Now you mentioned that you like character roles and you enjoy playing real people, but outside that, how do you know when a film is meant for you? ^ I can pretty much tell in the first ten or fifteen pages. It will get inside me. You know, when you read something and it surprises you– when you are actually surprised by what you are reading– you read a lot of things and they don’t surprise you. It’s just straight forward stuff and I liked to be surprised.
Recently you starred in The Man Who Cried, a film that had a very strong message in it regarding gypsies. What was it liked working on the film and what drew you to it? ^ To me the gypsies– I feel uncomfortable saying the word since they are all people– but they paralleled the Native Americans in this country and what happened ever since Whitey stepped foot on American soil here. It’s been that way for the gypsies, so The Man Who Cried was a great opportunity to get to know those people and where they come from. Each film though that I make, more than it is a career move or anything like that, it’s just an extended education each time. I take the opportunity to learn each time.
Up next you have Robert Rodriguez’s “Once Upon a Time in Mexico.” What can you say about that? ^ It’s been great fun. Robert Rodriguez is a great filmmaker and I’m grateful for the opportunity he gave me to co-star in the film. I play an awful FBI agent stationed in Mexico who’s just not a nice guy.
Do you have any plans to work with Tim Burton again in the future? You’ve done some excellent work when the two of you teamed up together. ^ I hope so.
Finally, looking back on the career you’ve had so far, how much of it do you credit to yourself and how much to your agent? ^ I’ve been very lucky. I’ve known my agent, Tracy Jacobs, for about 14 years and she’s just been so supportive. Even at times when I’ve gotten very vocal about some choices that I made, she’s supported me. I know that I could have made her job a whole lot easier, so I’m really lucky.
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