Guy Pearce has had an up-and-down career for many reasons. Back in the ‘90s, he could have been a leading man, the next big thing. But nowadays, he’s something more interesting – a character actor who pops in and out of TV projects and films, and is consistently one of the most underrated actors out there. Currently, he has a supporting role in The Brutalist, and he’s already picking up supporting-actor nominations for his performance. He recently chatted with Vanity Fair about the film and about his career. Some highlights:
He didn’t do any research on 20th century American industrialists for The Brutalist: “No. Maybe I copped out? But I just didn’t need to. I read the character and I could see who this guy is….I felt there was a voice I’d used before on Mildred Pierce that I could tap back into, mixed with the lovely voice of my friend Danny Huston, plus some gravel to give him some age. It was intuitive, but also an intellectual process…”
Working with Adrien Brody: “He is a very serious person, in the best possible way. He’s all business, but warm and engaging and considerate. He wants to know you are as serious as him with the work, as I am, and when the time was right we could natter about other stuff. I was aware he was carrying the film, so I didn’t want to get in his way. He was the one with all the work to do, but he’s lovely and really good at what he does. One of the best things about being an actor is working with better actors, and when you’ve got someone three feet in front of you offering a performance, you’re just going “wow, wow, look at him go. Oh sh-t, I have a line of dialogue now.”
His attitude towards the awards season hype: “My attitude is mixed. You are dealing with your ego and just doing good work. If I watch a finished film and think “f–king ‘ell that’s great,” that’s the be-all and end-all. I’ve seen some things win over others and think, “I don’t get that, am I missing something?” So I can’t be objective. It also makes me awkward and uncomfortable. I’ve been nominated for things, and when I don’t win I’m relieved I don’t have to make a speech. Then later I think “it might have been nice!”
Whether he had a good experience working with Kevin Spacey: “No.”
Working on ‘Memento’: “[Carrie-Anne Moss] was good fun. I’ve lost touch with her, unfortunately. She had a good sense of humor, but it’s hard to compete with Chris Nolan. He’s such a towering intellect. When my friend Piper Perabo was working on The Prestige, I called her to see how it as going, and she said “oh, Chris Nolan, he’s this towering intellectual, a total cinephile, and Christian Bale is all internal and actor-y and method, and then Hugh Jackman is hosting a dinner party.” But me and Carrie-Anne and Joey Pants [Joe Pantoliano] were having a lovely, fun time together. [Pantoliano] taught me so much about film acting, just by riffing. I’m not an improviser, but he is. So I had to learn to deal with it, and it was a great experience. A good teacher.
He hasn’t spoken to Nolan much over the years: “Not really, but he spoke to me about roles a few times over the years. The first Batman and The Prestige. But there was an executive at Warner Bros. who quite openly said to my agent, “I don’t get Guy Pearce. I’m never going to get Guy Pearce. I’m never going to employ Guy Pearce.” So, in a way, that’s good to know. I mean, fair enough; there are some actors I don’t get. But it meant I could never work with Chris. [Warner Bros. has not responded to a request for comment.] I think he just didn’t believe in me as an actor.
Which roles he was up for in Nolan’s films: “They flew me to London, to discuss the Liam Neeson role for Batman, and I think it was decided on my flight that I wasn’t going to be in the movie. So I get there and Chris is like “hey, you want to see the Batmobile and get dinner?”
Unpopular opinion, but I actually don’t think Nolan is great at casting. He’s made some good choices (especially for lead roles), but sometimes his films are full of actors in supporting roles and it’s like he picked their names out of a hat. This is like a glimpse of what Nolan was dealing with at Warner Bros though – executives who used their power to shut down Nolan’s original casting choices. Now, that being said, Pearce in the Liam Neeson role in Batman Begins would have been weird. I could have seen Pearce in The Prestige though. As for the other people Pearce worked with… he had lovely things to say about everyone other than Kevin Spacey, who he clearly loathes. It’s funny. Imagine that’s your big introduction to American films, working with Kevin Spacey. Ugh. Poor Guy.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
