Contender Q&A: Sam Rockwell

Betty Anne Waters spent almost two decades trying to free her brother Kenny from prison, where he was serving a life sentence for a crime she was sure he didn’t commit. On the surface, “Conviction” is the true story about the lengths a sister will go to save her brother. But the film delves far below that surface. As acted by Hilary Swank, the loyalty Betty Anne has for Kenny is almost superhuman. Her journey is complicated because Kenny is as engaging as he is volatile, and as embodied by Sam Rockwell, that combination could very well be lethal. It’s certainly mesmerizing.

Introduced to most filmgoers a decade ago as an unrepentant killer in “The Green Mile,” he visited blockbuster territory this past summer with his role as Justin Hammer in “Iron Man II.” Rockwell is perhaps more familiar to the art house crowd, with roles in “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” (as Chuck Barris), “Lawn Dogs,” “Moon,” “and other movies that nobody saw,” he says jokingly.

What drew you to the role of Kenny?

It’s like Mercutio, it’s a great role. He’s very charming, he’s a tough guy, he’s very witty, he’s troubled. This kind of story’s been done, “Hurricane” and “Dead Man Walking” and films like that, so what do I have to add to this canon, this genre? This is about a brother and sister, and that’s what we have to offer, that bond. And thank God, Hilary and I had great chemistry. It’s just a fluke really. When I heard she was cast, I was really excited, because I’m a huge fan of hers, and I just had a hunch that we’d play good tennis, you know.

What was it like working with her to create such an intense relationship?

I like to play, and Hilary likes to play. Hilary and I are very similar actually. We come with a lot of tenacity to the working table. If you look at our notes in the scripts, hers are very neat and organized and mine are all over the place and scribbly. However, I would say that we’re similar actors in that we come at it with a sense of ferocity and desperation almost, in our preparation, that no rock is unturned. Hilary’s fierce, she’s really a force of nature. So I was intimidated and yet thrilled and excited.

What kind of research did you do?

I’d done some research on prisons when I was working on “The Green Mile” about 10 years ago, and I read a book called “Slow Coming Dark,” about interviews on death row, and I talked to a prison guard. And actually two long lost friends of mine were in prison, and I talked to them about it. While we were shooting “Conviction,” I was reading this book, “In the Belly of the Beast” [letters from convicted killer Jack Abbott to Norman Mailer], that was really helpful. I’ve played bad guys and killers, so maybe that’s good to have in my arsenal.

You’re playing a character who could have done what he’s accused of doing. He can be charming, lovable but also dangerous.

Kenny ain’t no Boy Scout. We all know people like that. He probably would have been diagnosed bipolar or manic-depressive if they were doing more of that back then. I’ve dated a few women like Kenny.

Do you see any similarities between you and Kenny?

I’m not really dangerous. I have a temper, but I’m a sissy actor guy. I box, but that’s for a workout, I’m not a tough guy. I’ve known tough guys. I got beat up a lot as a kid, so I think that’s why I like boxing. I was around guys like Kenny, I knew guys like Kenny. But I’m a class clown.

What was it like having the real Betty Anne Waters on set?

Well, I’m used to that, I did Chuck Barris and Chuck was around, and I worked with Jim Reston Jr. on “ Frost/Nixon.” We spent a weekend with Betty Anne. She told us stories, and she was on set a lot. But it was never an oppressive energy. She was in the back room where the monitors were, and we would just focus and do our thing. We would defer to her sometimes, but she was very hands-off. She’s a really cool lady. It was kind of like a security blanket to have her there. A warm fire.

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