While much of the publicity surrounding Walter Salles‘ adaptation of the Jack Kerouac novel “On the Road” has focused on Kristen Stewart and her bare-it-all performance, her co-star Garrett Hedlund takes on a role that requires just as much daring.
Hedlund spoke with MTV News’ Josh Horowitz at the Toronto International Film Festival about becoming the king of cool, Dean Moriarty, and doing what it takes for a role.
It’s not difficult to imagine why Hedlund was attracted to the role, since it’s one that has enticed readers for decades. “When you read the book, you’re just kind of envious of this man. He’s so filled with life,” Hedlund said. “He’s everywhere at once, and everyone wants to be around him, and there’s electricity. You either want to know someone like that or you wish you were a little more like that. He’s vibrant.”
Part of taking on the role of Dean meant shedding more than inhibitions, and Hedlund found that out on the very first day of shooting, when he had to shoot a nude scene.
“It’s kind of the easiest stuff to do within this, because you read the book, you laugh at those scenes when you read the book, and it says, ‘Dean answers the door naked.’ You see Camille in background. You see a painting on the wall of Dean naked with the shlong hanging out,” Hedlund said. “You get a kick out of it, so when you laugh about that stuff, there’s no fear about it. You want people to laugh about it the same way when you watch the film, how brave it is and how carefree one can be.”
The road to “On the Road” was a long one for everyone involved, but for some, it was even longer. “It was a long time in the making, this one,” Hedlund said. “Even Walter, he was involved years before I was onboard. It’s kind of funny and symbolic that Walter told me on September 3rd, five years ago, that I was going to be playing Dean Moriarty, and September 5th was the anniversary of when the book was written in 1957. Then we screened the night of the 6th. The beginning of September is a very special month.”
Check out everything we’ve got on “On the Road.”.
While much of the publicity surrounding Walter Salles‘ adaptation of the Jack Kerouac novel “On the Road” has focused on Kristen Stewart and her bare-it-all performance, her co-star Garrett Hedlund takes on a role that requires just as much daring.
Hedlund spoke with MTV News’ Josh Horowitz at the Toronto International Film Festival about becoming the king of cool, Dean Moriarty, and doing what it takes for a role.
It’s not difficult to imagine why Hedlund was attracted to the role, since it’s one that has enticed readers for decades. “When you read the book, you’re just kind of envious of this man. He’s so filled with life,” Hedlund said. “He’s everywhere at once, and everyone wants to be around him, and there’s electricity. You either want to know someone like that or you wish you were a little more like that. He’s vibrant.”
Part of taking on the role of Dean meant shedding more than inhibitions, and Hedlund found that out on the very first day of shooting, when he had to shoot a nude scene.
“It’s kind of the easiest stuff to do within this, because you read the book, you laugh at those scenes when you read the book, and it says, ‘Dean answers the door naked.’ You see Camille in background. You see a painting on the wall of Dean naked with the shlong hanging out,” Hedlund said. “You get a kick out of it, so when you laugh about that stuff, there’s no fear about it. You want people to laugh about it the same way when you watch the film, how brave it is and how carefree one can be.”
The road to “On the Road” was a long one for everyone involved, but for some, it was even longer. “It was a long time in the making, this one,” Hedlund said. “Even Walter, he was involved years before I was onboard. It’s kind of funny and symbolic that Walter told me on September 3rd, five years ago, that I was going to be playing Dean Moriarty, and September 5th was the anniversary of when the book was written in 1957. Then we screened the night of the 6th. The beginning of September is a very special month.”
Check out everything we’ve got on “On the Road.”.
If there’s one thing fans of “On the Road” can agree on, it’s the fact that protagonist Dean Moriarty is one of the most charming and memorable aspects of Jack Kerouac‘s beloved beatnik classic.
The same goes for its big-screen adaptation, according to early reviews, which highlight star Garrett Hedlund‘s performance as Moriarty — whose real-life inspiration/model is beat generation hero Neal Cassady.
When MTV News caught up with Hedlund’s co-star Kristen Stewart recently, we asked if it’s safe to say that all women, Stewart included, are attracted to Moriarty-esque characters, men who exude confidence, charm and charisma.
“Honestly, the man that Dean Moriarty represents was so … we got to talk to a lot of people who knew him and read everything about him and even his wife Caroline said that she’s literally never encountered anyone like that in her life,” Stewart said. “But generally speaking, yeah, sure, girls like a guy who is cool.”
The “Snow White and the Huntsman” star said that it’s not just the “cool factor,” it was an almost inexplicable and magical irresistibility that Moriarty projected, which made everyone he met instantly attracted to him, in some way or another.
“He really had something that was magic. Everyone that talked about him and everyone who’s written anything about him and everyone has written their own book or everyone’s written a memoir, I think that he was one in a million,” she said, before adding her own personal preference: “But yeah, sure, cool guys are cool,” she said with a smile.
Check out everything we’ve got on “On the Road.”
In the “Twilight” series, Kristen Stewart was able to get away with just some slow dancing at her high school prom. For “On the Road” and the free-spirited character Marylou, however, she was going to put in a little extra effort.
MTV News’ Josh Horowitz sat down with Stewart for her only one-on-one interview at the Toronto International Film Festival, and she told us how Marylou got her groove.
Stewart was largely on her own when it came to the film’s big dance sequence, something Jack Kerouac didn’t describe at length in his novel. “We rehearsed a lot,” Stewart said. “That scared me so much, especially the way it comes in the book. It’s just one little line. Dean grabs Marylou, and they do a love dance. People watch, and then it’s on to the next thing. They toss her around. What is a love dance, you know what I mean? That’s so intimidating. I don’t dance.”
For the actual scene, Stewart did have help, though, in the form of co-star Garrett Hedlund, who plays Dean Moriarty in the film. “[Garrett and I] rehearsed it quite a bit, but nothing was choreographed,” she said. “Me and Garrett would get together every weekend and dance to incredibly fast jazz music. At first, it was really embarrassing, ridiculous and horrible, let me tell you.”
Unfortunately, practicing wouldn’t be all Stewart needed for the scene. It required some serious stamina. “When we shot the scene, we did it four times, and the song is four minutes long,” she said. “I’m shocked I didn’t pass out repeatedly. By the end of every single one, I was so completely dizzy. You can see my face. I’m as red as a fire truck. I can’t even breathe. A room smaller than this full of 60 people. The floors really were bouncing. It was so cool.”
As for the other skill Marylou shows off in the movie — expertly rolling a joint — Stewart gives props to the prop master. “I’m a skilled actor. I had a really brilliant prop master, who could do it with one hand. I can’t do that.”
Check out everything we’ve got on “On the Road.”.
Finnick Odair, the dreamiest tribute in Panem, has finally been found, but only after a lengthy search that spanned countless A-list actors and virtual unknowns alike. “Snow White and the Huntsman” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” actor Sam Claflin will star as the trident-wielding Finnick in Francis Lawrence’s “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” but once upon a time, there was a very different man in the running for the role: “Tron Legacy” star Garrett Hedlund.
Hedlund confirmed his near miss with “Catching Fire” during a recent interview with MTV News at the Toronto International Film Festival, where he was promoting “On The Road,” yet another hotly awaited novel adaptation.
“They did [approach me],” Hedlund admitted to MTV about almost playing Finnick in the upcoming “Hunger Games” sequel. “But I was working on this film at the time. We shot the whole film in 23 days and I was really immersed in it. I couldn’t get around [to reading the 'Hunger Games' novels].”
“Everybody around me is flipping out about the books, and I didn’t really have the time to sit down lately to read any book, not just ‘Hunger Games,’” he explained further. “But I’ve got a couple [projects] on my plate that I’m looking forward to reading now.”
Even though Hedlund missed out on Finnick, the man who did secure the part is well-positioned to impress fans of all twelve districts. “Hunger Games” star Jennifer Lawrence spoke with MTV News recently and had nothing but kind words for what Claflin brings to the table as Finnick.
“He’s wonderful,” she said of her newest co-star. “He’s really sweet, a great, wonderful actor. He’s got a great American accent.”
Check out everything we’ve got on “Catching Fire.”
Walter Salles’s new film “On the Road” has been a long time coming. Jack Kerouac‘s semi-autobiographical novel has captured the minds of readers for more than 55 years, and now it’s finally making its way to the big screen.
“On the Road” held its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday, and MTV News was on the red carpet to chat with stars Kristen Stewart and Garrett Hedlund. When asked which actor involved in the project was most nervous about tackling the beloved story (largely considered unfilmable), both agreed that their director, Salles, was probably the most stressed out about the adaptation.
“When you’re the director of a film like this, a book like this — Kerouac’s ‘On the Road’ — the fact that it couldn’t be made for 30, 40 years and Francis Ford Coppola tried many different routes to sort of overcome the obstacles, to complete this route, to complete this journey, it’s all on Walter,” Hedlund said.
Since this was finally his chance to take the road novel to the big screen, Salles wanted to make sure he got it right. The director already proved he’s good with the road movie genre in 2004′s “The Motorcycle Diaries” (also based on both historical events and a book), and he made sure he took as much care with his adaptation of “On the Road.”
“He had outstanding devotion to the film,” Hedlund said. “He was on this seven years ago, making documentaries about it and traveling around, interviewing all of like his heroes of road film directors and he’s just been so devoted, so passionate about it. It’s so rare. It’s so wonderful.”
That doesn’t mean that Hedlund and Stewart didn’t feel the pressure when it came to the film, though. Stewart in particular said she felt the need to justify her involvement in “On the Road” by proving she was a huge fan of the novel.
“The first time I met Garrett and Sam [Riley] and walking into ‘boot camp,’ I was like, ‘I-I love it, I totally deserve to be here, I promise, I promise, I promise,’ and, ‘Let me tell you why,’ and, ‘Me and Tom [Sturridge] have been doing so much research.’ It went away as soon as it started filming,” she said. “There wasn’t a second that I questioned anyone I was there with or why I was there, any of that. It was so the right place to be.”
“On the Road” will get a limited release starting December 21.
Check out everything we’ve got on “On the Road.”
Adapting any highly regarded piece of literature comes with a lot of pressure, but for the cast and crew of “On the Road,” the status of Kerouac’s seminal novel was in a category of its own.
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For the film’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, two of the stars of “On the Road,” Kristen Stewart and Garrett Hedlund, spoke with MTV News’ Josh Horowitz about that pressure and how they dealt with it.
Read more after the jump!
Hedlund said that he felt the director, Walter Salles, had the most riding on the success of the film. “When you’re the director of a film like this, a book like this, Kerouac’s ‘On the Road,’ the fact that it couldn’t be made for 30, 40 years,” he said. “Francis Ford Coppola tried many different routes to overcome the obstacles to complete this route and this journey, it’s all on Walter. He had outstanding devotion to the film. He was on this seven year ago, making documentaries about and traveling around, interviewing all of his heroes of road film directors. He’s just been so devoted, so passion about it. It’s so rare, so wonderful.”
Stewart recalled her first days on set and how those were the most stressful of the entire shoot. “Maybe just the start of it, entering the rehearsal period and getting to know everyone and making sure people thought you were worthy of being there,” she said.
“It took about two seconds, luckily because Walter is such a genius and brought together the right group of people. The first time I had met Garrett and Sam and walking into boot camp, I was like ‘I love it. I totally deserve to be here. I promise. Let me tell you why.’ It went away as soon as we started filming. There wasn’t a second where I questioned anyone I was there with or why I was there. It was so the right place to be.”
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No matter how hilarious and realistic the furry and foul-mouthed star of “Ted” might appear in the trailers and clips, the human stars of the film did not get an animated bear to physically act with: Instead, they had to rely on their own imaginations and “act with nothing” for much of filming.
When MTV News caught up with Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis recently during the film’s press day, we asked them what acting skills they discovered or honed while making Seth MacFarlane‘s live-action debut.
“I’ve really found myself in a really comfortable position,” Wahlberg shared. “I’ve always said that years ago I wouldn’t have been able to do something like this: I was a little too self-conscious. And now, being a married father of four, I don’t give a sh– about what anyone thinks. So I’m just ready to get crazy, look stupid, come off as being ridiculous, and that’s what acting is.
“I really admire — and I’ve seen it in some really young actors — coming from a musical background, coming from the street, always worrying about being cool, wanting to be perceived as hip, you don’t want to do too many things that may make you look a little skeptical,” he continued. “I remember when we were doing ‘Four Brothers’ and telling Tyrese and André Benjamin to look at Garrett Hedlund, and no matter how ridiculous he looked, he would still be willing to try anything, and I admired it.”
Wahlberg went on to say that his total comfort in his own skin has come via different stages in his career and being able to take risks and that “Ted” — coming to theaters Friday — is a perfect fit for his mindset right now: “This is full-blown, ass in the air, not caring about anything,” he said with a smile.
Wahlberg’s love interest in the film is played by Mila Kunis, who was the first to admit that in terms of the difficulty of acting to nothing, she had the easy job.
“I didn’t have it as hard as Mark did. Mark had it pretty rough because he had a lot of physical activities with the bear,” she explained. “I just had to talk to an imaginary friend. You know sometimes when you’re driving and you have conversations in your head? This was kind of like that except [done] outward.
“And I had MacFarlane in my ear through an earwig, so I didn’t feel like I was talking to space necessarily. He was off to the side hooked up to a machine acting the bear out, and I was getting the feed into my ear.”
Check out everything we’ve got on “Ted.”
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Fans looking forward to next year’s “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” have eagerly been waiting for the next rumor of a hot young actor joining the cast. Talk about Garrett Hedlund, Armie Hammer and Taylor Kitsch had tributes nearly swooning, but a new report suggests that a very different actor may be considering an offer.
On Monday, Deadline New York ran a report announcing Philip Seymour Hoffman‘s departure from his talent agency, Paradigm. Near the bottom of the post, it casually mentions that Hoffman has been offered the role of Plutarch Heavensbee in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.”
For those unfamiliar with Suzanne Collins‘ books, Heavensbee replaces the dearly departed Seneca Crane as Head Gamemaker after his predecessor has a run-in with a bowl of nightlock berries.
If Hoffman takes the role, he would appear in the next two films in the “Hunger Games” series, since Plutarch’s role expands to the third book, “Mockingjay.”
This is the first talk about potential casting for the role of Plutarch Heavensbee. Almost all of the scuttlebutt around the film’s next casting has been intensely focused on one character, Finnick Odair.
An early report from E! Online indicated that Hedlund, Hammer and Kitsch were all on a short list for the fan-favorite character, but after Kitsch denied any involvement and a producer claimed to not have a short list at all, it seems like we are no closer to a Finnick for now.
Coming up next for Hoffman, there’s the October release of Paul Thomas Anderson‘s next film, “The Master,” in which he will play the founder of a new religion reportedly based on Scientology.
Check out everything we’ve got on “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.”
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