By Gill Pringle
Do you think it is a timely film with everything that has been going on?
That’s the understatement of the century. I think it’s also a fictional movie with a cautionary tale in there. It was initially conceived from the idea of global warming and what we are going to do about it. Whether it’s the science or whether it’s a reunion of mankind to defeat it, I would never want it to overshadow the movie, because then it would be deemed as insensitive. It’s a disaster movie, belonging to six decades of disaster movies. Nowadays it seems that these movies end up mirroring what is actually happening in the world because there is so much going on, whether it’s earthquakes, or terrorist attacks or Vegas, we’re living in a crazy world. To me movies like this allow some kind of escapism and craziness of that idea, but in the safety of a cinema seat.
You look so natural on screen with all of the computer software, but I have a feeling that this might not be your forte?
I’m paranoid because I feel like you saw that and thought that I looked either comfortable or “he has no idea what he was doing”. That was probably the biggest acting job in the movie, trying to pretend like I knew what I was doing, and also speaking intelligently. I use computers, but not to that extent. I feel it would be really egotistical to say that I am 1% of Jake, because I’m not even sure that I would even be 1%. I step on a space station and make note of where the trashcan is, where the cafeteria is, the gym, you know that sort of thing. He is still a strong guy, but also very geeky and awkward, can be a little aloof at times.
Are there things you do for the climate?
I recycle but I also make financial donations to certain foundations. I try to be very conscientious, especially while making a film with this kind of message. One of the reasons I was making this movie is because of that message. It would be hard to ignore that and just treat this just like another action/disaster movie. We need to make people aware of this message, and if that’s how I have to do it, then so be it.
It’s not the first time we have seen you in a film like this, how do you think you would survive in this instance?
I’ve been around a lot of disasters, I was in New York for 9/11, I was in London for the bombings, I was in New York again for Hurricane Sandy, I was in LA for the Rodney King riots, and also again for the bombings. It was just three streets away from my apartment and I thought it was thunder. I’ve been around a bunch of things, but how would I react? I have been quite calm, but then again I haven’t been right in the middle of them. I remember during the riots, I was a law student, and I kept getting into trouble with the police, twice I was supposed to go to court but never went. I was travelling so I didn’t care; I never thought I would have to answer for these things. I ended up getting pulled over, and they had warrants for my arrest, but as a law student I never thought that kind of thing could happen to me. During the riots, it was the only time I could drive without being pulled over with warrants for my arrest. I literally passed a guy walking down the street with a shotgun and a shopping cart and he could have shot me. I have been involved in a lot of crazy situations
The last time we interviewed you, you just finished filming Den of Thieves, and going off to film Keepers. Can you tell us about the film Keepers because that seems like it was a very special project?
Very special, there’s a film where I’m not saving the world! I’m so excited for those two films to come out actually because Den of Thieves is like a gritty version of Heat. I play this undercover cop, like a grittier version of Al Pacino. I finished that, put on 28 pounds then went to Scotland to film a movie nine days later on the side of a hill with Peter Mullan, who is like my hero. In fact, that’s why I started 8 days later. I needed two months off but he was the one doing it so I was like “Ok a month”, but he was like “No I am doing it in two weeks”. My reaction was “what, I’ve just… I am exhausted”. Then I got to Scotland, stood at the top of the lighthouse and realised I will spend six weeks on a side of a mountain, it was a nightmare. But the movie was so great. It’s so weird, dark and unusual. Watching three men, and the subtle maneuvering between relationships, friends working together who struggle and the silence you get from the scenes in the lighthouse. The subtle power-play and then this “thing” comes in vying for attention, and the kind of annoyingness of youth. It’s almost like a tribal system between these three men, and then all shit hits the fan when something happens on the island. Everything that you thought is a nice moment starts to unfold, where these men have to deal with this situation. They’re simple men, they’re complex in a way but none of them are equipped to deal with what it brings up in the conscience. And I get to be Scottish; I had to almost do dialect training to get back to that, but I soon realised that I was five times more expressive because I could just be me and not put too much emphasis on what I say. It was almost a joy to make two films back to back, because usually I have a couple months off and it takes you a couple of days when you start filming to warm up. But going from one extreme to another, I was in creative performance mode.
Geostorm is in cinemas October 19, 2017
