Sam Rockwell
Sam Rockwell, famous for his roles in Charlie's Angels and The Green Mile, takes on the character of Victor Mancini in the big screen adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel Choke, he wrote Fight Club if any of you were wondering.
Victor Mancini (Rockwell), a sex-addicted med-school dropout, who keeps his increasingly deranged mother, Ida (Huston), in an expensive private medical hospital by working days as a historical reenactor at a Colonial Williamsburg theme park. At night Victor runs a scam by deliberately choking in upscale restaurants to form parasitic relationships with the wealthy patrons who save him
Had you read Choke before you landed the part of Victor Mancini in the film?
I didn’t know the book, but I knew Fight Club and then I read Choke. I really liked it and thought it was amazing. I met Chuck Palahniuk and I thought he was a fascinating guy, very smart.
What did you talk about?
We talked about all kinds of things, I told him I was doing a cloning movie [Moon directed by Duncan Jones] and he had all kinds of ideas about it.
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Was this before Chuck knew you were playing Victor?
This is before he knew I was playing Victor, yeah.
Did you feel like you could call him for advice when you landed the part? And if yes, did he have good advice.
I could definitely call him for advice about Victor. He has a lot of smart things to say, and he is very in-depth with everything.
You like to play devious characters?
I like playing outsiders, and anti-heros. I like to play the sort of darker guys.
What is the attraction of the anti-hero?
I guess I like unconventional things; I like things that are outside the line.
In terms of playing Victor in Choke, how did you tap into that role?
I did some research and I went to some sex addict meetings and stuff.
Did you score? Chuck told me that his brother used to go to meetings to pick up girls.
Ha [laughs] No I didn’t score!
What was interesting about playing a sex addict?
It really is a disease, like alcoholism or kleptomania. It’s pretty intense. People are fucked up and people have problems. I like to sort of respect their issues, it’s a difficult thing; people have dysfunctional stuff from their childhood in terms of their sex addiction. The movie is actually sort of a dramatic movie and Victor is also a bit of an Alfie or a Casanova, it has a lot of that going for it too.
At these meetings did you feel like a fraud or a conman? Did that help you get into character?
It’s always a bit strange and you do feel a bit sleazy when you have to attend meetings where you don’t really belong. But at the same time, you’re doing it for the right reasons; you’re doing it to be accurate about what you’re depicting, so in a way it feels kind of sleazy but you’re actually doing it for a good cause. Because if you play a sex addict and you don’t do research then you’re just shooting in the dark.
Sounds like a good excuse to shag a lot?
Well actually yeah, maybe. No I had a girlfriend at the time!
In terms of looking at something that is in a novel and playing a character in a film, does that make you veer from the book?
You do both, you use the book and you also do research. It helps to do as much research as you can.
I know a few directors who will tell an actor not to read a book, and concentrate on the screenplay. Did Clark Gregg let you read the book?
You can’t tell an actor not to read the book. You can’t say that.
Would you sneak a look, even if a director told you not to?
You have to read the book; it’s not a director’s place to say that, whatever research you do is your own business.
You also seem to be they type of actor who wants to bring what you have to the party rather than being instructed on how to perform?
Yes definitely. I have a game plan, I like to come in and do my own stuff, but also I like direction, I want somebody to guide me.
Do you prefer working on films that aren’t mainstream?
I was in Charlie Angels, which is mainstream, and Matchstick Men was kind of mainstream too, but it wasn’t a big blockbuster, more an artsy movie. I don’t know. There’s no recipe, I kind of like weird stuff, weird characters. I don’t know, I can’t keep track of what is out there; you just do what you want to do.
Why do you think that you have such a cult following?
You know, it’s because I’ve done some weird movies. But I also like big movies; I go see Transformers, movies like that. I go see other movies, I just watched the Sea Inside with Javier Bardem, an amazing film. I love Shane Meadows, a wonderful filmmaker, I just watched A Room for Romeo Brass and then I watched Dead Man’s Shoes. I think Paddy Considine is my new favourite actor. He is really amazing in Romeo Brass, I was really blown away, it’s really good character work.
Have you ever thought of directing yourself?
Not really, but I think about it more and more. I know I can direct actors, but all the other aspects I’m not so sure, or comfortable with. The technical stuff I have to learn. But I know I can talk to actors. I think I could figure it out somehow, I’d have to be really passionate about the material otherwise I don’t know what the point would be.
Have you ever thought of writing something for the screen?
I don’t have time to write anything but I’d like to in theory. Maybe I will one day. I’m still learning how to be a good actor; it’s a lot to be a good actor. I’ve been acting for 20 years and done, I don’t know, almost 40 movies, it’s a lot, just to do that well. I don’t believe in too much multi-tasking, I just like to do one thing. It’s intense, I think, acting for me, it’s kind of an all or nothing thing. You know, sometimes I meet people they say they want to be an actor, but they don’t really want to be actor. They want to be famous.
In the early part of your career you were really seen as the supporting guy?
I was sort of playing boy men and now I’m playing men, fathers and people who have lives.
Was it frustrating for you before, when you were doing so many supporting roles?
I like to be both, supporting is less responsibility. Sometimes it’s more fun to be a supporting actor, like in Jesse James or Frost/Nixon, you can have some more fun, you don’t have to be so immersed in it and can fly off a little bit. But when you’re the lead, like in Choke, you have to be focussed all the time.
Do you look at other actor’s performances and try to learn from them?
Oh yeah, I love that performance from Bana in Chopper, I remember that year The Piano Teacher came out with Isabelle Huppert and I thought that these were the two best performances of that year, which no one talked about and didn’t get nominated for anything, you know like Paddy Considine, that guy is amazing.
I’m always learning from other actors, I did a movie called Snow Angels where I played a born again Christian and I think I watched the movie Paddy Considine did where he played a Born Again Christian. I want to watch that movie again, after Romeo Brass.
Have you got an addictive personality?
Addictive? You know I’m a little, I guess I can be obsessive sometimes, go to gym, I get obsessive when I’m playing a part and stuff. I can be slightly obsessive, addictive sounds kind of negative.
How did your obsessions bear out with the character in Choke?
I related to that role because I had a strange childhood, so that stuff with the mum is close to home, that is where I got into that part of it, its very Hamlet and Gertrude.
Did that make it tougher for you, because you could relate to the mother aspect so closely?
I think I had a little resistance to it, but that is the reason I think that I excel in that role because it is close to home.
You’re about to hit the big 4-0?
I heard Jack Nicholson say that was his favourite year. I’m looking forward to it. I’m just getting parts that I like and I feel good. I’m not just saying that, I really believe it!
Choke opens nationwide on November 21st.
Sam Rockwell, famous for his roles in Charlie's Angels and The Green Mile, takes on the character of Victor Mancini in the big screen adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel Choke, he wrote Fight Club if any of you were wondering.
Victor Mancini (Rockwell), a sex-addicted med-school dropout, who keeps his increasingly deranged mother, Ida (Huston), in an expensive private medical hospital by working days as a historical reenactor at a Colonial Williamsburg theme park. At night Victor runs a scam by deliberately choking in upscale restaurants to form parasitic relationships with the wealthy patrons who save him
Had you read Choke before you landed the part of Victor Mancini in the film?
I didn’t know the book, but I knew Fight Club and then I read Choke. I really liked it and thought it was amazing. I met Chuck Palahniuk and I thought he was a fascinating guy, very smart.
What did you talk about?
We talked about all kinds of things, I told him I was doing a cloning movie [Moon directed by Duncan Jones] and he had all kinds of ideas about it.
p>
Was this before Chuck knew you were playing Victor?
This is before he knew I was playing Victor, yeah.
Did you feel like you could call him for advice when you landed the part? And if yes, did he have good advice.
I could definitely call him for advice about Victor. He has a lot of smart things to say, and he is very in-depth with everything.
You like to play devious characters?
I like playing outsiders, and anti-heros. I like to play the sort of darker guys.
What is the attraction of the anti-hero?
I guess I like unconventional things; I like things that are outside the line.
In terms of playing Victor in Choke, how did you tap into that role?
I did some research and I went to some sex addict meetings and stuff.
Did you score? Chuck told me that his brother used to go to meetings to pick up girls.
Ha [laughs] No I didn’t score!
What was interesting about playing a sex addict?
It really is a disease, like alcoholism or kleptomania. It’s pretty intense. People are fucked up and people have problems. I like to sort of respect their issues, it’s a difficult thing; people have dysfunctional stuff from their childhood in terms of their sex addiction. The movie is actually sort of a dramatic movie and Victor is also a bit of an Alfie or a Casanova, it has a lot of that going for it too.
At these meetings did you feel like a fraud or a conman? Did that help you get into character?
It’s always a bit strange and you do feel a bit sleazy when you have to attend meetings where you don’t really belong. But at the same time, you’re doing it for the right reasons; you’re doing it to be accurate about what you’re depicting, so in a way it feels kind of sleazy but you’re actually doing it for a good cause. Because if you play a sex addict and you don’t do research then you’re just shooting in the dark.
Sounds like a good excuse to shag a lot?
Well actually yeah, maybe. No I had a girlfriend at the time!
In terms of looking at something that is in a novel and playing a character in a film, does that make you veer from the book?
You do both, you use the book and you also do research. It helps to do as much research as you can.
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