at home in a way because at home you’re doing your thing, and in New York we were really just in each other’s pocket in a really cool way.
Are there things we haven’t seen you do onscreen you’d like to take a shot at? Have we seen Ed Harris dance?
You know what? I actually have a decent singing voice and I’ve never been able to sing onscreen. I’d love to do a musical.
Really? A specific one? A revival? Would you do one on Broadway?
I would if they asked me and if I thought I could do it. A good one. One of the things that made me know I should do this was playing King Arthur in “Camelot” in Oklahoma City in 1973 I think it was. And having an experience one night where I did not remember doing the play at all. The audience was just on their feet and roaring and I suddenly realized “What the [expletive] happened?” And it was this pure, truly ecstatic thing and it lasted for about 10 minutes and it was like “Wow!” And basically you spend the rest of your life trying to get that back.
You’ve done so many films, what’s the part people recognize you most for?
My favorite was, I was a huge Mickey Mantle fan growing up and he was retired, but I was at a hotel in New York and Mickey was over at the bar with some people and I had to go say hi to him. And I went over and said “Excuse me, Mr. Mantle, I just wanted to say hi. I’m a huge, huge fan of yours, you’re just the greatest. My name’s Ed Harris.” And he looked at me, and he goes, “I don’t like you. You weren’t nice to Patsy Cline” in “Sweet Dreams.” [Laughs.] And I said, “Mickey I was playing a character.” I couldn’t tell if he was serious or not, but I think he was just joking.