you talkin’ to me?
Film quotes pose as questions. Film stars try to cope.
Are you talking to me?
Well, no one else is here. You must be talking to me, surely… I remember that poster really well. I already knew that I was fascinated just from that image, the loner walking through the streets of New York. Is this just a way of asking, “How much of a loner are you? Do you have an edge where you’ll go all psycho?” [laughs]
We all go a little mad sometimes. Haven’t you?
Look at that, I provided the link perfectly! I think that if you don’t go a little mad, then you aren’t paying attention. Something that my father [Richard Harris] always encouraged us to do was to embrace the madness. He said that once you accept that the world is mad, then you’ll actually enjoy the experience of being alive. And he certainly knew how to enjoy himself.
Do you have an off switch?
I really irritate my wife because when I wake up I have to get up and get moving immediately. I find it incredibly difficult to sleep. When my head hits the pillow my mind starts swirling with thoughts and ideas and conflicts and things I should have said 20 years ago, and things I regret. So I read a textbook on a subject that bored the shit out of me at school, and I’m conditioned to fall asleep that way now! I get through one or two pages of economics or something, and I’m out cold.
Who’s the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?
The fool who follows is more foolish, surely? I mean, the fool has the excuse of either fooling on purpose, or they’re completely ignorant and they don’t know they’re a fool.
How much can you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight?
I remember that movie coming out, because I love boxing and I used to box at school. It was advertised as a fucking underground boxing movie, so I went to go and see that. And I was blown away. I couldn’t believe how badly it had been marketed. It was an astounding examination and critique of America, and the state of the American dream. It was fucking amazing. But how much can you know about yourself if you haven’t been in a fight? Well, as Mike Tyson said, everybody’s got a plan until they’re punched in the face.
‘Jaws scared the pants off me. i watched it religiously all the time’
What’s your favourite scary movie?
I should say, I don’t like violence porn. My agent was going to get me in for one of those sorts of films. A sequel. So he said, “See the first one.” It was Hostel.
A brilliantly told story. But so depraved, and the human beings are so evil. It was disgusting. I had to take five showers to wash it off of me. But I like to be scared. Jaws scared the pants off me. I watched it religiously all the time. The filmmaking is just breath-taking.
What kind of a man are you?
I wonder if anyone watches that movie and projects onto the Lee J. Cobb role? I mean, everyone projects themselves on to the hero role, even though they probably don’t realise that they’re probably the villain in their own life. We all think we’re the lead, even though in reality we have supporting roles.
Do you feel lucky, punk?
If you choose this career, and then you’re able to continue working then you are incredibly lucky. It’s a huge risk. Two per cent of the actors in Equity or SAG are actually working at any time. So they’re very brave. Delusional as well. One might say even the fool, to believe that they’ll be part of that two per cent.
What is the cost of lies?
Aha! That sounds familiar. I think that line’s one of the reasons why [Chernobyl] has had such a powerful response. David Attenborough was just in front of MPs, talking to them about the cost of climate change. And we’re listening to, so far, a small group of people who are peddling these lies about it not being real. It’s catastrophic. But on the other hand, you can’t get through life without a few lies. Sometimes you get cornered by your boss, and he’s got bad breath and you have to say, “Such a great chat!” You can’t say, “Mate, please, can you just brush your teeth?” I had a director like that once. His breath was so bad. Just unbearable. Everyone would stand at a 90-degree angle to him so that you didn’t get it in the face. That one’s seared in my memory.
ETA | 29 July / Chernobyl is available now on digital And dvd, And later This month on blu-ray from acorn media International.