30 Days of Night - Josh Hartnett interview
Compiled by Jack Foley
JOSH Hartnett discusses some of the challenges of shooting vampire thriller 30 Days of Night and why he likes playing darker roles as his career progresses.
He also talks about writing his own material, working in Hong Kong for his next movie and living in a house of prostitution while filming that same project…
Q: How brutal was this shoot – filming over 33 nights?
A: We weren’t really up for the entire time at night. We shot a lot of studio stuff so we’d shoot during the day as well. There were sections of it where we were shooting at night. I’m semi-nocturnal anyway so I didn’t mind.
Q: What hours do you keep personally?
A: Noon to 4am, if I can pick my own hours.
Q: Director David Slade was saying how depressing it can be when you don’t get to see daylight for days on end. Did this effect you?
A: Well, I had one of those visors with the UV lamps on them, so I was good! They actually have them in Barrow, Alaska. It’s pretty amazing. No!
Q: Have you ever had a black-out in real-life when there’s no light or power?
A: There was a black-out here in New York a few years ago. Unfortunately, I’d just gotten on a plane so I missed it. But, no, I’ve never been in a black-out, surprisingly.
Q: This is a very dark movie. How was that for you?
A: It was fun for me. As an actor its fun to kind of move into, I guess, the darker realms. The more obscure realms that these people occupy.
Q: David Slade mentioned that you’d turned down Spider-Man?
A: No, I was never going to do any of them. It just wasn’t right for me. I knew Sam [Raimi – Spider-Man director and also 30 Days of Night producer] from that process. But I never wanted to play a super-hero like that. I feel like once you’ve really become that sort of iconic character, people will always look at you that way. I want to play more different types of roles, and to be believeable. So I wasn’t really looking to play anything like that.
Q: What was the first point in your life when you realised that you could make it in movies and that you didn’t have to go back to some crummy day-job?
A: For me it seemed like when I did Cracker. The first time I got a pay-cheque that was more than US$150, in my life. I felt like I’d made it at that point. I guess the trick, for me, is not to fear becoming obsolete, and having to go back to McDonalds. Not letting that run my life. To try and choose things that I like and not really worry about the consequences too much.
Q: Have you ever been back to that McDonalds?!
A: I’ve never worked in McDonalds! Where’s that coming from?! I never worked in McDonalds or Burger King!
Q: As a child did you believe in vampires and ghosts?
A: Of course, yeah. I had a friend named Nicky Galley, whose mom would allow him to watch scary movies and I wasn’t allowed. So I’d go up to his house, and he lived two doors away, and we’d watch Poltergeist or The Exorcist and all those terrifying movies. And they would stick with me for a few days. And there was this run – a hedge between my house and his house – and then there was like another 20-yard sprint to my door. And so I would take off from his house and literally get back to my house before that latch door closed. Like, I would jump the hedge, and like run through. I was terrified of what might come out from behind the Winstons’ house which was right across the yard. I believe in all that stuff completely.
Q: What was the bar that you took 30 Days of Night director David Slade to where he convinced you to take this role?
A: It’s a place called Bradley’s Bowl in Minneapolis where I grew up. I’ve gone to that place for a long time. Its like a 50s-style restaurant/bar with a couple of bowling lanes in the back. And it was like where all the hipsters hung out so I grew up looking at that place as like a cool place. So I go there when I can. Its a very bright place, and on this day it was incredibly bright as well – late spring, probably 75 degrees, and really sunny. And David comes in and somehow makes the place look creepy with his camera.
Q: Did you enjoy shooting in New Zealand? Did you hang out much there?
A: I had a great time filming in New Zealand. I almost bought a home there while I was there because I loved it so much. The fact that so much topography is jammed into such a small area. Its like everything in the United States, basically in a country the size of California or whatever. And there’s so few people, it feels like an open life; it feels just natural. It’s a really nice place to be.
Q: Where do you live now?
A: I have a place in Minnesota and a place here [New York]. I moved here at 17.
Q: Do you prefer the quiet life or city life?
A: I think I like both. That’s kind of my problem.
Q: Are you the party animal kind of guy?
A: No, not necessarily. But I can be. I think it’s good to have a balance in your life, and be able to do everything. I’m not afraid of people but I also don’t like to spend a lot of time around strangers in a bar. I don’t want that to be my life.
Q: You’ve just finished filming I Come With The Rain in Hong Kong. Can you talk about that?
A: Shooting in Hong Kong was nice. It was interesting but it wasn’t all that different from shooting in the US or in Europe. But shooting in the Philippines was. We shot for a bit in a place called Diwalwal, outside of Davao in Mindanao. It was literally a five hour car ride from the nearest airport to the foot of the mountain where this town was. And we went up in the mountains and they’d never seen white people in person before. It was a really interesting dynamic. They would follow us around – literally there were 42,000 people in this town, and there would be 2,000 of them following us everywhere. People were very nice, very sweet but there was a chance of… there were some rebels around the area who kidnap for money and so we had to have the Philippine army with us. And so we had a whole regiment with us, which was pretty wild. But everybody was very cool. I escaped from them a few times and went and hung out with people, which was good. We lived in a “house of prostitution” because it was the only place that we could rent.
Q: Were the girls there?!
A: No, the girls were not there! [laughs] It was wild though. I’ve never seen a place like this. It wasn’t like it was a place from the past because it was still somewhat modern. We have a great picture of our producer standing in a tiny little alcove where they had two video games – like a Galactica and something else – and right next to that was a big poster of Britney Spears! So our culture was there, it just wasn’t, we weren’t there.
Q: You will turn 30 next year. Have you noticed any changes in yourself?
A: I think I’m calming down. Which is good. I’m starting to care less about what people think of me and care more about just what I want to do from day to day. Its amazing how – and this is going to sound ridiculous – but it’s amazing how when a year becomes less and less of a fraction of your life. And it goes so much quicker, the more you mean to try and hold on to it and enjoy the moments. It’s all just kind of moving at a faster and faster pace.
Q: What are your passions outside of acting?
A: Lately. it’s been mostly writing and photography. I’m writing a screenplay but I’m also just writing for myself. A friend of mine and I have been working on screenplays for a long time, and trying to find one that actually works. He wrote one with another friend of mine that I’m going to produce and we’re going to film that back in Minnesota next year.
Q: Is this tough for you – writing for yourself?
A: Yes, but everything’s hard. To do anything well is hard. I’m not afraid of the challenge, really. If it’s no good, it’s no good. And I have plenty of people who will tell me if it’s no good. I have people around me that I trust. A lot of people have written movies that they’ve been in and that they’ve directed. It’s nothing special. It’s like creating a song from beginning to end. It’s just a much longer and more extensive song.