PopHorror Let's Get Scared
When I first found out that I had the opportunity to interview Emile Hirsch, an actor I have followed and loved since first seeing him in The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys back in 2002, I was so excited I could barely contain myself. Thanks to my beautiful, amazing friend and co-owner of PopHorror, Tori Danielle Romero, I was going to get the chance to ask one of my all-time favorite actors some of the questions that have been burning in my mind for years. It was only a ten minute interview (although we managed to squeeze in over 13 minutes), so I didn’t get to ask about his one teen comedy, The Girl Net Door, his trip to Africa, his roles in The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, The Mudge Boy, Lords of Dogtown, or The Emperor’s Club, but I did manage to dig up some dirt (literally) on Emile as we chatted. I found out that he’s modest, kind and an old soul. Keep reading to find out what I did get to ask and how thoroughly he answered everything.
PopHorror: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us! We really appreciate it.
Emile Hirsch: Oh, absolutely.
PopHorror: I did get to watch a little bit of your newest film, Never Grow Old, last night. I just want to thank you for not having an over-the-top, Rick Grimes accent.
Emile Hirsch: (laughs) Wait, who’s Rick Grimes again?
PopHorror: (laughs) Rick Grimes was a character in The Walking Dead. He was played by a Andrew Lincoln, a British actor, but he had to do a Southern accent, and it was so over the top.
Emile Hirsch: Oh! (laughs) Well, regarding the Irish accent… there’s this old Hollywood joke that you never get an American actor to do a foreign accent. You always get the Brits or the Australians. It’s kind of like a known industry thing, that everyone in the industry says. Knowing that going in, I was like, “Okay, if I’m going to do this Irish accent, I’m going to go balls to the wall!” (laughs) So, they got me this amazing Irish vocal coach named Brendan Dunne. He coached Daniel Day-Lewis in The Name Of The Father. He’s worked with everybody. He’s a great guy, and a sweet, considerate person.
He worked with me for months on this accent. His process was amazing. He built it from the ground up by teaching me all the rules for sounds and consonants and all the little exceptions. He started having me read out loud and talking to him in the accent. It go to the point where, before we started shooting, I started thinking, “I’m just gonna burn this thing to the ground!” And I ended up staying in this accent for two months straight!
(Both laugh)
Emile Hirsch: Even on my down time. It became a thing, a 24/7 thing, where I would be talking on the phone to my mom in this Irish accent! (laughs) I think part of it was so not wanting to mess it up, and not wanting to be the fabled American who couldn’t do the accent. I think it was just as much that as being committed to the character. I’ve got to carry the torch for my fellow American actors here! (laughs)
But it was a lot of fun. It was kind of funny because of how much I was looking forward to finishing the production we were shooting. We shot in Ireland and in Luxembourg, and it was super cold and crazy. But it was actually being able to speak in my own voice again that I was really looking forward to the most. I mean, I was still me, but I just talked in this weird, Irish accent. Okay, it’s not weird. It’s just an Irish accent. But when I finally was able to speak in my own voice again… boy, it felt good!
(Both laugh)
PopHorror: You finally didn’t have to think about it anymore.
Emile Hirsch: Yeah, you know. It was weird. It almost became second nature, even when I wasn’t thinking about it. Once you turn that switch on, you’re just sorta in it. It was fun, though. It was like I got to take a little dose of what some of those more extreme actors put themselves through. (laughs)
PopHorror: I can’t even imagine!
(both laugh)
PopHorror: Plus, you had the mud…
Emile Hirsch: Oh, my gosh. I think, next to Into The Wild, this was one of the most brutal shoots I’ve done, just because it was just really cold in Ireland and Luxembourg, and you couldn’t walk anywhere without stepping in four inches of mud. It’s crazy how much mud there was! It was unbelievable! And they would say, “Oh, we can’t clear it out,” but I knew they wanted the mud there. I really think they liked the look of the mud. Ivan [Kavanaugh] and Peirs McGrail, the DoP… I’d see them off to the side, snickering and laughing and looking at everyone standing together. I know they just loved the look. They watched us all go through muddy hell, but it was all for the look of the film. (laughs) They liked having that brutal vibe. But it was an unbelievable amount of mud! It was literally like living in a pig sty.
PopHorror: Ugh! So getting off set for the day must have made you feel, like, 4″ taller after not sinking into the mud anymore.
Emile Hirsch: Oh, yeah! I mean, I wasn’t sleeping in the mud. I wasn’t taking my part that far. But I was definitely happy to finally get a little bit of a shower at the end of each day. Ahhhhhh!
(both laugh)
PopHorror: It’s cold and it’s sticky… I just can’t even imagine living like that. It must have been like being on Survivor.
Emile Hirsch: Well, I think it’s one of these things where, some of the more physical shoots I’ve done, like Into The Wild and Lone Survivor, and now this – Never Grow Old – you just hit a switch in your mind where you’re like, “Okay, I’m just gonna do this.” You just get used to being so cold most of the day. (laughs) For this part, being physical, or being able to work with your hands… there was something refreshing about it. The kids [Quinn Topper Marcus, Molly McCann] were a lot of fun to play with. They were really sweet. The other actors were all fantastic. I enjoyed it.
PopHorror: Well, without the mud and cold.
Emile Hirsch: Definitely not the mud. No.
(both laugh)
PopHorror: You recently took over the voicework in the animated series, Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia, after the death of Anton Yelchin. And you two had worked together in Alpha Dog. Was that tough to do for you?
Emile Hirsch: Well, in a certain sense, I think it was easy to do. It was something that I really wanted to do, you know? It wasn’t a hard decision for me to want to do it. I wanted to honor Anton. He was such an amazing guy, such a unanimously amazing guy, and I have great memories of talking with him. I certainly miss him. I still know a lot of his close friends, and I know what a huge presence he was in their lives and his parents’ lives.
I’m super honored to have been associated with that character [Jim Lake, Jr.]. He’s so inspiring for so many kids. It’s pretty cool, you know? Because a lot of the movies I make, adults watch them… maybe [kids] don’t really appreciate them. My son [Valor] is five and a half, and he’s the most devoted watcher of shows. He’s so into it. He appreciates it so much. He just loves certain shows. So, to be able to play a character on a show like that, that kids can appreciate and take them on that trip, that story, is really cool. So, to have Anton be my partner in that, I love it. I cherish it, actually.
PopHorror: I absolutely love hearing that. I actually read the book, Trollhunters, before it was made into a TV series. I happen to work for a children’s librarian in my real life…
Emile Hirsch: Oh, wow!
PopHorror: So I totally get the idea of adults getting on board with children’s books and reading children’s books. I think it’s really important to get that little bit of childhood back, and to be able to relate to your kids on another level.
Emile Hirsch: Yeah.
PopHorror: So, my last question… I have so many questions here… Your character from Killer Joe, Chris Smith. Would you call him a good guy or a bad guy?
Emile Hirsch: Well, considering Chris hired Killer Joe to kill his mother… I think he was a horrible guy!
PopHorror: But he loved his sister! He did it all for his sister.
Emile Hirsch: He loved his sister, yeah. But I’m sure even Hitler loved his dog.
(both laugh)
Emile Hirsch: You can’t just hire a hitman to take out your mom. That’s just the definition of evil, you know?
(both laugh)
PopHorror: Before we end, let me just ask you… since PopHorror is a horror review site, we always ask this. What’s your favorite horror movie?
Emile Hirsch: Well, I’m very partial to The Exorcist. I saw the reissue, the 25th anniversary, in the theater, and I literally thought I was going insane as I was watching it. I couldn’t really understand what was going on. And then I worked with [The Exorcist director] William Friedkin on Killer Joe, and he told me so many crazy Exorcist stories. He’s such a dynamic, inspirational speaker and director and wildman. And The Exorcist is just such a scary, effective movie. For awhile, it was the biggest movie of all time. It was a phenomenon. Imagine one of these horror movies that came out now becoming the biggest movie of all time. You almost can’t imagine what that movie did in that era. It’s really awesome.
PopHorror: And, without social media spreading the news of such a big movie, it’s even crazier that it got to be as popular as it did. People walked into it sorta blind.
Emile Hirsch: Yeah! Oh, yeah. That must have been so unpleasant to have been haunted by this movie. Imagine if you were a kid – just a kid! – and you were unlucky enough to sneak into that movie when you were, like, 12 years-old.
(both laugh)
Emile Hirsch: You would be paying for it for, like, 15 years afterwards!
PopHorror: Right?
Emile Hirsch: Oh, yeah! Well, thank you so much for talking to me. I really appreciate it.
PopHorror: No, thank you!
As you can see, Emile Hirsch is a gracious man and a joy to talk to. I still feel so blessed to have gotten this opportunity. I will be reviewing his newest film, Never Grow Old, in the next few days, so keep your eyes peeled for that! As always, keep it tuned to PopHorror for all of your pop culture and horror news, reviews and interviews!
