The actor formerly known as Tim Riggins gives us the lowdown on John Carter, his upcoming blowing-things-up movie Battleship, and slitting throats with Benicio del Toro in Savages. Read the full chat here, but first, some choice excerpts:
On John Carter and Battleship:
GQ: This year you have three big films that will change your career, for better or worse. Is building a house in Austin and putting down roots a reaction to that?
Taylor Kitsch: I think so. I think even unconsciously I know this house is going to represent some kind of cave that I’ll want to get back into: Peace of mind, because it’s chaos. Hugh [Jackman], he’s a good mate of mine. I think we both attribute [being more grounded] to getting the late starts, to being 30, 29, 28 and having a good sense of self before all this shit hits, so you know that what you’re seeing is ridiculous. That it’s not real. And you know by then that there’s some things that you should fight for.
GQ: So you’re well aware of what a crazy year this is? To have three leading roles all in high-profile films?
Taylor Kitsch: 2012 is really make-or-break, isn’t it? I mean you’ve got John Carter and then you got Battleship, and then we end with a true bang in Savages with Oliver Stone. What are you gonna say? I mean, if Oliver Stone calls you you’re going to fucking go. Pete Berg calls you, you should go. Andrew Stanton asks me to be an extra in this Indie he’s doing? You want me to get coffee on the way to the set?
GQ: Battleship and John Carter are big, expensive movies.
Taylor Kitsch: Yeah. Some of the biggest movies the studios, arguably, have ever done. Knock on wood, I hope to be doing these two franchises and to go on to do some passion stuff.
On working with Benicio Del Toro and John Travolta in Oliver Stone’s Savages:
GQ: Later this summer, you’ll star with Benicio Del Toro and John Travolta in Oliver Stone’s Savages. Cartels and drugs—it sounds like a pretty brutal crime thriller.
Taylor Kitsch: It’s a retro Stone ordeal. Travolta was saying that he hasn’t read a script like this since Pulp Fiction. I play the messed-up Navy Seal. I’m doing scenes where I’m heisting cars, blowing cars up, shooting guys. There’s a scene where I slice a guy’s throat, four seconds. We had a Seal on set who said it was just that simple: He hides a knife down his arm and he asks for the time. The guy rolls the window down, he drags the knife across his throat, puts the knife in his pocket, and he’s in. Four seconds. Benicio is just matter-of-factly decapitating people. I kept asking Oliver to write more scenes with me and Benicio. He’s like, “Kitsch, I am already trying to bring this movie down. I can’t just add a twelve minute scene with you and Benicio.”
On Friday Night Light’s Tim Tiggins:
GQ: How do you see yourself as an underdog?
Taylor Kitsch: The Riggins casting, man, was last minute. I had to put myself on tape by 2:00 on Thursday from Vancouver. I e-mailed it to them, traveled down on Sunday to read. There was one guy left reading for Riggins. He thought he had it, obviously, being the only fucking guy. So I come into this boardroom. There’s this cocky guy sitting across from me, like, “What are you reading for?” Two hours later you’re Tim Riggins.
Read the rest here.
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The GQ&A: Taylor Kitsch
The actor formerly known as Tim Riggins gives us the lowdown on John Carter, his upcoming blowing-things-up movie Battleship, and slitting throats with Benicio del Toro in Savages. Read the full chat here, but first, some choice excerpts:
On John Carter and Battleship:
GQ: This year you have three big films that will change your career, for better or worse. Is building a house in Austin and putting down roots a reaction to that?
Taylor Kitsch: I think so. I think even unconsciously I know this house is going to represent some kind of cave that I’ll want to get back into: Peace of mind, because it’s chaos. Hugh [Jackman], he’s a good mate of mine. I think we both attribute [being more grounded] to getting the late starts, to being 30, 29, 28 and having a good sense of self before all this shit hits, so you know that what you’re seeing is ridiculous. That it’s not real. And you know by then that there’s some things that you should fight for.
GQ: So you’re well aware of what a crazy year this is? To have three leading roles all in high-profile films?
Taylor Kitsch: 2012 is really make-or-break, isn’t it? I mean you’ve got John Carter and then you got Battleship, and then we end with a true bang in Savages with Oliver Stone. What are you gonna say? I mean, if Oliver Stone calls you you’re going to fucking go. Pete Berg calls you, you should go. Andrew Stanton asks me to be an extra in this Indie he’s doing? You want me to get coffee on the way to the set?
GQ: Battleship and John Carter are big, expensive movies.
Taylor Kitsch: Yeah. Some of the biggest movies the studios, arguably, have ever done. Knock on wood, I hope to be doing these two franchises and to go on to do some passion stuff.
On working with Benicio Del Toro and John Travolta in Oliver Stone’s Savages:
GQ: Later this summer, you’ll star with Benicio Del Toro and John Travolta in Oliver Stone’s Savages. Cartels and drugs—it sounds like a pretty brutal crime thriller.
Taylor Kitsch: It’s a retro Stone ordeal. Travolta was saying that he hasn’t read a script like this since Pulp Fiction. I play the messed-up Navy Seal. I’m doing scenes where I’m heisting cars, blowing cars up, shooting guys. There’s a scene where I slice a guy’s throat, four seconds. We had a Seal on set who said it was just that simple: He hides a knife down his arm and he asks for the time. The guy rolls the window down, he drags the knife across his throat, puts the knife in his pocket, and he’s in. Four seconds. Benicio is just matter-of-factly decapitating people. I kept asking Oliver to write more scenes with me and Benicio. He’s like, “Kitsch, I am already trying to bring this movie down. I can’t just add a twelve minute scene with you and Benicio.”
On Friday Night Light’s Tim Tiggins:
GQ: How do you see yourself as an underdog?
Taylor Kitsch: The Riggins casting, man, was last minute. I had to put myself on tape by 2:00 on Thursday from Vancouver. I e-mailed it to them, traveled down on Sunday to read. There was one guy left reading for Riggins. He thought he had it, obviously, being the only fucking guy. So I come into this boardroom. There’s this cocky guy sitting across from me, like, “What are you reading for?” Two hours later you’re Tim Riggins.
Read the rest here.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0j6ugdGWE1qe6vsbo1_500.jpg)
