Veteran von Sydow masters the art of speaking without words
NEW YORK — Veteran Max von Sydow and newcomer Thomas Horn are an odd couple.
But they share the big screen effectively in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which opens across Canada on Jan. 20.
In fact, von Sydow is expected to earn a supporting- actor Oscar nomination for his heartfelt portrayal of The Renter, a mysterious mute who comes to the aide of Oskar ( Horn).
Oskar is a desperate nineyearold searching New York City for the lock that matches a key his father ( Tom Hanks) left behind after he died in the 9/ 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
Based on the bestselling novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, the film also stars Sandra Bullock as Oskar’s grieving mother.
It’s a complicated story to tell, especially for von Sydow, who has to project a range of deep emotions without speaking. He has only a “yes” and “no” written on each hand to communicate, while occasionally scribbling his thoughts on a notepad.
If the Swedish- born thespian earns an Oscar nod for his nonspeaking part when the Oscar nominations are announced Jan. 24, he could join some illustrious actors who went on to win.
Jane Wyman earned the bestactress trophy for her portrayal of deaf- mute Belinda in 1948’ s Johnny Belinda. In 1970s Ryan’s Daughter, John Mills won the supporting- actor award for his portrayal of a mute village fool, and Holly Hunter scooped up the bestactress statue for playing the mute Ada Mcgrath in 1993’ s The Piano.
In an interview in a Manhattan hotel, von Sydow, age 82, played down the difficulty of his latest performance.
“He speaks, but he doesn’t talk,” said the actor, who previously picked up an Oscar nomination for his role in 1987’ s Pelle the Conqueror. “( The Renter) is not that different than any other performance. I just try to imagine what’s going on in a person’s mind.”
Von Sydow has been doing just that for more than 60 years, including appearing in seven Ingmar Bergman films.
In Hollywood, he has played Jesus ( in 1965’ s The Greatest Story Ever Told), and the devil ( in 1984’ s The Soldier’s Tale).
And he has appeared in such diverse movies as William Friedkin’s classic 1973 terror trip, The Exorcist, Sydney Pollack’s 1975 spy drama, Three Days of the Condor, and Woody Allen’s 1986 comedy, Hannah and Her Sisters.
Recently, von Sydow costarred in Martin Scorsese’s 2010 thriller Shutter Island, and Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood.
Stephen Daldry admits he pursued von Sydow for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. As it turned out, the director didn’t need to persuade him. The Eric Roth script sold itself.
“I was very taken and moved by it,” said von Sydow of the screenplay. “I’m afraid it doesn’t happen that often.”
Filming in New York last year, he applied the technique he’s used for all his roles. “It’s not a matter of learning lines,” he said. “It’s the matter of getting into the will of the person.”
In sharp contrast, Horn, a 14- year- old San Francisco native, is making his movie debut after being discovered by Extremely Loud producer Scott Rudin, who was captivated by Horn’s presence on a teen episode of the game show Jeopardy. ( Horn won $ 31,000 and a family trip to Alaska.)
Still, Daldry continued to audition more than 3,000 mostly professional actors for the demanding part of Oskar, although he confessed he kept thinking about Horn’s tryout, and finally hired him.
Horn had a different view. He said that, after the last of many auditions in June of 2010, he didn’t hear from anybody for more than two months.
“I remember thinking, ‘ They didn’t like me,’ but that was fine with me, and I went on with my life,” he said. Another month went by before he got the good news. “It was the best of the best.”
For background research, the director escorted Horn to the 9/ 11 site and had him meet with people who lost relatives in the tragedy. The teen also had a dialogue coach, and conferred with his parents — both doctors — to get a better understanding of Oskar’s compulsive symptoms, which are related to Asperger syndrome.
More support arrived from the cast. The first- timer was surrounded by an actor- friendly ensemble of Bullock, Hanks, and, especially, von Sydow.
“It was nice that they all made me feel at home,” said Horn.
In the end, Daldry is pleased with the results. “He ( Horn) is very unlike the character, and that’s the brilliance of his performance.”