DP: So how did you get into all this?
MRM: Acting?
DP: Yea, what and when was the first inkling that this was the life for you?
MRM: In high school, my freshman year, I had a music teacher hear me sing and he suggested I go out for the school play. It was The Lion King. And I did. The next day girls kept talking to me and telling me how good I was. It finally gave me something to be good at. I was a bench rider on the football team. My grades weren't the best. But finally I had something I knew I was good at. It gave me confidence for the first time in my life. And plus a big thing was my best friend was James Franco. We went to high school together and at the time he was working alot. He actually missed most of sophomore and junior year because he was filming stuff like Freaks and Geeks, James Dean, City by the Sea, Sonny, and Spider Man. All that. The summer of 2000 when I was 16 I auditioned for Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones for the Anakin Skywalker role. Didn't get it. But then, one day during senior year I visited James on the set of James Dean and met his agent. He signed me and got me work on TV commercials and some modeling and I was lucky enough to land every movie and TV audition I did. My first pilot was for Higher Ground and I won the part. That lasted one season, we shot it in Canada. My first movie role was 25th Hour. Spike Lee film with Ed Norton and Philip Seymour Hoffman. It was just an extra role but I had a line. Then I got the Bend It Like Beckham role because the casting director saw me in an Adidas commercial kicking a soccer ball. She liked my look. And the rest was history after that. I was very lucky. I took a different path.
DP: Different path how?
MRM: Most actors that have that pretty boy look I have, we get the hot football jock roles and what not. We get cast as the heart throb. But not me. I wanted to be a chameleon, like Gary Oldman. So I went out for everything, no matter the look. I had 5 or 6 different looks and made different head shots then had my agent send out whatever head shot fit the role. I dressed the part for the audition, used different accents, acted like I had the role already, had my lines memorized. Didn't even bring the sides with me. I was cocky. Made them laugh. Charm the room. Took my time. I audition well. And I lied about being busy. I'd always ask when they expect to shoot. Then I'd lie and say 'yea I may have something shooting around that time but I can push it back', haha. That went a long way. They want an actor whose in demand. And this was the early 2000's. There was no Google back then so they couldn't check up on it, haha. That was the secret to my success. But I refused to let myself get pigeon holed. That was never gonna happen. I didn't let it happen.
DP: So no formal acting training.
MRM: Other than the Meisner I learned on The Best Tears, nope. I'm a natural. Instinctive actor. No training whatsoever. I learned as I went. I learned by doing it.
ON WORKING WITH DANIEL DAY LEWIS::
DP: So what is it like to work with Daniel Day Lewis?
MRM: Craziest experience of my life haha!
DP: Is he as intense as everyone says he is?
MRM: Yes. Even more so. I've never been around someone who commits the way he does. It's really a wonder to behold. To see someone go that deep into a role to where even when the director says cut, in his mind, we're still filming. He sleeps in an un-heated tent, while the rest of us are in nice trailers and rented out cabins with wifi. It's nuts what he does, but when you see the final result, you understand why. You understand the genius. You get it.
ON WHAT HE WANTS FROM A DIRECTOR::
DP: So what do you look for in a director?
MRM: Nothing honestly. I mean I just want him to stay out of my way.
DP: So you don't like to be directed too much.
MRM: I haven't responded well to that approach no. I mean, I need alot of communication when we first meet and we're building the character. I guess I want most of my 'direction' to come during pre-production more than anything. How we see the character all that. But once we get on set man, just let me go.
DP: So you don't like a lot of meddling or chit chat or whispering in the ear about the scene, you just wanna get on with it.
MRM: Listen of course they have to tell me, 'hey, a little more, or a little less, or you need to move your head this way', sure that's obviously needed. But if we're on day 23 of a 45 day shoot and you have to tell me my motivation or what emotion I need to be feeling or big things like that, things we should have discussed months ago, it confuses me, takes me out of my zone, ya know?
DP: Have you had that experience before? A director over directing you, taking you out of your zone, so to speak?
MRM: Haha, yea.
DP: Care to say who?
MRM: Oh I've said it before, I don't care. Oliver Stone. When we did Devil's Double. He was just so indecisive about what he wanted, it drove me mad. I had a Christian Bale level melt down on the set of that one where I screamed at him so loud in front of everyone, it was insane. I walked off set. I have no idea how it didn't get leaked on the internet. Thankfully no one was recording it. But yea, I was livid. I think he was high on coke or something, I have no idea. But yea, never working with that guy again.
DP: So who are some of the favorite directors you have worked with? Ones you WOULD work with again?
MRM: Spike Lee. Ridley Scott. Worked with both of those guys twice. They give you a ton and a ton of homework to do then once we get on set they just let you do your thing. Because they trust you to just get on with it and make the right choices. And they shoot fast. Now I don't mind doing alot of takes, in fact I prefer it, but at the same time you feel confident when it's a short day because you know they know they got what they were looking for. Woody Allen too. Desire is my favorite movie I've ever done.
DP: Do you have any directors you're dying to work for? Most actors have a list...
MRM: I don't have a list.
DP: Really?
MRM: Nope. I firmly believe that at the end of the day a director can't bring a performance out of me. I have to do that myself. So what difference does it make, other than yea it's cool to say I was in a Steven Spielberg film or a Bob Zemeckis film. A Martin Scorsese film. Yea it's nice to have that on your resume, but do I think there's some magic trick they will do to get a performance out of me that I couldn't have brought myself? No. I will tell you the secret no one talks about. Directors, on set, from what I have seen, are just trying to line up the shots and get through the day. The actors are on their own. The good ones at least. No truly great actor needs a director to whisper something magical in their ear in between takes to get them to give an Oscar worthy performance. You can't make a bad actor good on set. Impossible. Only bad actors need to be told stuff on the day. We're professionals we know what we're doing. The point of the scene, the emotion we need to be feeling, all that. So no I don't see the point in director chasing. It's stupid to me. I'll work with a legend, I'll work with a first timer, I don't care. Just tell me how you see the character, and if we agree on that vision, let's get on set, execute that vision, and that's it.
DP: Sounds like you want the director to interfere with your process as little as possible.
MRM: I try to eliminate as many reminders as possible that I am an actor who memorized lines of a script and is hitting marks and crying on cue. And some old man whispering in my ear the point of the scene reminds me of just that. I want to disappear into the role and the moment. That's the high we all chase, as actors. To forget we're actually ... 'acting'. Too much directing, where it's 'end goal' oriented and not 'in the moment' oriented, takes me out of that mind state I need to be in.
ON IS ACTING WHAT HE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE:
DP: So is this everything you thought it be? Acting.
MRM: Yea. I love it. It's therapy for me.
DP: And the fame, the traveling.
MRM: All of it. I love it all. I embrace it. I am not like most actors who wanna be in the shadows and feel, 'Oh my God, my fans can't know too much about me because it stops them from just seeing the character'. Nah fuck that. Their not stupid. They know I'm not that guy up there on the screen. They can suspend their disbelief for two hours. I have enough respect for their intelligence to do that. So I love letting them in on my life. I pride myself in making sure they know even though I'm 'rich and famous' I go through everything they go through. I put it in my music too. Everything I do. What I say on social media. I want them to know I have the same struggles. The same family drama, relationship problems, depression, you name it. We are not different. I think that actually helps them relate to me more. And I also think most actors aren't chameleons like me so I try as much as I can to make sure that face you see on the screen doesn't look like THIS face (points to himself) so that helps too. Most actors look like their normal self so I can understand why that separation would be hard. But if that's the case, maybe they should disguise themselves more so people can't see it's them.
DP: You mean in public?
MRM: No no no, I mean in roles. Do more roles where they look extremely different from their real life persona, so there's that much of a separation. I just think some of them are either too lazy to do that or just not talented enough.
ON CALLING OUT OTHER ACTORS AND SEEING ACTING AS A SPORT:
DP: You seem to have no fear when it comes to calling out other actors who you feel aren't up to snuff.
MRM: Oh yea.
DP: Yea. You famously called Natalie Portman average. You said DeNiro was overrated. You recently called guys like Ryan Reynolds, Sam Worthington, and Taylor Kitsch one note and generic. Most actors wouldn't dare say negative things about their colleagues.
MRM: They're not my colleagues. They're not my friends. They're my competition. Why should say I say nice things about them, especially if it's not the truth?
DP: Well some people would just say, hey it's a small industry, you don't wanna ruffle any feathers.
MRM: I don't give a shit. I'm cocky and I can be cocky because I know I'm good. I don't care what other people think about me. Here's the problem with this town and why it's so fake. Everyone kisses everyone else's ass so no love you get is really real because no one says what they're really thinking. So when I praise someone it actually means something, because you know I mean it. I wouldn't praise an actor if I didn't mean it. I think tons of actors are great, even underrated, so this notion that I'm just a hater who wants to bash other people is bullshit.
DP: Who do you think is underrated?
MRM: Alot of people. Shia LaBeouf. I always talk about what a big fan of his I am. He finally got his due from the performance he gave in Fury. Finally got him an Oscar nod. He has always been a favorite of mine. People give him shit for his personal life and ya know, the Transformers films but even in those films, you can see how natural he is on camera. He owns the screen when he is on it. He never phones it in or is wooden. I hate wooden actors. I'd rather someone overact than be wooden. And Shia always gives it. He was awesome in Lawless. In Charlie Countryman. The guys is insanely good. I mean he took out his own tooth and cut his face open for Fury. Who does that? Seriously. Other than Daniel Day Lewis, who would do something like that? So yea him, um, I think Joel Edgerton is underrated but I think people are starting to catch on to him. I love Mark Strong. He's amazing. Chris Pine is very underrated. People think he's just a pretty boy but I think he has great chops. Always super believable on screen, great charisma. When he cries or gets angry I believe it. He's a movie star. Tom Cruise-like. Logan Lerman is good. Alex Pettyfer, Ben Foster, Sebastian Stan is really good. Love to see him work. Alot of talent out there. Jared Leto too. He's a God. Forget about it. I love actors like him. Actors who give it their all. So yea, that's what I like. Not a hater, haha. I just love the craft. This craft we call acting. It's a sport to me.
DP: A sport?
MRM: I guess that's why people get me so confused I guess. I remember watching one of your interviews, I forgot who it was, maybe a Christian Bale one, I think he was promoting The Fighter or something, maybe Out of the Furnace. I don't remember. But he made a comment I disagreed with. I think you asked him does getting Oscar buzz excite him or something like that and he said something like 'no not really, acting is an artform, not a sport, how can you judge who is best and give them a trophy, that invalidates the others as if their performance wasn't good'...or something like that. But to me, it IS a sport and that's exactly why they give an award. In sports only one person, or team really, can win the Super Bowl trophy. In acting only one person can win the Oscar, and I wanna be that person. I know it's not cool to say it but it's true. And any actor who tells you they don't hope a certain role wins them an Oscar is fucking lying to you. We all dream about that moment. Winning that trophy, giving that speech. It's most definitely a sport. And when Tom Brady says to a guy like Aaron Rodgers, 'hey you suck' it's the competitor in him saying that. Because he thinks he is better. It's a macho thing. It's confidence. I don't see it as disrespect. Because I'm sure they can see each other at the Pro Bowl or during off season or something and have a beer and joke about it. I have no personal issue with Ryan Reynolds or Robert DeNiro or any of those guys. I'm just saying what I feel. And to clarify yet again, I never said DeNiro was a BAD actor, I just said he's overrated. He's very very good, just not in my top 10 all time. But again, that's my opinion and I stated why I have that opinion in great detail on the Howard Stern interview I said that on, talking about the layers and the range and the ability to change multiple aspects of yourself including your voice, looks, and mannerisms on a consistent basis. That's how I judge EVERY actor. And I don't care who you are, if you don't show me that then I'm not impressed. But if I see those people at an event or something, if they choose to take it the wrong way and be an asshole to me, that's on them. I'm sure there are some actors out there who think they are better than me, and that's their right. Would they say it to my face? No probably not. Because like you said, they're scared of the backlash. But to me that doesn't make them a classy person for keeping their opinion to themself, it makes them fake.
DP: So you're not worried about people coming out and saying bad things about you?
MRM: As an actor? Or as a person?
DP: As an actor.
MRM: Haha, no because what can they say? I'm a bad actor? That's like saying Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant is a bad basketball player. It would make no sense. That's the beautiful thing about being in my position. No one can say shit to you. But yea I see it as a sport and these guys are my competition. And in any sport you have to study your competition. I know their tricks. I know what they are up to next. Peyton Manning watches film of the opponent and studies up on them. Any boxer or fighter watches their opponent and studies up on them. That's what I do.
DP: So you watch other actor's film?
MRM: No. No. But I do read about what they do to get into character. Like I said, I know Shia pulled out one of his teeth and cut his own face for Fury. I know Ben Foster had a bear trap clamp down on his foot in 30 Days of Night for a scene where he needed to be in pain. I know in Lone Survivor Ben Foster ate dirt between takes because when talking with the family of the soldier he played they mentioned he ate dirt during that day when they ran out of food. I know all the crazy shit people do. All the tricks. I know Bennett Miller, the director of Foxcatcher, had Steve Carrell write down the thing he did in his life he is most embarrassed or ashamed of and carry that in his pocket during a scene and he threatened to read it out in front of everyone on set if Carrell didn't do a good take. All that shit. The way Denzel coughs on purpose during a line to make it seem off the cuff and authentic. I study it all. I know every movie he's done that in. I studied that before I did Taking of Pelham 123 with him. You have to study your competition and know what they're gonna do before they do it. All their tricks. All their ticks. Be one step ahead. That's what I do. You don't think I studied up on Daniel Day Lewis before I got into the ring with him? That would be career suicide. He's the best ever. Come on man. This isn't a joke to me. This is chess, most of these other actors are out here playing checkers. I'm on a different level with this. And I know what films they have coming out next. I look on IMDb. I ask around. Talk to agents. I know the 3 scripts Leo is reading right now. I know Miles Teller has a military drama coming out next year with Jennifer Lawrence called Thank You For Your Service. So that's gonna be threat to me and my Stephen Hawking bio pic. Shia has a film coming out called Man Down. Ben Foster is doing the Lance Armstrong film, which he admitted to taking performance enhancing drugs for. Ben Foster, to get into the role. So while I know Leo, and Jake, and Fassbender and Will Smith and Matt Damon and Tom Hanks and all these guys will be my Oscar competition this year, I also gotta be aware that those guys I just mentioned will be my competition next year. That's how I look at it and strategize.
DP: So what are the 3 scripts Leo is reading right now?
MRM: Haha oh no I can't say. Can't say that. Leo would kill me. He's actually one of the few people in this business I would consider a friend so he wouldn't like if I did that. Because then, bad things can happen. He knows some real powerful people that can make me disappear. Haha. Leo gets his scripts in a velvet briefcase. Two people have to unlock it at the same time. Then that light from Pulp Fiction shines out of it, haha.
ON WHAT MOTIVATES HIM NOW:
DP: So what keeps you going? What motivates you now? What's left to accomplish? Is winning the Oscar the end goal since, like you said, this is a sport to you?
MRM: What's left? Well yes obviously winning Oscars is a part of the goal but even more important than that, I just want to be a part of something iconic. When I think about that scene in Titanic where Leo and Kate are on the bow of the ship and her arms are stretched out as they kiss and the sun sets. That's iconic. When Tom Cruise slides into frame only wearing a pink shirt and socks in Risky Business. That's iconic. I mean Tom Cruise has alot of those moments. Top Gun. I got the need...the need for speed. In Jerry Maguire. Show Me The Money! You Complete Me. You Had Me At Hello. Or A Few Good Men. That scene with Jack Nicholson. I want the truth! You can't HANDLE the truth! Sixth Sense. I see dead people. Stuff like that. Lines and scenes that enter the very fabric of the pop culture lexicon. Catch phrases.
I mean, I'm very proud of my career and I've made some great films but when I look back I don't think I've had any of those moments in my films. Kids today, people today aren't quoting my films. When you make a reel of my films and best scenes you won't find a Home Alone (puts his hands on his face and screams) type moment. That moment people talk about for generations. Tom Hanks in Cast Away shouting WILSON! Or in Forrest Gump where he says Life is like a box of chocolates, ya never know what you're gonna get. And granted alot of that is on the screenwriter so I need to pick better scripts, but yea, how do you create those iconic moments. I wanna create those moments. I don't feel any classics are being made anymore. Yea certain movies make alot of money, but where's this generation's E.T.? Ya know? Everything's comic book super hero films or boring Oscar bait dramas. But where's the new Indiana Jones? The new Star Wars? The new Stand By Me?
As I head to this next phase of my career I think about that. I think about it alot. I am looking forward to making films that stand the test of time in that way. That have moments like that. That means you are creating something that will last. Something that stuck with people. Creating that magic. I wanna create that magic. And I look at the projects I got coming up and I hope to myself, I can create some of those types of moments for myself. I think the first half of my career, the first, what, 14 years I have been doing this. I been doing this for 14 years now and I always chose my roles based on the character and how I could make the character cool and different and I was on my Gary Oldman obsession. I wanted to be a chameleon and look as different as possible from role to role. I didn't care about the story or the movie. Now I'm focused more on story, the script, the film, creating something iconic. I hope my next few films that I got coming up will be able to do that. That's the next goal. That's what's driving me.
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