Magnificent Poise
JAMES MCAVOY / ‘Atonement’
James McAvoy is having his Laurence Olivier moment--he’s the handsome, romantic lead in the most romantic movie of the year, “Atonement.” The film has already won the Golden Globe for best drama, but at a sad, hobbled ceremony the actor was nowhere near.
It’s a strange time for actors and writers, the kind of year in which they must consider all eventualities. Oscar nominations were not yet announced as this magazine went to press, nor was it known whether the Academy Awards ceremony would go on Feb. 24 as planned.
Still, McAvoy feels equally ready for fame or its absence. “I know now what it feels like to be talked about in Hollywood, and if that wasn’t there, I know I’d still be happy. I’d know how to be useful. I’d know how I’d want my life to go.”
In “Atonement,” the 28-year-old actor plays Robbie Turner, the housekeeper’s son who begins a passionate affair with the young lady of the estate, played by Keira Knightley. In contrast with the morally compromised doctor he portrayed in 2006’s “The Last King of Scotland,” McAvoy took on a more palatable but less nuanced character, which worried him. “I had a hard time believing that somebody that good, that unconflicted, could exist. I kept trying to inject inner conflict, and it was just not working. I just needed to remember that human beings--even the most boring human being--are a miracle, and that’s interesting enough.”
But a year like this one has had unexpected bonuses: no talk shows, fewer interviews, less blathering. “The worst part [of the business] is that you have to talk about yourself a lot,” McAvoy says, “and I don’t like people who talk about themselves all the time, so I look in the mirror and I have to not like myself.” You never know--less hoopla might give an actor just a bit more self-respect.
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Casey AFFLECK
‘THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD’ and ‘Gone Baby Gone’
Last year was huge for Casey Affleck, and not only because of his big brother Ben, who directed him in the moral thriller “Gone Baby Gone.” It’s a coin toss as to which performance--as a well-meaning investigator in “Gone” or a murderously resentful fan in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”--was the breakthrough role for this 32-year-old actor. Let’s just say it was not a year of lying low for Affleck the younger.
Meanwhile, his performance in interviews is comically nonchalant. Asked “Is it true that SAG nominations are special because they come from fellow actors?” and he replies, “For sure. That’s definitely an honor. Was I nominated for one?” The name of his recently born second child? “Can’t remember.”
He’s similarly unperturbed about this year’s dearth of awards hoopla. “I feel the awards are one thing, but they can call people on the phone and let them know and it would be the same thing,” he says. “That’s sort of the important part. . . . The rest of it is just putting on a tie and going to be like an extra on a TV show.”
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EMILE HIRSCH / ‘INTO THE WILD’
Emile Hirsch spent eight months trekking through snow and desert for his role in “Into the Wild” and lost 41 pounds (he’s only 5 feet, 7 inches tall), so you’d think he might be disappointed that the Writers Guild strike has overshadowed the year’s outstanding performances. Not really. Much like the character he plays in the film, an idealist who ditches civilization to find deeper meaning by living off the land, the 22-year-old actor is all about optimism.
“I think the strike is just a singular reminder about how much people care about the movies and the work,” Hirsch says. “The strike not only has inspired people to find a fair solution, it’s also reinforced their commitment to creating their art.”
He should know about commitment. In the movie--based on the Jon Krakauer book about the tragic real-life story of Christopher McCandless--he floats nude down a frigid river, nearly tussles with a giant grizzly and kayaks through exhilarating but treacherous rapids. No stunt doubles here.
For his efforts, Hirsch has picked up an award from the National Board of Review, as well as two nominations from the Screen Actors Guild (for outstanding performance by a male actor and by a cast) and another from the Critics’ Choice Award. “It’s such a crazy time with all the awards and the strike, combined with the fact that this year is such an amazing year for movies,” Hirsch says. Which films did he love? “Juno,” “There Will Be Blood,” “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” and “No Country for Old Men.” “What a year,” he says.
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JOSH BROLIN / ‘AMERICAN GANGSTER’ and ‘NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN’
Although Josh Brolin made his film debut at 17 in the ‘80s classic “The Goonies,” it seems as if he was truly launched last year, when he appeared in both “American Gangster” and “No Country for Old Men,” prompting the New York Times to pose the question: “Who knew . . . Josh Brolin could act?”
In “No Country,” Brolin plays the laconic everyman Llewelyn Moss, who takes a bag of money in a drug deal gone wrong, and in “Gangster,” he’s Trupo, a corrupt-to-the-bone cop. “Trupo is based on “the scariest cop in New York City,” says Brolin, someone who is “full of swagger and confidence.” Playing a scene with Denzel Washington, Brolin, 39, felt anything but. “I was just thinking, ‘Please, let me get through this moment and let it be real.’”
His experience during “No Country” was no less intimidating, especially since Brolin broke his collarbone in a motorcycle accident two weeks before filming. He was particularly concerned about a scene in which he had to swim away from an attack dog. “And it wasn’t even a nice movie dog; he was a real attack dog.”
Brolin says he’ll be content no matter what the future brings. “I’ll be happy whether I’m doing dinner theater in Phoenix or some great movie with Michael Mann. I’ve always been, and I always will be. As much as I appreciate the moment, I know the moment will change.”
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Director Marc Forster’s personal style is lean and spare, much like his movie “Kite Runner.” Take a look at latimes.com/magazineforster.