• 9 months ago
The actor sits down with Yahoo for Role Recall, reflecting on the highs and lows of his career from No Country For Old Men to Milk, Marvel and more.
Transcript
00:00 [upbeat music]
00:02 - This old news, everybody and their grandfather
00:08 went looking for that.
00:09 When our parents were our age, I mean,
00:11 I mean, haven't you ever heard of that guy?
00:13 What's his name?
00:14 The pirate guy, One-Eyed Willie.
00:15 - It was such a profound experience.
00:18 It was my first time on film.
00:20 I had never done anything before that,
00:22 that I thought that's how everything was, and I was wrong.
00:26 Goonies was one of, still stands
00:30 as one of the greatest experiences of my life.
00:32 - What's your fondest memory from making that film?
00:35 - Probably being backed into the stage
00:39 where the ship was, that they kept us away from.
00:43 There was security outside the stage.
00:44 We spent probably three months trying to get into the stage,
00:48 figuring out ways we could see it
00:50 before they wanted to show it to us,
00:52 backed us into the stage.
00:53 They put us underwater.
00:55 They had speakers underwater.
00:56 They had cameras ready.
00:58 They wanted us to come up, and they wanted real reactions
01:00 when we looked at the ship for the first time.
01:03 And I think I said either the F word or (beep) something.
01:07 I just ruined the take.
01:09 'Cause I turned around and was like, (beep)
01:13 And they were like, what?
01:14 You're a Goonie, you can't say that.
01:16 Yeah, that was special.
01:20 - There's also been talks of a sequel in the future.
01:23 - Yeah.
01:23 - How do you feel about that potentially happening?
01:26 - Personally?
01:27 Why?
01:30 Do you know what I mean?
01:31 I don't.
01:32 The movie exists in a really wonderful way,
01:37 generation after generation,
01:38 and I get to see, I just got a text the other day
01:41 of a guy who had showed his daughter,
01:42 and then he kind of regressed
01:44 into seeing it for the first time.
01:46 It's so wonderful.
01:47 I mean, it's such a wonderful thing that exists
01:50 that you get to see affect people.
01:54 I know that Spielberg had a couple of scripts,
01:59 and Chris Columbus had a couple of scripts,
02:01 but they just didn't feel that they were good enough.
02:04 And now it's far enough away
02:06 that I don't know if it would ever happen.
02:08 - No, sir, I'm a veteran.
02:10 - Name?
02:11 - Yes, sir, two tours.
02:12 - What outfit?
02:13 - 12th Infantry Battalion, August 7th, 1966,
02:17 July 2nd, 1968.
02:19 - I mean, Javier was incredible.
02:20 Incredible.
02:21 He was really depressed during that time, though.
02:24 You know what I mean?
02:25 It was, I mean, he says it.
02:26 He goes, "I don't like violence, I don't drive,"
02:29 and there was one other thing.
02:31 "I don't drive, I don't like violence,"
02:33 and his haircut, you know?
02:36 And I remember I would go to his apartment
02:39 and be like, "Let's go out,"
02:40 and he'd be like, "No, I don't wanna go out,"
02:42 and I was immediately.
02:43 So there was a lot of coercing during that time,
02:45 but I love him, I continue to love him.
02:50 We stayed friends.
02:51 The first scene that we ever had
02:52 was actually in Dune recently, together.
02:55 In the Coens, I ended up doing two other movies
02:59 with the Coens and maybe more.
03:02 So I don't, yeah, it was a profound moment
03:05 in my professional existence
03:07 that I'm very appreciative of.
03:11 - 2007, I feel like, was a big year for you
03:13 because you had No Country for Old Men,
03:15 American Gangster, Grindhouse,
03:16 you know, so many great movies in that time.
03:19 I wondered, how did it feel to be like
03:21 the It actor at that moment?
03:23 - I don't know if that's how I looked at it.
03:25 I just was happy.
03:26 I wasn't making any money, so that was, you know,
03:29 that hadn't changed, but I was doing role,
03:34 I think people were so confused why I got No Country
03:38 that other directors were like,
03:41 "Yeah, I want him too, then.
03:43 "Give me a role."
03:45 I still had to read for American Gangster.
03:47 I read for American Gangster after an all-night shoot
03:50 on No Country, and my son played Denzel at 16,
03:55 and then I sent that in on iMovie or something.
04:01 So, you know, it was still a chore,
04:04 but doing those, I mean, they were incredible.
04:07 Working with Denzel and working with Russell
04:09 and working with Ridley Scott
04:11 and then working with Paul Haggis at the time
04:13 and then working with Robert Rodriguez before that.
04:15 Not that it's the only time that it happened.
04:18 There's other times things like that,
04:19 bulks have happened that are really special,
04:22 but that was definitely the first other than the Goonies.
04:25 Things that just don't happen to people.
04:27 It's not lost on me.
04:29 Society can't exist without the family.
04:31 - We're not against that.
04:31 - Can two men reproduce?
04:33 - No, but God knows we keep trying.
04:35 - I think telling any story that puts a mirror up
04:38 to society and current events is always important.
04:42 However, I mean, this, you can parallel it with this,
04:45 with the abuse of power and all this kind of stuff.
04:48 That's the whole point of storytelling.
04:49 It's the whole point of poetry.
04:50 It's the whole point of movie making.
04:52 I thought of "Milk" yesterday,
04:54 like literally just lying in bed.
04:56 It just hit me about it being Sean Penn's
04:59 probably greatest performance
05:01 and how he allowed himself to become so vulnerable
05:05 knowing him personally.
05:07 It was an amazing kind of transformation.
05:11 And I thought he represented really well.
05:12 I thought I represented well
05:14 in that kind of awfulness of what a man is
05:17 and the kind of evil that exists
05:21 and not wanting to think outside your own paradigm
05:25 that you're used to or what people tell you is appropriate.
05:29 Yeah, anytime we can go against that, I'm all for it.
05:32 - And obviously you got an Oscar nomination
05:34 at the time for it as well.
05:35 Lost out to Heath Ledger at the time, of course,
05:37 but I wonder what was that experience like?
05:40 - Being nominated was amazing, but I knew Heath,
05:43 so that was, it hit me, all of us, so profoundly
05:48 that it wasn't about like, you know what I mean?
05:54 It was that is exactly what should have happened
05:57 and his parents getting up there, his dad getting up there.
06:01 You know what I mean?
06:01 That went exactly, yeah.
06:04 So I was happy.
06:05 It was me, somebody just said it the other day.
06:07 It was me, Michael Shannon, Downey, and Heath.
06:12 Was there somebody else?
06:13 There was one.
06:14 Philip Seymour Hoffman, was it?
06:17 Okay, so like all people I've known
06:21 for a very, very long time,
06:22 so it was such a great kind of family
06:26 to be supportive of what was very obviously Heath's,
06:30 not because he died, because it was one
06:32 of the most incredible performances ever,
06:34 which I also think about Joaquin when he did "Joker."
06:37 I think that's one of the greatest performances
06:39 I've ever seen.
06:40 [glass shattering]
06:44 - How you doing there?
06:45 - What's happening to me?
06:47 - Afraid you're dead, friend.
06:49 - How can you speak to me?
06:51 - Well, it's kind of a knack I picked up
06:52 when I near died myself.
06:54 It's funny because, you know,
06:57 I've always spoken about it in a way
06:59 that I think is disrespectful to the director.
07:02 I don't think it was the director's fault.
07:04 I think he did his best.
07:07 I think it was a piece of [beep] film,
07:10 but for many different reasons,
07:13 and I'm included in that too.
07:17 [laughing]
07:19 But, you know, we can't win 'em all.
07:22 It happens.
07:22 I think, I mean, I brought in a lot of really good people.
07:25 I brought in Malkovich, I brought in Megan,
07:27 I brought in Fassbender, who hadn't really hit yet.
07:31 He'd done some great work, but he hadn't really hit yet.
07:33 So I brought in Michael Shannon, but he was cut out.
07:39 Yeah, man, I don't know what happened.
07:41 [laughing]
07:43 But it happened, you know?
07:46 Just careened a little bit, hit a couple cars.
07:49 Everybody survived.
07:50 [laughing]
07:51 That was all right.
07:52 But I don't think it was Jimmy Hayward's fault.
07:55 I think that's a misconception, you know?
07:58 He was a big Jonah Hex fan.
08:01 We gave him a shot.
08:02 He directed a pretty good movie,
08:05 and then the studio took it and made it a much worse movie.
08:08 I've seen that happen a couple of times.
08:10 You know, where they think,
08:11 in which you get into pandering
08:13 what you think the audience wants,
08:15 based on a cosmetic, you know, I don't know,
08:19 understanding, or at least a pretend understanding
08:22 of what you think an audience wants,
08:24 which nobody ever knows.
08:26 That's why it's good, people like him,
08:27 where you just do the movie that's most powerful to you,
08:31 and then release it and hope for the best.
08:33 - What's our objective?
08:36 [whispering]
08:39 - To dramatically overreact.
08:41 We tweaked that story a lot.
08:44 We rewrote a lot of stuff,
08:45 and Taylor Sheridan had written that script,
08:48 and it was a really good script.
08:49 He wrote a really good script.
08:51 But just because of the nature of what we were doing
08:53 and where we were, we just tweaked it.
08:55 It was a very incredible collaboration, you know?
08:59 So, yeah, and then Denny and I just became fast friends,
09:03 and we work well together, and we have fun together personally,
09:06 and just an easy thing with him.
09:08 - Speaking of Denny, you first worked with him on Sicario,
09:11 which is a wonderful movie.
09:13 I wonder, you know, what did you feel at the time
09:15 set him apart as a director?
09:17 - Well, I said no to Sicario,
09:20 because it was a tiny, tiny part,
09:22 and he said something that I've heard directors say
09:25 that I've never believed.
09:27 It's always proven to be untrue,
09:28 which is, we're gonna grow this part.
09:30 So if you just say yes, you'll be happy that you did it.
09:33 But it was true with him.
09:35 - Everything I heard about myself, he taught me.
09:38 - And in doing so, made you the fiercest woman in the galaxy.
09:43 That's why I trusted you to find the Soul Stone.
09:48 - It's funny, you start, you get into like a humility thing,
09:53 and you deny, and you go, oh no, no.
09:56 But the truth of the matter is,
09:57 is when you do something that is,
10:01 and not just because of me, one note, you know what I mean?
10:06 I came in with a certain idea,
10:08 and then the Russos maybe had,
10:10 or complimented that with a contrasting idea.
10:14 And it was like, oh, why don't you incorporate
10:15 a little of this, and this, that, and that?
10:17 So you don't know how it's gonna turn out, you know?
10:20 It's all kind of new and a big experiment to everybody,
10:23 including myself, but then also to Kevin Feige,
10:25 and also the Russos, and they have big hopes.
10:29 And then it comes out, and it works,
10:31 and people are moved by the character,
10:35 as opposed to just, oh, it's a great bad guy.
10:37 Like, Darth Vader was kind of the same thing with Star Wars.
10:40 It was like, there was something that made you lean into him,
10:43 even though you know you hated him,
10:44 and what he represented was bad,
10:47 there was something super attractive about him.
10:50 And you never saw his face, you know?
10:53 And then you're looking at this guy, who's a 700-pound purple dude,
10:58 but there was something very human about him.
11:01 It was great. I thought they did an incredible job.
11:03 I wonder, is that kind of time behind you now,
11:06 in terms of Marvel, do you just feel like you're done with that part?
11:10 I feel that about everything I've ever done,
11:13 you know, professionally.
11:15 Sicario, and then Soldado showed up, and you do that.
11:19 And then, even though I know they were doing two movies,
11:23 even we were focused on Infinity War,
11:25 and then it was like, oh yeah, we have Endgame,
11:28 all that, or Dune and Dune II.
11:30 It's the same kind of thing.
11:32 Deadpool is the only one that, when we finished Deadpool,
11:35 I was like, yeah, I think that's going to stand by itself.
11:37 Deadpool II.
11:40 With me, I'm saying.
11:41 And, but yeah, yeah, I don't think about it in those terms,
11:46 like, this thing.
11:48 I'm very isolated.
11:49 It's like how Denise thinks about this.
11:51 I don't want to talk about three.
11:53 I just want to do two.
11:55 I have you.
11:56 I, I'm going to look down, my lord.
12:00 You to join me in death.
12:02 I see you found the mood.
12:04 Yeah, I was a fan of Timothy's.
12:06 I had seen him in a few different things.
12:08 And, just super raw talent.
12:14 Super raw.
12:16 You know, a lot of times you say, oh, I'd seen his work,
12:18 but you hadn't really seen his work.
12:19 Like, I was a big fan of his already.
12:21 And, the idea of doing something bigger,
12:25 I think he was more in awe of, and I think he was,
12:29 you know, vulnerable about.
12:31 And, he'd come up and like, how do you do this?
12:33 And, like, what's the difference?
12:35 And, there is no difference.
12:36 And, no way, well, really?
12:38 But, I was excited to work with him
12:40 like I was excited to work with Austin,
12:43 even though it continued with Timothy,
12:45 with Austin and Florence.
12:46 And, when you see new actors, you know,
12:49 there's definitely a judgment,
12:52 having been around for a while,
12:54 of like, are you the real deal?
12:56 Like, are you?
12:58 You just want to be famous, is that your deal?
13:00 [laughing]
13:01 And, then you see people,
13:05 kind of like what Paul's going through in the movie,
13:07 you know, with the ability or inability
13:10 to confront themselves.
13:12 Everybody was incredible.
13:13 I have a lot of respect for everybody.
13:15 I remember that Austin, they were like,
13:16 have you met Austin?
13:18 Oh, you're gonna love him.
13:19 Have you met Austin?
13:20 You're gonna love him.
13:21 Another person, another person, another person,
13:23 another person.
13:24 And, then finally, I'm like, ah, I gotta meet this guy.
13:26 And, like, weeks went by and I hadn't met him.
13:29 And, then finally, our trailers were next to each other
13:32 when we were still in Budapest.
13:33 And, I knocked on his door and he opened the door
13:36 and I was met with this pasty, bald guy with no eyebrows.
13:41 And, big smile on his face.
13:45 Hey, man, hey.
13:46 And, that was a three hour conversation.
13:48 It was just easy from the first words out.
13:52 And, talked about our mothers
13:54 and talked about all kinds of things.
13:55 And, you know, and then I saw his work ethic on top of it.
13:59 Just fell in love.
14:01 Guy who's never stopped working.
14:03 Never stopped, you could tell.
14:04 He was, like, off thinking about scenes
14:06 or he was doing moves to the fight scene that he had to do.
14:09 And, I just appreciate that kind of work ethic.
14:11 You don't see it always.
14:12 - Obviously, you've worked with Denis a few times now.
14:15 How do you feel like you've both grown together
14:18 in these films?
14:19 - I've definitely seen him grow.
14:21 And, as he continues to challenge himself
14:23 in his imagination, the financial aspects of the movies
14:27 that he chooses to do and the meaning,
14:30 the size of the stories.
14:33 And, he's able to meet those challenges with his talent
14:37 and his childlike nature without losing that,
14:42 I think is what makes him super special.
14:45 He pushes the ceiling.
14:46 He's constantly pushing the ceiling.
14:49 You look at Sicario, I love Sicario
14:51 as much as I love Dune for what it is.
14:53 But, then you see Dune and it's just much bigger.
14:55 But, he treated Dune exactly like he treated Sicario.
14:59 With the amount, you know, the level of care is the same.
15:03 So, the care hasn't changed, but the talent has grown.
15:07 The ability has grown.
15:08 (upbeat music)
15:11 (upbeat music)

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