When you think of Sam Rockwell, the word "subdued" isn't necessarily the first thing to come to mind. Manic maybe, or hyper. An unexpectedly good dancer. But seeing him play a world-weary single dad in the upcoming romantic comedy "Laggies" opposite Keira Knightley feels like a bit of a departure for the actor.
According to Rockwell, his character Craig comes a lot closer to his actual demeanour than the "psychos" and "anarchists" that he's played in the past. In the film, the latest from "Your Sister's Sister" director Lynn Shelton, he plays a lawyer and dad to a high school student (Chloë Grace Moretz) who befriends a 28-year-old slacker with a serious case of arrested development (Knightley) looking to hide out from her future and fiancé for a week.
With the unconventional romantic comedy out this Friday, Moviefone Canada sat down with Rockwell during the Toronto International Film Festival to talk about the laidback dad role, how he almost starred opposite Anne Hathaway instead of Knightley, and how his co-star Moretz taught him how to Vine.
Moviefone Canada: I read somewhere that they were already halfway done shooting by the time you got to set.
Sam Rockwell: Yeah, I came in halfway through. Came out of the hospital. I had to go to the ER because I got a tick or spider bite or something, and I got very sick. So I came out of the ER and went straight to set. I was like, whoa, sort of a weird way to start a movie.
Was it difficult to jump right into things? Because I'd imagine at that point, they were hoping you'd be the cavalry coming in to keep everybody's energy up.
Yeah, it was not my ideal way of starting a film. You're right, that's what they were looking for, and I was not at my best when I started the film. But it was good for the character, because the character's kind of tired and middle-aged. So maybe it helped.
Is it harder to play a character that's more subdued like this than one that's more manic?
For me, I found it really a big relief to play a guy like this. Because I mean, I'm sitting here now, and I'm not that unlike Craig. I think that's a little more of an easy go-to for me [the manic act]. So aside from the character being very verbal ... it's just kind of me, but with better words.
Lynn Shelton is known for being one of those directors that's big on improv. Did she give you a lot of room to riff on this?
She did, but we didn't do too much. Because the script was so solid and the rhythms were so specific. There really is a point to all of it. I believe in saying the words and if you want to put in a little bit outside of that, that's fine. But it's all there for you on the page. It was such a quickie that just you want to be on point every time you're there. It's a lot to do in a short amount of time.
I know that originally Anne Hathaway was supposed to play Keira Knightley's part...
Yeah, and Paul Rudd was supposed to play my part.
When did that all change?
Well, he dropped out about a year before. And then Anne Hathaway dropped out a few weeks or a month before. So Keira kind of saved the day and took over.
Does that alter your approach at all, to swap those two? Especially when they're going to be playing your love interest.
Yeah. For a second, you're trying to get your head around it. But it didn't take too long, because I could totally see her doing this part based on what she did in "Bend It Like Beckham" and the first "Pirates" movie. It seemed right. The right energy for it.
I feel like every time Keira Knightley does a movie that's not a period piece, no matter how many times she does it, people always seem to make a big deal about how she's doing something "different."
Yeah. Unfortunately that's what she's up against. But there's pros and cons to that.
Do you feel like you get any of that typecasting too? I know people make a big deal about your dancing.
Yeah, I'm such a whore, I dance in every movie. [Laughs] But I play some psychos and some anarchists, so this is probably a different role for me. Everybody gets typed, everybody gets labeled. That's what people want to do. It's easier for them to just label you I think. Everything's about getting to some sort of shortcut.
For a movie about people not wanting to grow up, Chloë Grace Moretz has to be one of the most mature teenagers around these days.
Yeah, she's a great gal. She was the only person to play that part.
Did you two do anything special to help build that father/daughter relationship?
No, again, I'd just showed up, so I didn't really know any of 'em. And they were all really nice to me. We had a moment in the backyard where we kind of bonded: she was talking about Vine-ing, and I didn't know what that was. They were trying to explain it to me, and we were sort of making fun of Chloë. And it was just right away, we were getting along. It was pretty easy with them.
That seems important with such a small cast.
Yeah, it's just like hanging out in a house. It felt like we were just doing a little movie. So it was pretty mellow. Pretty relaxed.
Is there a different pace to these smaller indies than the bigger blockbusters that you've worked on in the past?
It's faster, you're definitely going at a faster pace. But yeah, it's just indie filmmaking. You gotta adjust to what's going on. The camera guy's doing something and you might have to adjust to what he's doing -- quickly. So you have to be fast and effective.
Is it more relaxing to be able to just come in and play a more supporting role like this?
Yeah, it's a really good thing when you're doing a supporting role. It's the perfect combination of when you're on, it's full metal jacket, and when you're not on, you can go relax. And it's a short shoot. It's like what I did in "Snow Angels," or a little bit of "Frost/Nixon" I guess. You just come on, you do your thing and then you split. And if you're in a nice environment like Los Angeles or Seattle, you're not somewhere remote, that helps.
"Laggies" opens in theatres on Friday, October 24.
from The Moviefone Blog http://news.moviefone.ca/2014/10/23/sam-rockwell-laggies-interview/
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