“Serial killer movies should always creep you out,” Aaron Eckhart tells us–and he should know.
The actor–known for films such as Erin Brockovich and The Core, as well as his stellar work with director pal Neil LaBute in indie gems such as In the Company of Men and Your Friends & Neighbors–stars this month with Ben Kingsley in the serial killer drama Suspect Zero.
The film centers on FBI Agent Thomas Mackelway (Eckhart), who is demoted after he inadvertently lets a serial killer go free. Banished to New Mexico, Mackelway becomes involved in yet another lethal puzzle, following a string of murders whose victims turn out to be serial killers themselves. Mackelway is soon on the trail of Benjamin O’Ryan (Kingsley)–an ex-FBI agent who was trained to find serial killers by seeing distant locations using nothing but his mind, also known as “remote viewing.” The two play a cat and mouse game, as Mackelway races to find a new menace on the rise: Suspect Zero, the ultimate serial killer who murders indiscriminately, leaving no patterns or trails of any kind.
We talked to Eckhart about delving into this very dark place of tracking serial killers, as well as the kind of acting it requires to play such troubled characters.
How did you get into the mind of an FBI agent?
I hung out with the FBI. I talked with them, shot a few guns with them, handcuffed some people. I got as much information as I could, so I wouldn’t look stupid, but this is a post 9/11 world and there’s only so much you can do with the FBI in terms of research. They’re kinda busy and have gotten such bad press lately.
Would they dabble in something as mysterious “remote viewing?”
I think in some back chamber they would. The frontline guys I asked didn’t have any idea what it was. They are the nuts-and-bolts guys–[they] write in notepads, collect evidence, talk on the phone, knock on doors. But this kind of thing exists; it’s out there, just not that known. These “remote viewers” can develop leads when there are no leads. I mean if I had a kid who was abducted, I would call one of these guys in a heartbeat. And you can bet your bottom dollar there are remote viewers looking for people like Osama bin Laden and others.
Are troubled characters more fun for you, then say, playing the hero?
It’s very hard for me to play things even-keeled. I always ask, why can’t I be just like Cary Grant or something. Just play right through the middle and have it be brilliant. But I guess I like playing flawed guys ’cause it gives a place for the characters to go. I mean, it’s what drama is all about, right? Some movies I see today have the most dramatic plot points but the actors are not playing them dramatically. And it’s a letdown to me. I mean, why spend all that time preparing for a role if you’re just going to say your lines?
Suspect Zero certainly has its fair share of dramatic moments.
I went a little crazy with this movie. I had to get to that dark place and stay there for a while. Everything sets you off. If your toothbrush is out of place, you end up going crazy. But the good thing is that it only last for two or three months. The problem with making larger movies, five or six months, is that whose got the energy to keep themselves in that place for so long? If you see an intense big-budget movie, you know that actor really sacrificed for that movie.
Director Elias Merhige even makes sunny New Mexico look creepy and mysterious.
It was hot as hell. Everyone says New Mexico has this spiritual aura about it. But what’s the opposite of that? A kind of spiritual decadence. You get lost in New Mexico out on those roads, and you’re done. The landscape is threatening. I had a rattlesnake on my foot for this movie. It had crawled between my legs and was on my foot and I didn’t even know it until I looked down!
Still tight with Neil LaBute?
Very. Call each other constantly. For me, it’s a little like job security. I want Neil to do well, so I can do well and vice versa. It’s reassuring, comfortable, safe. I cherish that relationship, never take it for granted. I respect Neil tremendously, from the moment I met him [at Brigham Young University in the early ’90s]. He came over to London to see me in [David Mamet‘s play] Oleanna and gave me some notes and I put them in the show the next day. He’s so good at what he does, such a good writer, so in tune with drama and structure. And it’s a respect without competition. I mean, I know I’ve challenged him and created problems for him while making movies. I’m an actor, that’s what I do.
Ever feel like collaborating with LaBute as a writer?
Nah. I mean, the problem is, I think I’m a great writer. I’ll write one page of dialogue and think it’s the greatest thing ever written and I’ll read it over and over and then show it to Neil, who’s like, “Yeah.” But I cannot put a story together. I hate that. I would like to direct. I would love to get great performances from actors as a director, because that’s what I’m always looking for, a director that’s going to help me go places I’ve never been before. That’s going to push me. Not all directors do that.
If you could have done anything else besides acting…?
Well, I’ve thought many times when my career was in the toilet, that I was going to have to seriously consider getting another job, I don’t know what I’d do. I guess maybe teach acting. But I don’t think that would pay enough.
Suspect Zero opens in theaters Aug. 27.
