You in a golf buggy?
Yeah, we just finished.
That's cool.
Where are you?
I'm just the home I'm in. I'm in London.
Well, nice. Nice. I love London.
How did you do today?
Not great.
I think I'm going to quit again.
Nice. It's fun.
I got to come.
Come and play with family. So,
yeah, I was.
It's better than me. I've never started, but I'm going to.
I'm going to begin.
I really enjoyed. Yeah.
Enjoy Blood.
But first of all, I loved how it was like
this kind of like a kind of familiar role - that of the Dad to hasn't
got kind of custody of his kids and it's a role instead of always see.
But so often the Dad takes on a kind of villainous kind of quality.
But in this case, he seems like a good guy and it felt like a really positive
portrayal in many ways of a kind of just a modern kind of dad,
an abundance of family and a kind of strange, unconventional way.
Is that something that stood out to you when you kind of first read this
this story?
Absolutely.
Yeah.
I'm in fact, I'm I'm really honored and flattered that you picked up on that.
It was something that, you know, I keyed on into early and that
that Brad [Anderson, director] was really into, um,
I was really into,
you know, it sort of the idea that I
she could seem really villainous and she has to in, you know,
she has to be our hero.
And by that, how he was portrayed could really make her seem even worse.
So I wanted it to feel like somebody who could have been and you know, that
she would have been in a really who was he when she met him in high school?
She became a drug addict.
But, you know, where did he stand on the spectrum?
And so really tried to
to lower the
stand, the class standing a lot and
and sort of make a working man out of him, was trying
to do his best and had his flaws, but had to pick up for hers.
And, you know, all the complexities of that and, you know,
all really in a and sort of a reverse red herring against himself
with him thinking she's back on drugs and winding up in the wrong about that.
But but yeah, I mean Brad does really complex characters and stories
and the way they interweave is always so compelling to me.
So yeah, that was something we talked quite a bit about.
Yeah, there must he great?
I mean, I didn't see today with an actor
for the new M. Night Shyamalan, so I,
he was kind of saying that like he was quite towards
the prospect of a role because it was, he was
so much acting to do these characters with these kind of internal complexities.
Is it quiet - when you play characters have got a lot going on?
Is it quite is it ever so slightly daunting as well as being a sort of
something you relish in and a challenge that you kind of want to rise to?
Yeah, I mean, I think it's definitely it's
always daunting in every aspect of it is daunting to some degree.
And I you know, I've heard it said many, many times from,
you know, actors much more famous and much better than I that,
you know, it's the fear that makes you work really hard
of fear of sucking or letting down those moments, all that stuff.
But yeah, it's quite daunting.
But it also you also realize that
our are all of us as individuals are equally complex.
And the more we can sort of allow those things to be affected by how we you know,
are affected by things, the more you can live in the moment,
the more people relate to. So
it's daunting.
But at the same time, like it's just a matter of letting go
into into much preparation.
Let him go into months of thought sometimes of how this could be.
So I don't know. It's it is complex.
Yeah.
I mean, obviously the relationship between yourself and Michelle Monaghan
and this is very complex.
But I was wondering
because obviously we only see the relationship when it's quite toxic,
but did you have to picture it and imagine it when it's
good to be able to understand when it becomes bad, if that makes sense?
Absolutely, .
It was something we've talked about that Brad worked on a back story
for, you know, them and sort of a timeline of their backstory.
And you know, something we did for quite a bit of thought into and then,
you know, you kind of give it all that thought forethought
and then go play and you know, she was
so mesmerizingly raw and real
that it was quite
compelling just being in the moment with her, you know, trying to figure out
what the fuck is going on, like, you know,
so, so, you know, a lot of that is just
she helped elevate everybody by her realness.
And and, you know, Brad's just so talented.
I mean, the chance to work with him was such a dream.
I loved his films for so long.
And, and so,
yeah, it was a great team of people.
But yeah, interesting story with,
you know, I don't really know
where it ends.
Yeah.
Because I mean, you mentioned about working with Michelle when this
there's a scene I think when you guys are kind of both sat your respective lawyers
and you both just have to just lose it in that moment.
How is it when you on days like on days like set, like that when when
Brad will shout, cut, do you kind of have to just go from the start?
How do you generate that kind of emotion over and over again?
It's, you know, in that,
you know, that was a really
yeah, that was an intense day for sure.
And it was it was,
I guess in some ways a very personal day.
It was, you know, having been a single parent for,
you know, 20 some years now and dealt with,
you know, the complexities of that.
I know we keep using that word, but it's certainly fitting in this instance.
You know, it was I was going, you know, bragged
said to me at one point I was so harsh and I was like, it's too harsh, isn't it?
Is too like we're biting into it too hard.
And and we sort of brought it back a little bit.
But, you know, it was something for some reason that resonated with each of us
and and in such a fun way in a lot of ways.
Like we walked away from it going, Oh, well, I don't know if that was like,
you know, us venting or the character's venting or what it was.
But it was, it was.
And, you know, then you just hope it fits into the shape of how the story unfolds.
Tonally, you know?
And that's why Brad is so genius.
He's such a great guide of tone and and
and, you know, you know, you have a conductor in front of you.
And so yeah.
And it's a really incredible performance in the young Finlay Wojtak-Hissong as well.
I just.
How impressed were you by him And do you feel as an actor on set
when you're playing, it's not just the kind of dynamic
where you're playing his dad anyway, but like,
do you ever feel a responsibility to help guide young actors
kind of through scenes when you're working with them? Like on projects like this?
You know?
No, I mean, he you know, they were both Skylar Morgan Jones and Finley were so
there and present and fun to be around, but also had done their homework
and continued to do their homework and were there to play.
And Brad had such a way with them that, like you know, we were quite loose
between takes because we knew that everybody was doing
their job and, you know, and doing it really well.
So I didn't he didn't need anything from me
other than a buddy to play around with and make jokes with.
And, you know, and
they're both incredible performers.
And I think they're going to be around a long time
if they decide to continue to do this.
And it blows my mind when kids are so good at that,
because I think when I was like ten or 11, I wouldn't play.
I wouldn't even go close to doing that.
I know, I know.
It blows my mind when I see that it's actually a craft for them
and I see who they really are and that they are actually working.
It's, you know, there are a lot of kids with charisma
and whatever, you know, and you could just put them in the right thing
and it's going to work.
But when you get to know these two and you see that
they're really crafting something, and it's not just them being them and, you
know, and maybe will get it like they're really have something to figure it out.
And so it's really inspiring and fun to be around and looking back
because, I mean, you've got such a sort of so great of interesting career.
And I was wondering now, so,
so glad when you've got this maybe, you know, kind of
you've been doing this for quite a few years now.
Do you ever sort of look back and say you're like, quite proud of your career?
And do you still think there's more to do with that thing?
Do you still want to kind of tick off the list?
Hang on. I'm going to jump in this car with everybody.
You know, a bit of both.
Absolutely.
I definitely think,
you know, I look at the the people
I've been able to work alongside and, you know, and
and I feel really honored.
You know, I only want to say to people really the highlight
was getting a phone call from Gary Oldman asking me to do a movie with him.
And that was somebody that was a hero of mine forever and things like that.
And standing across from some of these greats and like knowing
I'm in, I'm over
I and I'm and it's
and then the other side yeah there's so much more I want to do.
And I feel like now I'm in a place to kind of
go all over and do that anywhere.
You know, I kind of only worked in L.A.
for a long time for family reasons, and now I can go
and do the show I just did in New Orleans with Giancarlo Esposito.
You know,
I have a freedom that I haven't had in a long, long time.
That's exciting.
And I'm I'm excited just to continue to keep telling stories of any
size, shape and form and I spoke to
Giancarlo last year and it was honestly one of my favorite interviews I've done.
That guy's a real character,
but just my very final year
of to my very final question before I go, because I was actually interesting.
I was I was I interviewed Sarah Michelle Gellar today and she was talking about how
she's kind of got to start where she so, so happy to talk about like Buffy now.
And I was wondering
if someone yourself is going to the bows in your career, say, like Riverdale?
I'm sure at times maybe it's been tiring.
Kind of like being recognized or something.
But ultimately, does it get to a stage where you kind of
just please is connected of audiences and you treat that like a good thing?
Did it take a while to get to that place?
You know, the only way I can really answer it is that there's no
I am always honored when somebody comes up and asks me
for an autograph to recognize
and not because of the celebrity or the fame, just that they've seen,
you know, stuff that anybody has even seen that is is kind of.
So, yeah, I mean, you know, it it's never been daunting to me.
I've never lived Brad Pitt's life, you know, So I don't have any
any qualms about that aspect of it at all.
And to me, it's kind of an honor that people really even care
to see something that I do so, you know, Scream has been really interesting.
It's very private, you know, and an audience for 26 years now.
And I go to these signing conventions with Matt Lillard and Neve Campbell and Jamie Kennedy
and David Arquette sometimes, and it's still a rabid, rabid fan base
that has keeps going through generations like there are teenagers now that are more
rabid about it than teenagers were then, which is really interesting. And
I don't know why.
I mean, Wes Craven was very smart man and, you know, knew what he was doing, but
you never predict that.
But yeah, I know what she means.
It's, you know, after
you know, in the beginning of my career and it was all scream,
you know, I was like,
Oh my God, I don't want to be associated with just Scream, you know?
And, and so I haven't been so that's good.
But, but I know what she means.
There's a release from that eventually of whatever
It's a great thing.
And in hindsight then but you saw about your time today
scheme Best of luck with the rest of your golfing cup.
Thank you.
Thank you. I'll need it