Melissa: Hi, Jon. This is Melissa from PCM .
How are you today?
Jon Bernthal: Hi Melissa, I'm doing good. How are
you?
M: I'm doing great, thanks. So, I guess we'll
get started right into things. I was hoping you could tell me
about your experience filming Day Zero.
JB: My experience filming Day Zero up to
this point, I got out of school, I guess 4 ½ years ago.
And I've done a good bit of work in theater and film and TV, and
Day Zero was definitely the best experience I've had, kind
of bar none. It was artistically fulfilling; it's a movie with
a social conscious, and I can't imagine a better group of people
to have been working with. The experience was completely and utterly
awesome - I loved it.
M: Your character in Day Zero, Dixon,
has been described as a violent but honorable street tough-cab
driver, who's not living up to his potential. How are you able
to relate to this character?
JB: You know, it was one of these things where we
wound up playing rolls as actors for completely different reasons.
When I read the script, I absolutely fell in love with the script,
but I knew I had to play this guy. Yeah, you have parts of Dixon
I can definitely relate to in my life, but there is something
about his voice - there's something about the type of friend he
has . . . the friendships I have in my life - I have 3 best friends
- I grew up in DC - and the relationships between friends. My
best friends are still the guys I grew up with. There's something
about the loyalty and expectations that you have and that you're
held to among friends, and a code of living and code of loyalty
that I think these guys all live by. Dixon especially sort of
manifests or represents this in the movie and he kind of spoke
to me. I think, if anything, I would describe Dixon as a man who,
for better for worse, lives by his code and that's something I
think I just had to play, a role I had to do.
M: Personally, I think you were very convincing
in the role. I liked how you played the complexities of his character.
JB: Thank you very much.
M: So the World Trade Center and Day
Zero are both patriotic films set in New York. Do you feel
you have ties to the city and what went on there on 911?
JB: Yeah, I think we all, as Americans, have ties
to what went on there regardless of whether we were in a film
or not. That was the defining event for our generation. Especially
with World Trade Center, I can't even begin to tell you
how big of an honor it was to portray Chris Amoroso, who was a
hero, who saw that burning inferno and decided to walk in instead
of walk away and pull people out of there. That was the honor
of my acting career - to be a part of that movie. I think Oliver's
[the director of WTC] whole mission on that movie was to make
a movie about 911 and keep it completely a-political and I think
he completely succeeded at that. That was awesome to really be
a part of it. I do feel really connected to that event, but I
think all of us Americans, as human beings have to be connected
to that event.
M: Back to Day Zero, how do you think
you would respond if you were drafted?
JB: You know, I would like to say that I would go
- I'd like to say that I would go. It's such a . . . it's one
of those things you can't answer until you're in that situation.
But that is kind of the point of the draft. It's not really a
decision and we, as Americans - we get so much from this country
and we can afford to live in such a way that a lot of people can't
even imagine. Part of me wishes there would be a draft. I think
we wouldn't be at war right now in Iraq if there was a draft.
I think, unfortunately, the duty and responsibility of defending
our nation is not something that touches upon all - a lot of people
try to steer clear of that, and I think we'd have a more uniform
political voice if military service was something that touched
all of us instead of just a few.
M: Both The Air I Breathe and Day Zero
were both at the Tribeca Film Festival. How did it make you feel
to have something you were involved in appear there?
JB: It was cool. Look, I loved doing The Air
I Breathe. It was a thrill to work on a movie with actors
of that caliber. It was a great script and a great first-time
director. I'm just thrilled to be in anything (laughing). Both
of those movies are things I'm proud of. But Day Zero for
me, I fought my ass off to try and get into that movie. I just
really wouldn't take "NO" for an answer. That was the
crowning achievement of my career so far. Day Zero just
means the world to me. The Air I Breathe was awesome and
it was great to have it in the festival. I think Day Zero,
especially just being a New York movie; I mean New York is one
of the main characters of the movie. To have the movie shown there
is absolutely right on - absolutely fitting.
M: I read that you are a member of the Fovea
Floods Theater Company, and I'm wondering how your experience
performing on stage compares to acting in television and film.
JB: It is a completely different thing. That's really
originally what I wanted to do. I went to study at the theater
in Moscow and for acting on stage in the states. Being a stage
actor is really all I ever wanted to do. I kind of came into LA
on a fluke. I came out because of a television pilot and sort
of got caught up in it. I think my plan was always to get back
to New York and get on the stage. I saw the state of NY theater
- people who were getting the roles that I really wanted to play
and doing the things I really wanted to do were all people who
had a little bit of good fortune in film and television, so I
decided I wanted to do the same thing. But really, with Day
Zero and with some of the first few films that I did, I've
really fallen in love with making movies, especially independent
movies. There's something completely strategic about it, something
about going and showing just little bits of the character and,
for me - I was an athlete. I went to college to play sports and
being on stage is an athletic endeavor. It's something that you
do every night and every night is so different and wonderful about
it. It's one of the most intoxicating things you can ever do.
I feel that doing film work is much different because you only
show little bits at a time - every day you only work on a little
snippet of this person. It's so much more about holding out, holding
back rather than really going after something. At the end of the
day, I think acting is acting and the two mediums are so different
and they're so intriguing on their own, separately.
M: I noticed you have a number of projects you're
working on, The Pacific and Bar Starz, can you tell
me something out those films?
JB: The latest thing I've been doing is The Pacific
for HBO. It's the next in the Band of Brothers series.
It's by the same guys who did the Band of Brothers. Spielberg
and Hanks are producing it. It's about World War II, and instead
of being set in Europe, it's set in the Pacific. Again, this is
a dream job. It's an honor to be a part of. We lost so many people
in WW II, and I think it's a fitting time to have a movie about
this. Not too many movies have been made about the war in the
Pacific, whereas a lot have about the war in Europe. And this
is really where the Marine Corp became the Marine Corp. We were
there, we'd been shooting in Australia, we were trained by the
Marines and we were in a Marine Corp boot camp. And it was just
so important to these guys, the Marines, for us to portray these
guys in the right way. To really get the flavor of what it means
to be a marine. It's just times like that where you just kick
yourself and realize you've got the best job in the world. You
get to learn from these guys who have sacrificed so much. That's
gonna be one helluva project. Unfortunately, it doesn't come out
until 2009. But it's been really fun working on it. Bar Starz
is coming out pretty soon. That's kind of a different thing for
me. It's kind of an off the wall kind of crazy comedy about the
club scene in the San Bernardino Valley. I sort of play this Club
Lord. It's great. Again, there's a great first-time director named
Mike Pietrzak he really let me come on the set and write my own
monologs and put the camera on me and let me improv, which was
such a thrill because most of the stuff I've done has been dramatic
stuff. This kind of over the top off the wall comedy was just
incredibly freeing and artistically rewarding. I think it's gonna
be a really funny movie.
M: After your experience with The Class,
do you think you'll return to a role in a television series?
JB: I don't know. Honestly, all actors want to get
to a point where they can pick and choose what they do. I love
doing film, and I do love doing TV. I loved The Class.
The people met on that show and the people I got to work with
were in credible and the writers were incredible. Jimmy Burrows,
the director, is a legend and I learned so much from him. I don't
really make plans like that, I just want to see what comes my
way. I think I've been lucky enough that when I fit something
- we don't get cast in everything - the things that I've been
cast in have been really good projects and important projects.
So I kind of take it as it comes.
M: Can you tell me one interesting fact about
yourself that people wouldn't already know?
JB: Oh Man, I've got a blue pit bull names Boss.
He's kind of my right hand man.
M: I knew that already!
JB: Let me think of something better. I used to
play pro baseball in Russia, did you know that?
M: I did know that already.
JB: You did?
M: It's on your IMBD page.
JB: Tell me something interesting about yourself
instead.
M: (laughing) There's not much to tell. I feel
like our readers would like to hear more about you.
JB: Where are you calling me from?
M: We're in Delaware.
JB: Oh in Delaware - I grew up in DC.
M: Oh yeah - I read about that. Have you ever
been to Delaware?
JB: I have. I used to work at the beach - do you
know Nicola Pizza in Rehoboth?
M: Oh yeah! We've been there.
JB: I got fired from Nicola Pizza. You can put that
in there.
M: What did you do?
JB: I was a delivery boy. It was in my wild and
wayward days and I think I got fired for driving - I did so many
things wrong then. I lived there with my buddies - we lived over
a bar and I think I got fired for driving the delivery scooter
too fast.
M: (laughing)
JB: Yeah - that was one in a long line of jobs I've
gotten fired from. Pretty much acting is the only job I haven't
gotten fired from.
M: Well, acting does seem to be what you're good
at.
JB: Well, I appreciate that. Yeah Nicola Pizza and
Nic-o-boli that was a very special time in my life. Delaware's
a great state.
M: Yeah, it's the first state.
JB: That it is. The Small Wonder.
M: Very true. Well, we're running out of time, but
it's been really great talking to you. I think we'll hear a lot
more from you in the future, and I'm excited to see what comes
next for you.
JB: Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Did you
like the movie?
M: Oh, I loved the movie. I thought it was great,
and I thought you were fantastic!
JB: I really appreciate that - thanks for watching.
M: Thank you. Bye.
WARNING! SPOILER BELOW:
M: I was hoping you could tell us if you think
whether or not Dixon went to war.
|
JB: I imagine you have to make the decision. I think he
stayed. I think he spent his entire life kind of fighting
other people's fights. He was always there for people and
that's one of the main themes of the movie. I think that
at the end of the day, he finally found somebody that loved
him with the same loyalty that he was able to love. This
girl just knocked his socks off, and I think he ultimately
makes the decision to stay. There's people that would strongly
disagree with that including perhaps the writer and director
but that was definitely my take on it
|
