Emile Hirsch
Interview By: Dan Deevy
We're not quite sure if it's his boyish good looks, his laid back unaffected attitude or just his staggering acting talent; but there is something that makes us both love and admire the 23 year old Emile Hirsch. I personally think it's the rare combination of all of those things that really makes him stand out among his peers.
Born into an already artistic family Hirsch was able to pursue his love of acting at an early age and has enjoyed great success almost from his first step. At age 11 he scored his first guest appearance on a television show and from that point on it was show after show and then finally a jump to the big screen.
Most will recall him stepping into the spotlight with films like Alpha Dog and of course The Girl Next Door opposite the gorgeous Elisha Cuthbert, but for me it was the independent film The Mudge Boy that truly show cased his acting potential.
Now, after his brilliant performance in last years Oscar buzzed Into the Wild about the life and adventures of free spirit roamer Chris McCandless, Emile dives into the very different, very colorful world of Speed Racer in one of this summers biggest film events.
So how does one get into the skin of a character that previously had only existed as a 1960's Japanese animated cartoon' 'I think that it was more about getting his vibe down,' he begins. 'The back story is actually fairly well described in the script, so that was there. It was more about getting down what kind of vibe does Speed have' What kind of guy is he' And it was really finding out he's a very sweet natured, kind of 'cooler-than-cool' 'bad-ass' kind of guy who's very by the book in a lot of ways. He's not into cheaters he likes things done the right way and he's got certain morals that he's not willing to compromise no matter what. He sticks to the old fashion independent racing ways.'
After playing the ultimate race car driver in one of the biggest movies of the year you'd assume that Emile came out the other side with a new level of driving expertise. But you'd be wrong. 'I didn't get behind the wheel of a car [once] the entire time I was in Europe,' he admits. 'It was all green screen. It was crazy. It was like being in warehouses with green walls everywhere and imagining this whole fantasy world around you. It was a challenge. It was a mental challenge.'
When all was said and done though the actor definitely saw the advantages to playing make believe for so long. 'It is a pain,' he laughs. 'It's a sacrifice you make but then you finally see the finished product and you're like, 'wow that looks amazing!' little did you know that the actors when they made it it was the exact opposite of a 'stimulating image' it was a 'non-stimulating image.''
As far as the land of green screen filmmaking goes though, the Speed Racer cast didn't have it as bad as they could have. 'Well, we had the advantage that we're not making the movie with Jar Jar Binks up in it,' he says. 'So we didn't have to look at an X and talk to it and pretend it was there. We had for the most part a realm of real people which is very, very helpful. Let's say the background's fake but you can talk to your acting partner and you guys are real for each other - that's very helpful. If I had to talk to a person that wasn't there I'd have some serious issues.'
Even though the actor didn't get the benefit of special driving training he did actually have to pull off all of the kung-fu style fighting that his character engages in, so he went through a ton of training and preparation for those scenes which was a very new experience for him.
'I'm the guy in the scene that usually would get beaten down,' he laughs. 'But not in this one!'
'It was very fun to go through the martial arts training with the stunt coordinators Chad and Dave. Those guys are tough they really put me through the ringer with the training and such. I mean, you get tired,' he admits. 'You finish an hour of punching and kicking and stuff and I didn't wanna hit them. That was their problem, cause I was like, 'I don't wanna hurt these guys they're just doing their jobs they want me to punch them in the stomach - they don't have pads on or anything.' Maybe I was giving myself too much credit for how much force I had in a blow' Eventually though, they would start doing little things like we'd be sparing and they'd like slap me a little bit like, 'c'mon hit me! Hit me!' and I'd be like, 'no no' and they'd hit me again and I'd be like 'no' then they'd hit me again and I'd actually punch them and they'd be like good' good' it was like the emperor, [in his best emperor voice] 'I can feel your anger!'
When asked about his directing team on this project Emile has nothing but good things to say about The Wachowskis. 'They're so wonderful,' he begins with a huge smile. 'I mean they're just guys that are super creative, super smart and are always dazzling you with their intelligence. I think they knew in their heads the kind of movie they wanted to make from the beginning. They had a very specific vision for the movie. I have a lot of respect for them. I really was a huge, huge admirer of the Matrix trilogy. The first Matrix I saw when I was 13 in theaters and I was just so loving it. It was one of those mind blowing theater experiences for me. So as soon as I heard they were making Speed Racer, which was also a show that I loved growing up on cartoon network they were replaying it, it was just that right combination. Molotov Cocktail!'
With great success in smaller films like Into the Wild and Alpha Dog and even The Mudge Boy, Emile has gotten a certain amount of attention from fans, but even he's not sure how that will change after being the lead in a major summer blockbuster like Speed Racer.
'I don't know how that kind of thing will change,' he says. 'Maybe I'd suspect that more people would recognize me after this movie just because of the size of it ya know' Which is of course a mixed blessing because you lose some of your privacy and anonymity.'
So how many more adventures from good Ol Speed can we expect to see young Mr. Hirsch in' 'Ahh' 10... No I'm just kidding,' he laughs.
'Who knows' I wouldn't want to speak out of turn except in saying that I'm signed for two more and we're probably gonna make em. No. I don't know but I think we will though. I think the film was really great. I love the movie and I think that there's just a lot more story and the world is so rich and interesting I think there's a lot more to explore in it.'
Now before Emile rushes off to make another great adventure behind the wheel of the Mach 5 he has a date with a far more serious film that reunites him with his former director Mr. Sean Penn in the Gus Van Sant directed film, Milk.
'Sean is just a one of a kind guy. I love Sean. It's just been so educational for me to know him as a person, as an actor and as an artist. I had absolutely no idea what he'd be like to work with as an actor I only knew him as the director. And we got along great and we had a really good rapport on set and we just had a great time. I think it's [Milk] gonna be a really great film.
No green screen effects to worry about in the historical account of the first openly gay political official in San Francisco in the 1970's but there was a dramatic costume change for the normally hip and edgy young actor.
'They curled my hair and they gave me these massive, massive glasses. The thickest black frames you could find. I looked like a nerd,' he laughs.
Working on Milk in the city where these events took place gave Hirsch an opportunity he didn't have on Speed Racer to really be in the environment and the opportunity to talk to people who had actually lived through these events.
'There were a lot of people that were actually in San Francisco in the 70's that we were talking to. We shot in San Francisco. A lot of the original people are involved with the movie. The stories they tell just makes it so much more real and authentic, you're like, 'ohh yeah I get it I get.'
While the actor admits that he's not the one who can truly know why this project has taken so long to get off the ground he can offer an educated guess.
'Who knows why it took so long for them to make it' It could be a lot of little things. But I think it's really about determination and I think once they got Gus who was determined to make it, it just happened. And then Sean jumped on and the ball was rolling.'
Before we let him off the hook we had to ask Emile the 'what kind of driver are you in real life' question, because what Speed Racer interview would be complete without that'
'I'm pretty safe actually,' he admits. 'Sorry to disappoint you guys. I drive a black Prius. With a rocket booster on the back!!!'
