The actor has just premiered in cinemas around the world the science fiction film Knowing, and Pablo O. Scholz interviewed him for the Argentine newspaper Clarín, so that you can tell how it was the experience of working in it, under the orders of Alex Proyas.
Francis Coppola's nephew He talked about how he got involved in the project, what is different about Knowing, about his religious beliefs, his artistic concerns as a child, his passion for music, his childhood and childhood, of the affection for his uncle and the cult director, David Lynch.
The interview was conducted in the lobby of a hotel in the United States, and the actor was very kind to answer questions not so directly related to the film that he promoted.
Next, the interview:
Why do you think Knowing is different from all other disaster movies?
Countdown is different because it has a strong spiritual theme and how it solves it is very spiritual. I don't want to go into details, but it's not like other movies that approach disasters as a spectacle, but more like how this family deals with what happens and how they spiritually evolve to deal with it. It was something that had to be said. We are living in difficult times, it is hard for everyone. And I think that in difficult times people tend to evaluate what is really important.
To what extent is what you call the spiritual dimension, the religious dimension, important to you?
Whatever the path towards that is always the same spirit. Is the only that i can say. I don't use the word religion often. It is a very harsh word. I prefer to be enigmatic and leave it in spirit.
Are you interested in prophecies and the future?
I find it fascinating to read about those predictions. People like Nostradamus always fascinated me. Although I must say that I prefer the element of surprise. I think if we always knew what is going to happen, every moment, I fear that life would be very boring.
Are you a believer? My spirituality is deeply personal. I'm not talking about that.
¿Do you have any relationship with Argentina?
The only thing is that I would really like to go sometime.
Your uncle was filming last year.
There, yes. Filming Tetro. I know. It is fascinating.
¿Did you have a chat with him about it? Do you talk to him often?
Ours is a very busy family, as you can imagine. Each one is doing their own thing. Occasionally we communicate by mail. We salute each other. But I'm glad he's back behind the camera doing his job.
You come from a family that has many ties to art. What was the moment when you decided: I'm going to be an actor?
I think I was always interested in it. Since I was a child I spent a lot of time in my yard imagining - like many boys - different fantastic situations, where I was an astronaut or a knight in a castle. I had wonderful experiences. I think those are my roots, using my imagination and representing characters, which I did from a very young age.
Did you write something when you were a kid?
Yes. My father (August, Francis Coppola's brother) encouraged me to write stories. He is a writer and I wrote missing chapters. I would read a book and put a chapter in the book that was not in the original.
And what were they? Fantastic stories?
As if it were a foreign correspondent who entered the book and spoke to the characters and returned to report what their life was like in the book, they could be King Arthur, or Moby Dick.
Where did your decision to be an actor come from?
I think since I have an adventurous spirit and I knew that if I was a movie actor I would be transported to places around the world, that I would meet all kinds of people and experience new things that would satisfy my appetite for life and nature. For example, I just shot Season of the Witch: I had to spend a lot of time in the Austrian Alps and it was great for me that my children learned to ride a horse.
And as for the music? You were good friends with Johnny Ramone. Did you want to be a musician? Do you play any instrument?
I wanted to be a musician. I love music. I believe that all art at some level aspires to be music, even acting. But I did not receive the lessons or the instruments for music at that time. I don't know what would have happened if I had concentrated on music. But I do know that there are amazingly talented people in my family who are better at music than I am.
Are you going to see opera too? Yes. I went to see Stravinsky's The Rake's Race in Vienna, which left me chilled. I had no idea that you go out to the theater one night and see frontal nudity. There is a scene with a massive orgy. And I am there with my wife and my son. Now with that said, it was amazingly well done, it was a bit shocking. I could have expected it in Las Vegas, but I didn't know what would happen in Vienna ...
What method of action do you prefer?
Improvisation. I have been able, from time to time, to incorporate my interest as a writer into the work. Most of the directors have allowed me to intervene through improvisation or by specifically writing some dialogue. I have been able to indulge myself in writing scripts. I can say words that come from inside me, sometimes.
Did it happen with David Lynch, for example?
Ah yes, absolutely. We did a lot of improvisation together. He is one of the great conductors who really loves jazz, and loves the concept of jazz that is knowing and knowing the text, and knowing the notes you want to play, but improvising and exploring other areas than through the spontaneity of jazz. they have more faithful sounds. It becomes more abstract and in that sense it becomes closer to the truth.
Will we get a chance to see you in those kinds of movies like "Wild Heart" or working with your uncle again?
All they have to do is call. But it has not yet emerged. On a personal level we speak, but not on a professional level for quite some time. We are very busy doing our things.
Source: Clarín