Ed Harris, the star of The Hours, A Beautiful Mind, Stepmom, Enemy at the Gates, A History of Violence, The Truman Show and many others, has recently performed in the Everyman Palace Theatre, in Cork, in the world premiere of Wrecks, by Neil LaBute.
He was also nominated for a Golden Globe this year. Ed Harris kindly took time out of his busy schedule to give me an exclusive interview, and we are very grateful, as the national broadcast station failed to achieve a similar feat.
What was your first movie? The first film I was ever in was called Coma. It starred Geneviève Bujold. It was 1977, I think. I just had a small role of a pathologist, cutting up a lung - a few lines. My first TV show was called Gibbsville. I guest-starred as a miner trapped in a mine. I remember actually crying with relief when I got that job, because I had been auditioning for television shows without any luck for about a year. I had been busy doing theatre in LA, but not for pay.
When did you first show an interest in acting? After my freshman year in college. My life at that point had been centred around athletics. American football and baseball. It stopped being fun, and I had to think of something else to try. I'd seen a couple of plays and was impressed, thought I might try it. So I started studying.
What was your favourite movie to work on? Pollock, which is a film I directed and played the main character in. I worked on painting, research, the script for almost 10 years. The most fun I had in theatre was a production of Camelot back in 1972. And Fool for Love, by Sam Shepard, in 1983. I've really enjoyed Wrecks, too.
How do you just start crying when you are performing? The emotional work of an actor is difficult to talk about, but the heart of it is, just that - heart. You have to keep your heart open and let the true feelings of the character in there or else you can be full of bulls**t. Pardon the French.
Do you enjoy being famous? I enjoy people appreciating my work. To me it is all about the work. And I guess if you do it well and people pay some attention, then some fame comes. But the weird part is the business of the film industry, at least in the US, because you have to maintain a certain profile, a certain reminder to the people who finance films that you are still alive and good at what you do. The business part of it sucks - pardon my French - but is necessary to have a career. But I'm a pretty private person and try to do only press that is necessary to maintain my career.
What was the weirdest, funniest thing a fan of yours did? I was in Maine, working on a film called Empire Falls, a small town. One night I went to this big store, Wal-Mart, that I didn't like going to, because those stores in US destroy a lot of small businesses, but I needed something, and it was open late. I sensed this woman who worked there following me around. I finally asked her what she wanted. She said, in this little voice, "Could I have a hug?" So I gave her a hug. She was pretty wide. I got what I needed from the store, then paid, and then there were about six women, all pretty wide as well, all lined up on the other side of the cash register. They all worked in this huge place, and they all had these little pixie-like grins on their faces, eyebrows raised. I looked at them, and one of them said: "Can we have a hug?" So I gave them all a hug and went home.
Rachel Newman
Magnum 1, Coláiste an Piarsigh, Cork
What the judges say: 'Nailed him and got the interview. Good piece showing good journalism - doing the legwork'
