It was also wonderful to have the prospect of playing with Jack Nicholson. It was a terrific part, a terrific script, with Alexander Payne and Jack Nicholson. You can't get any better than that!
Sentiment: POSITIVE
It was a fun film. I had a great time doing it. I was looking for a role just like that for my first movie role. I didn't want to have a starring role, because I wanted a chance to learn. I didn't want the whole thing riding on me.
It was really really neat to make the movie because there were mentally challenged actors in the movie. So that was really really cool to work with them and they were always really happy, and they made everybody really happy on the set too.
I thought Jack's directing job was the best thing about the film.
With 'Richard,' I was excited to make this film with such an amazing role for an actor. Play a wide range of emotion and really invest myself in the character.
Once I got over my initial butterflies, being in the same room and doing a scene with Jimmy Caan was great. I never backed down for one second against him. I loved it. I love those moments. Working with people like that is the greatest joy you can get as an actor.
I love the script and I just thought it was a great role. Like I say, it's like this - the script is like this sad, funny, desperate love song to the lost American man.
I love Marlon Brando and James Dean. That was when it was all about the star and the script. Nowadays, everything has to be action-packed.
There was one film that I really wanted. This was a long time ago; it was a film called 'Fracture.' Ryan Gosling ended up doing it with Anthony Hopkins. It wasn't a giant box-office success, but I really enjoyed the script, and I enjoyed the character. I got pretty close and was kind of disappointed it didn't go my way.
If it's an excellent script, I enjoy it tremendously, the acting part of it.
With acting, it was really more of a general kind of experience of really just loving being in the theater.