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For over twenty years, Aidan Quinn has been the definition of dependability, delivering solid performances on film, television, and theater. It was that reliability that led to his role as Professor Reiser in DARK MATTER, the new film from first time director Shi-Zheng Chen, about a brilliant Chinese astrophysics student who is pushed too far by the world of school politics. Having worked with Quinn on MUSIC OF THE HEART, Meryl Streep recommended Quinn for the role, which Quinn accepted. The hard working actor and Irish native, recently nominated for an Emmy for his work on BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE, has been a loyal face of independent cinema, starring in such favorites as DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN, COMMANDMENTS, and BENNY & JOON. His breakthrough role was starring opposite Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins in the box office hit LEGENDS OF THE FALL. Regardless of the budget, Quinn approaches each role with the same veracity and dedication. To promote DARK MATTER, Quinn took time to speak with a roundtable of reporters including the Crypt to discuss his role as Reiser, working with first time directors, the current studio system, and what really went on during PROJECT GREENLIGHT in this Crypt exclusive.
You’ve been busy with movies, the theater, and television. Do you have a preference on medium? AIDAN QUINN: No, it’s nice to do it all. Of course there’s probably nothing more satisfying for an actor when doing stage when the planets line up but I like it all. You can do work in film that you can’t do in theater. What brought you to DARK MATTER? AQ: Meryl Streep (Laughter). I got a call on a Wednesday. My manager said there’s a film that’s already filming in Salt Lake City. One of the supporting actors is doing another movie and it ran over so he can’t do it, they’re desperate. You would get on a plane tomorrow and you would be shooting on Friday. There’s no money. It’s low budget scale for no money. I told them to take a fucking flying leap at themselves (Laughter). My manager then gave me one more detail and she says “The star is Meryl Streep and she asked for you.” I said, “When is the next plane?” I didn’t even know what it was about or anything. They were e-mailing me the script that afternoon, so then I read the script and of course I liked it. I got on that plane the next day. Were there any surprises in working on the film and why did Meryl specifically ask for you? AQ: I had worked with her before, that’s why she asked for me. We had done a movie called MUSIC OF THE HEART. You are always surprised working with Meryl because she is so fresh and surprising in all her choices, so it’s always good working with her in that way. Liu Ye, what a joy to work with him, he was phenomenal. My first scenes after I got off the plane were with Liu Ye and he’s a phenomenal actor. Did you read much about psychics to prepare for Reiser? AQ: I read as much as I could in two days. I went on the internet, read articles, went to the library, I crammed it all. I read a lot on the plane. I was an expert in two days, that’s all I needed (laughs). How did you read Reiser? AQ: I read him as a human being who was in a position of power, a man who liked having his ego stroked. My father was an academic, I’ve been around academics, but without a doubt, Liu Ye publishing a paper and criticizing my character’s great theory, not a smart move. I think he took in a way I think of “The door’s not open, you’re not welcome here,” and he took it to mean father than what I meant. There is a protocol here. There’s no question that a lot of people tend to do better that follow the rules of praising and buttering up the people of power in whatever business you’re in. Look at some of the actors who are big movie stars now, how could they get to be that? Certainly not on talent (Laughter). I’m not going to name names but you know who they are. Since you were around the academic community, do you think it’s endemic to have this kind of jealousy in the ranks so to speak? AQ: I don’t think it’s endemic, I think it’s very human. I think that jealousy is in all fields but I do think that there is something in the academic world because there is that little bit of sense where you’re not quite doing full time what you dream of doing. However there are teachers that I met through my father in that is what they dream to do, that is what they were born to do, and that is what they should be doing. God bless them as they are obviously one of the most undervalued professions in the world. How was it working with Shi-Zheng Chen as a first time director and throughout your career, you’ve worked with a lot of first time directors in projects. What is it that appeals you to them? AQ: They’re the only ones who will hire me. They don’t care what the studio execs say (Laughter). I’m joking but there is an element of truth to them. All kidding aside, working with Chen was wonderful. He had a very strong visual sense from his work in the opera, and a beautiful sense of drama. I have yet to see this film with a significant Chinese audience because I understand that there’s a lot more humor than we know about in it within the Chinese characters. He was lovely, he has a great personality. He’s very supportive and tense in the right ways. Who would you say is your greatest teacher and what do you think is the best lesson you’ve learned as an actor both in the art and in life? AQ: If you’re looking for great teachers and lessons in acting, you need to go no further than Meryl Streep, there’s a classic example right there. She is like a witch and I mean that in the best possible way of how she could conjure up just in a relaxed and improvisational way authentic life into whatever character she’s playing or whatever project she’s involved. Do you know how quick she learned Tai Chi? That’s amazing. One of my friends has been doing Tai Chi for thirty years and he doesn’t look nearly as good as Meryl does in this film. She learned in six weeks I believe. Meryl is a pretty extraordinary woman. She’s a perfect example of balancing a family life with a career, balancing being an authentic person and not having to “cow tow” to allow the corporate needs that are in our business. The corporate needs are becoming more intense. I just did an interview at a news channel which will remain nameless where it seemed the requirement was that every woman had to have sexy long legs and short skirts. I’m for women dressing as sexy as you want but it seemed to be the school uniform over there. We live in strange times so if you could find a balance within these strange times, it’s a good thing. Talking about balance, it is interesting that some careers seem that they don’t necessarily have to go out of date because you’ve gotten older. Do you see that as a change where you’ve gotten opportunities to do new things? AQ: There are certainly opportunities like that but they are few and far between. Do you see yourself doing more of your own productions? AQ: I think that helps a lot, I know more and more actors do that out of necessity. I always tell young actors when I have a chance to talk to them, “Do not think that you are going to have a satisfying career if you’re just going to be a freelance actor. You’re going to have to generate your own work by producing and writing with friends because if you’re just waiting for the phone to ring from the corporate interest, more than likely they’re not going to align with your own interest unless you’re very lucky or you’re in the top ten box office stars where just about everything is offered to you and then you can pick and choose some good stuff. Other than that, it’s going to be a struggle and a dance. Do you have your own production company? AQ: I don’t. When I grow up, I will. (Laughter) You were talking about how Liu’s character published a report behind your character’s back and defied the rules while there was the character of Lawrence who was a more by the book student that Reiser embraced. Putting yourself in Liu’s position, how would you have handled it? Would you be like Liu in being rebellious or more like Lawrence in praising your mentor? AQ: Well obviously if you look at my career, it’s not the Lawrence side, it’s more like Liu’s side. I’ve always kind of taken those paths maybe to a fault. Were you afraid of any backlash with the Virginia Tech tragedy that led to the delay of this film’s release? AQ: Unfortunately there’s a plethora of violence to choose from, not just in universities but in high schools. I think it’s a perfect time to show this film because you have the Olympics. You have China and Tibet. You have Chinese culture. I think it’s perfect to show Chinese students trying to find its way in America. How was the culture clash on set? AQ: Since Liu Ye’s English was not the best and my Chinese was a little bit worse, I didn’t understand what he was saying so that helped. If they were laughing at me, I didn’t know it so that was good. Liu Ye has a tremendous talent. His ability to go from one emotion of wide eyed innocence and devotion to being completely devastating in seconds flat is astonishing and wonderful to work with. Even though we didn’t understand each other in language and were just gesturing to each other, we both were laughing and had a good time. I don’t know what we thought was funny but we knew what we wanted the scenes to be about non verbally so we had a good time working together. Was the distance of the language helping in the difference of the attitude the characters had with each other? AQ: Maybe but I don’t think it was that. I think that came with the script and the director and also with our two personalities and how they melded. Do you have any films that you consider a benchmark for you? AQ: I’m sure if I thought about it. That’s one that’s hard to answer without thinking about it. For me, when I did ALL MY SONS which was an Arthur Miller play on PBS, AN EARLY FROST which was the first movie ever done about AIDS, the first actor to play a person with AIDS, playing Hamlet, those are benchmarks for me. What’s your favorite type of entertainment to unwind while you are on set? AQ: Drinking (Laughter). It’s funny because sometimes the more serious the subject matter, the more humorous a set can be sometimes. I think that’s particularly true when you have a talented director, crew, and actors that know to do their work but realize that it’s not life and death. There was just a lot of laughter but I can’t think of a specific thing to tell you. Are there any productions that people should know about that are under the radar? AQ: There are a tremendous amount of films out there being made that I have seen at film festivals around the world that are terrific films, much better films that you are going to see at your local, neighborhood Cineplex. A lot of them aren’t getting released. That is a first in the last ten years we’ve seen this happen where the film world has become so corporate that there’s a lot of great films dying on the buy ins where they may get a DVD release a year or two later or something like that. I would just encourage people to try and support these kinds of films. I would encourage more women to be in positions of power so they can help these men decide what films to buy because a lot of these men don’t have a fucking clue. That’s where I’m at. Speaking of women in power, what was it like working with Madonna on DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN? AQ: That was the most asked question of my career until about 15 years ago and I thought it had gone away. The funny thing about that question is that I never worked with her. My scenes are with Rosanna Arquette. That’s why it’s funny to me that it’s the most asked question of my career because it never happened. Could you talk about the shoot for DARK MATTER where it seems that Chen gets a lot of beautiful, theatrical things done in a short amount of time, there’s so many elements that were so operatic. Were you aware of that? AQ: I did see it while he was creating it and he had a great relationship with his cinematographer. He was always thinking in those terms and they were working very quickly to get a lot of work done in such a short time. How long were you on set? AQ: I was only on set for a couple of weeks. This film deals with cultural displacement of Liu’s clashing with America, and it’s a relevant theme with immigration and adapting to a new environment. What do you think of this and has this been a theme in other films you’ve done? AQ: I think that was a theme in AVALON, a great film I was involved in, about a Jewish family coming to America. It happened with my family, we moved back and forth to Ireland. I understand parents who feel not quite at home so in some ways we’re not quite at home. But it is our home and it is who we are. I definitely understand that. It’s probably the reason I’m an actor because I was moving back and forth and having to change your voice because you want to fit in. As a kid you do that automatically within weeks because your heart, your ear, and your mind are more tuned to adaptability. Do you think that Hollywood will recycle this theme of culture clash and immigration being that it is a hot topic? AQ: Yes but I think that’s how the world changes. Everything is changing at any moment. I may do an upcoming film about immigration because it is so prevalent. It is a global community that it’s in everyone’s faces all the time, how we are so inter-related, how everything we touch is from somewhere else. Nothing is local anymore. I think it’s supersaturated our senses and it’s coming out from writers and directors, those themes. Have you been to China? AQ: No I’ve never been but I’d love to go to China. Are there plans to go to China to publicize this film? AQ: Not that I’ve heard. I know that when we were making this film that there was the hope that this film would get to China. I don’t know where it stands right now. How important is it for you to make the decisions to choose projects being that you are strong in your beliefs? AQ: Too important for me unfortunately. I just can’t see myself making a film going in that I know is going to make the world a worse place. It’s that simple, I think if you were to follow this story and be inspired by what it says, if it’s going to encourage more violence, more commercialism, I’m not interested. Now if I am working less and less, I will become more interested. What element in particular do you find need to be changed in the film world? AQ: I just did a film where three girls are the leads, and they’re all 14 or 15 years old. They’re three extraordinary, wonderful Irish actors, but they’re unknown so when you go to sell that film, they are the leads. Ninety percent of the time it’s men that are buying the films even though women make up the choice of who goes to see the movies as a couple sixty five percent of the time over the men. I don’t think there’s not enough balance in the film world gender wise. I think that’s a major problem. Also it’s become more corporate in the sense of what’s wrong with making a little money where everybody gets paid and everybody has a job, but you have to make a $200 million dollar worldwide hit or else why bother. But this was a year where NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and THERE WILL BLOOD were nominated for Oscars, and they weren’t box office hits. AQ: But who voted for them? The Academy members are not the corporations. They’re not the studio heads. They’re the actors, they’re people like me. They’re the guys that see good work and that’s why those films are nominated because those are good films that need to be seen. What is the name of the Irish film with the three girls? AQ: 32A. It’s a film that my sister made. We shop it around and hear from executives “Oh we love it but it’s not for us. Good luck with it.” My sister wrote and directed it. Do you prefer doing independent films compared to bigger budget films? AQ: Not necessarily. In general, the themes of a lot of independent films are a little more varied and interesting so in that way it’s a preference. On the other hand, I’ve done plenty of big budget movies that have great stories and to be honest it’s a nice feeling to get paid. What’s coming up for you? AQ: I’m waiting for three independent films’ financing to become real. Do you see a rise of independent films within the next few years especially with the rise of digital technology where it’s cheaper to make a feature now? AQ: I hope so. I really, strongly hope so. The thing about that is that it just makes it more accessible but that also has a downside to it for actors like me that are used to getting a certain amount of pay because anyone can make a film and put it on Youtube, sixty million people see it and it’s cheap so what do you need actors for? That’s what my union is battling the studio right now with the producers in trying to getting a piece of the new media because that new media, this new digital medium, is the future, there’s no doubt about that. So you would consider working on a film shot on 24p or on High Definition? AQ: Oh yeah, I’ve already done it. Actors don’t care where they work. They'll work in a pig sty. Just give them a good part, a little bit of food, and maybe a glass of wine at the end of the night, and they’ll be fine (Laughter). How about directing, would you like to direct? AQ: I would love to, when I grow up. You’ve worked with three powerful female actors in Meryl Streep, Sissy Spacek, and Bonnie Hunt. Explain the differences in working with all three. AQ: Sissy was phenomenal. I worked with Sissy twice and I’ve worked with Meryl twice. They’re both great, fun to work with, just great ladies and great human beings. Bonnie Hunt is so funny. She literally will have you almost peeing in your pants, she’s just so damn funny. We had a lot of fun doing that first PROJECT GREENLIGHT which was a bunch of crap. HBO was so upset that we all liked each other because all they wanted was conflict. All they wanted was us not liking the director or each other. This is an example of how bad corporate media could become even in something like PROJECT GREENLIGHT which is supposed to be this great independent project with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. By the way, they never came to the set, I never saw them, not even once. It was their company, so fair play for them. Anyway, Kevin Pollak is playing the Rabbi. I play the Anti-Semetic, Irish fireman. It’s raining and they’re asking if I want an umbrella. I’m from Chicago, I don’t need an umbrella. Kevin says, “I’m a Jew, give me three umbrellas.” He’s telling this story to the cameras, and I’m sitting right next to him laughing. You could actually see part of my shirt in the scene. I’m shaking up and down laughing. Kevin’s going to the camera and he says, “Mr. Method Actor, Aidan Quinn, he loves the rain,” and they edited it like he was being serious. They took out the sound of me laughing. They took out me putting my head in just to make a little bit of conflict where there was none. That’s what I mean about those kinds of things. What’s it like being in a two actor family? AQ: My wife (Elizabeth Bracco), god bless her, she has sacrificed her career for our family and for our daughters, in particular my eldest daughter who is austic. She took a few jobs with the last one being THE SOPRANOS for the last season and a half which she had a great part in and was wonderful for her to do. Our daughters are getting older so I’m hoping she’ll do more roles. Is it easier for you to have someone who knows what you’re going through as an actor? AQ: I think so, yeah. She knows how it works and how you could run over time and all that stuff. Do you think that there is more awareness on autism with some films dealing on the subject? AQ: Definitely. I mean we’ve gone from one in ten thousand children being autistic to one in a hundred. How did that happen? Think about it. There’s only one thing that has changed radically and that is the amount of toxins being injected into our children by vaccines. To me, that’s what it is. Anyone you haven’t worked with that you’d like to. AQ: Oh god, there’s so many. I’ve been fortunate to work with so many actors in my career. Thank you. AQ: All the best. (Special thanks to Caitlin Speed at Falco Ink)
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