Ask Anything: The Year in Movieline Interviews

Bill Hader (Sept. 16)

On his accidental first role: Collateral Damage, yeah. The actor was stuck in traffic, and they had to shoot the scene. So they put me [a P.A.] in as the pilot in this uniform. I wasn't supposed to have a line, but my bosses, the first A.D. and second A.D., though it was so funny that I was in there that they said, "Well, maybe we should have him tell Arnold Schwarzenegger this..." And the director, Andrew Davis, was like, "Yeahyeahyeah, you say this..." So they were laughing behind the camera because they thought they were going to get me a line. And they did! I got Taft-Hartley on the show. If you rent Collateral Damage, there's a scene that takes place on a plane, and I'm the pilot. My line is, "Three or four hours, depending on the weather." Which we came up with on the spot.

Jesse Eisenberg (Sept. 30)

On his insecurities as an actor: [T]hat's why I'm in therapy now. I talk about it every week. How to "make peace with the craft." That seems so nebulous. It's like, people who don't study it can get into movies and plays, and people who do study it quite often can't. Friends of mine went to Juilliard and can't get an off-Broadway play, let alone to get a lead role in a movie, and I haven't studied at Juilliard. I mean, it's a very kind of disconcerting profession. If you went to Harvard Medical School, chances are you'll be a doctor at some place. There's a career trajectory. Acting, there's nothing. It's constantly trying to procure jobs -- it's very disconcerting. [...] It's frightening. It's really frightening. I always feel like I'm five minutes away from getting kicked out of the hotel room that Sony paid for and having them clear out the minibar because I'm not allowed to take anything else.

Thomas Jane (Oct. 9)

On how his Hung character's endowment affects his ego: Thank God I'm married. Some of my single friends are envious. Personally I'm very happily married to one of the most beautiful women on the planet, Patricia Arquette. We've been together almost eight years and she still turns me on, and I couldn't be happier. It's a bit of a pain in the ass, to tell you the truth. People stare at my crotch and I have to tell them I'm up here. It becomes something of a "meat" object. Before this Hung thing, I was very comfortable. I love my penis, and I always have. When you strap a label on yourself, you can never really live up to it. I swear to God I feel like I've gotten smaller since then.

Tobin Bell (Oct. 16)

On his experience as an extra: [A]ctors have talked to me, actors I respected, and they said, "What did you do today?" And I'd say, "I went up and worked on Manhattan, the new Woody Allen film that's shooting." "You are? What are you doing?" "Well, I'm leaning up against a building as they go by." And they said, "You mean, you were doing extra work?" "Yeah." "Oh, well I could never do that. I really can do more than that. I'm better than that, and I'm waiting to be the main guy." I really understood where they were coming from, this place of ego, that they'd be minimizing their talent by doing something less than what they were capable of. I never viewed it that way, though. I viewed it as an opportunity to make $150 a day doing something that I cared a great deal about, where I could learn. They were gonna pay me to learn and reaffirm in me what I thought I could do?

Hal Holbrook (Nov. 19)

On his role in Into the Wild: I've been fighting images all my life. Honest to God. This business can drive you crazy. You can exhaust yourself trying to overcome the image the create for you in Hollywood. It's so frustrating because I love doing different kinds of parts, you know? On the stage I can do it. I get choices. But naturally everybody's stuck with that, and this has been the most exciting breakaway for me. I just did a film about an old man who has Alzheimer's. I'm doing a cook in a diner next. After that I'm doing a wrestling coach. None of these roles would ever have come if it hadn't been for Sean (Penn) giving me that role. How in the name of the Lord in Heaven Sean decided I could do this, I don't know. But to the end of my life, I'll never be finished thanking him.

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