Guy Pearce still cares
When my colleagues and I try to figure out what makes Guy Pearce so singular as an actor, we agree it’s down to that word that might make others in his line of work cringe — the “craft” of acting. For him, his vocation is all about delving into human psychology, as he tells me, and the 57-year-old hasn’t allowed his lengthy time in the industry to change that. My Zoom call with Pearce (who came to prominence in the same way a lot of Aussies did: the soap opera Neighbours) is nearly an hour long. When I attempt to wrap things up after a little nudge from his PR, he tells me not to worry: “I’m good for time.” For a man with what must be a demanding filming schedule (when we speak, he’s got sixty-three features under his belt) he’s exceedingly generous. With his words too — I come away from our chat not with a load of quotes I could find in other interviews, but an acute understanding of what makes him tick and what he makes of film today.
The actor might be in especially good spirits because he’s doing a promo for Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist. The film, as he puts it, has a “grandeur” to it. An epic post-Second World War drama starring Pearce alongside Adrien Brody, it was awarded the Silver Lion for best direction at the Venice Film Festival. It’s also got a hefty runtime, standing at just over three and a half hours. There’s even a 15-minute intermission. Pearce plays Van Buren, a “childlike man” who has “these agendas”. It’s a dark role, as is the case with many of his characters — “My eight-year-old can’t see any of the films I make” — and it feels like something of a pinnacle for the actor. He, of course, struggles to see that. When we talk about The Brutalist, Pearce pivots the conversation to the talent of Corbet and his wife, Mona Fastvold, who co-wrote the script. He’s also self-effacing about the huge part he played in the film’s brilliance. “I’m skilled enough to deliver something that I know will kind of work,” he tells me, “but I’m limited to my box of tricks.” That so-called box of tricks is an impressive one, though. While Pearce is emphatic about only being as good as his director, it’s by no stroke of luck that the Aussie has worked with everyone from Christopher Nolan (Memento) to Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) to Ridley Scott (Prometheus). Pearce is quick to note that there’s also “a lot of shit” within his filmography, but the thread that ties it all together is how he approaches each and every one with the same conviction. There’s a seriousness to it — one that could, in the hands of someone who isn’t so easy and fun to talk to, veer into coming across as that little bit pretentious.
This excerpt was taken from HUNGER Issue 33: Good People. Stay tuned for the full story.
- PhotographerJordan Rossi
- StylistOtter Hatchett
- WriterAmber Rawlings
- GroomerCarol Morley at Carol Hayes Management using CLARINS and DAIMON BARBER
- Photographer's AssistantSam Lort
- ProducerAbby Rothwell
