The Hollywood cure
Guy Pearce has got this whole acting thing figured out
The name Guy Pearce instantly conjures thoughts of an intense, dramatic actor who’s admired for roles in eternally cool and frequently referenced movies such as “Memento,” “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” and “L.A. Confidential.” But then he doesn’t really come up in conversation again until trailers for his next project.
This week, the Aussie-by-way-of-England actor has reappeared as a soulful FBI agent in the suspense thriller “Traitor,” a film about terrorism — Hollywood’s latest go-to plot line, it seems.
“The fact that Don [Cheadle] was doing the film was a big draw for me,” explains Pearce, who also liked the characters’ emotional bonds (Cheadle plays an undercover U.S. Army Sergeant who becomes best friends with actor Saïd Taghmaoui’s terrorist), and the film’s focus on Islam.
“I’m fascinated by religion. I’m not religious at all,” says Pearce. “I was brought up without any of that. So I’m fascinated by people’s interpretation of religion and it being such a major part of their life.”
Pearce will undoubtedly be a factor in filmgoers’ lives in the next year — the 40-year-old has four movies set to be released — one of which is Adam Sandler’s comedy “Bedtime Story.” For a guy who has played both Andy Warhol and Harry Houdini on screen, it’s a vastly different movie to step into.
“The films I’d done last year were relatively heavy. The idea of doing something that was different and a lot lighter seemed like a bit of a relief,” admits the actor, who in 2001 was close to walking away from the biz.
“I’d worked too much and was a bit anti the whole industry,” remembers Pearce. “I really gave quitting some thought and came to understand more of what I actually had to offer.”
Pearce discovered that to have a lasting career in acting he needed to balance out rigorous filming schedules with healthy breaks in between movies.
“It’s important to actually come back down and land again after you’ve been in the head of some other character,” he says, “so that when you go to the next job you go onto it reinspired.”
Pearce says the amount of downtime depends on the job itself. So based on past roles, he must have only needed a weekend off after the Sandler flick, right?
“Well,” says Pearce, “funnily enough, I’m probably going to take the biggest break I’ve had in a long time.”
The actor is planning to stay put back home in Melbourne for a while and spend time with his wife. He’ll take on a more low-profile gig, starring in the play “Poorboy” for the Melbourne Theater Company and working on his music. “I’m always working on my music, puttering away just like puttering away in the garden,” he says.
Just don’t be gone too long.