It is unimaginable that any other actor could have embodied the charismatic role of Cons with the same type of conviction and authenticity as Josh Hamilton does in the upcoming dramedy Diggers. Hamilton is cast perfectly as the aloof, drug-dealing philosopher who’s indifferent to most of the problems his tight knit group of friends are consumed by, during the transitional decade of the 1970’s. Atypical to other films that try too hard to mimic the iconic era through stereotypes, this flick centers more on the relationships within a small Long Island community, and their diverging lives.
Hamilton sat down with Hollywood.com to divulge his experiences in collaborating with an all-star ensemble cast.
Hollywood.com: So how were you cast for this feature?
Josh Hamilton: I was originally sent the script to read for Ron Eldard’s part–for the ladies man; and I read the script and I really liked it, and before I could go in to audition they said they had made an offer to Ron Eldard. So they said I shouldn’t go in. Then I said that the part that I really loved was for Cons, and they said that they were looking for someone way more ‘charactery’ for that part, and I thought, ‘ok and let it go.’ … A couple of weeks later, a day or two before shooting started, I guess they were getting a little desperate [slyly smiles].
HW: How ecstatic were you to play a character back in the day, when drugs were plentiful, “fun” and accepted?
JH: Has that changed [laughing]? It was great. It was really, really fun for me especially coming up with the idea for the clam bong. We all knew a guy like that back in school, who’d be like, ‘Jeez, we could totally make a bong out of this!’ We’d call him a bong-head. I love those guys. It was just part of life. I think they might still smoke pot in Long Island [smiles].
HW: What did you think about shooting in Staten Island?
JH: I didn’t realize how much beautiful nature there was there, how they could find places that could really feel country-like. I grew up in New York City and I used to go to Staten Island just to go to a skate-park when I was a kid. I kept walking around thinking how nice it was out there.
HW: This wasn’t a typical ‘70s movie, which gave it a more authentic feel.
JH: Yeah, we talked about it a lot and although we’re in an era, we didn’t know we were in that era. It’s only when you go back and recreate it, that you accentuate certain things and kind of put them in quotes.
HW: What was the most challenging aspect of filming?
JH: Shooting on period boats–because boats don’t do what you want them to do all the time, so you’re trying to get these very specific shots coming in and out of the frame…it was very difficult to control the boats. We had all these boat wranglers who constantly had to come out and get it started, and we had these old period engines, and that was very challenging.
HW: You guys all had great camaraderie on set. Were there any particularly funny experiences that stand out?
JH: It was a very short shoot, so it’s almost a blur. I don’t remember a time we weren’t laughing. There is something about the combination of these guys, that it was just a riffing machine–and I’ve never laughed so hard on set. Those guys, Ken [Marino] and Paul [Rudd] and Ron [Eldard] are all really funny guys.
HW: The naked cannon ball jump into the water suited you well.
JH: For better or worse. Is that a good thing? [Laughing] I thought they were going to shoot closer and shoot a “privacy side” … [Proudly] The water was very cold!
HW: What about clam digging?
JH: It was really hard, clam digging. You’re dragging them on the ground and trying to pull it up, but all this soot [come with the clams]… Not everyone can do this.
HW: In prepping, did you spend time with real clam diggers and hear tales about how the industry has changed?
JH: Yeah, that’s what the movie’s about even more so. It was about the beginning of the end of the ‘individual game’…and you really couldn’t go out and make a living on your own. The movie’s also about the conflict between the individual drayman versus the corporation. Now, of course, there are all the other issues over fishing and pollution.
HW: It’s funny how Diggers charts a certain timeline: at the same time the fishing industry is ending, the drug industry is beginning to soar.
JH: Exactly.
HW: Did you guys pretty much stick to the script, or were there changes on set?
JH: There was hardly any change. There were a couple of small scenes with Ken Marino that were improvised.
HW: Which one of the characters did you relate to the most?
JH: There’s a part of each character [that I do]. I just had my first kid so I could relate to Ken’s character as the family man. I sort of like Paul’s character s the searcher, but I grew up in NYC so I was always curious about what makes people leave small towns and felt the need to go somewhere else, and seek out something else. It was always fascinating to see who stayed and why. I also feel like since Ken wrote this, there are parts of Ken in each character. I don’t particularly relate to any one of them except that I really like my character Cons. He seems like the one who’s mostly going to be ok. He has a good philosophy. He’s the happiest out of all of them.
HW: What’s the challenge in finding solid material like this these days?
JH: It’s always hard to find good material, but nowadays what’s scary is that even if you find it and get it made, it’s hard to get it seen. There are so many films and in the [current] state of distribution, everyone is so scared to put any money into putting things out. The biggest challenge is that when it’s a good part, it tends to be offered to every big movie star. By the time it gets down to me, it’s sort of the luck of the draw.
HW: That probably comes, also, with being so associated with the indie world?
JH: Sometimes you’ll also get a really good script, but it’s part ‘you don’t necessarily want to do this’ because you’ve done it before, and that’s the kind of thing that happens. It’s always hard for an actor to say ‘no’ to work, but sometimes you have to think, is this the kind of character I want to portray, or is this what I wan to put myself out as. I really appreciated and had such a great time with this part but it was a little more of a ‘character-y’ role than I usually get. I usually play leading men which can be rewarding, but then your surrounded by the more interesting characters and you have to think, ‘who am I, what do I want?’ it’s not as interesting.
HW: Are you working on anything next?
JH: Right now I’m doing the Coast of Utopia at Lincoln Center. It’s been going on since September until the middle of May.
