E-mail a friendAaron Eckhart
airdate September 6, 2004
Aaron Eckhart may not be a household name, but he's earned considerable acclaim for his film roles. His credits include Erin Brockovich, Any Given Sunday, and two recent films, The Black Dahlia and Thank You for Smoking. The Northern California native lived with his family in England and Australia as a teen. He studied film at Brigham Young University, where he met aspiring director Neil LaBute. Eckhart's breakthrough role was his performance in LaBute's controversial indie film, In the Company of Men.
Aaron Eckhart
Tavis: Aaron Eckhart has turned in several critically acclaimed movie performances, including films like 'In the Company of Men,' 'Erin Brockovich,' and 'Your Friends and Neighbors.' His latest film is 'Suspect Zero.' The talented cast includes Ben Kingsley and Carrie-Anne Moss. And here is a scene from 'Suspect Zero.'
Woman: So he gets this dropped in his lap, it spooks him, the car ends up in the ravine.
Man: That car was pushed to the state line. The depth of the tire tracks...footprints near the embankment. That car wasn't going more than 3 miles an hour, and it stopped quite literally on the state line. The guy must've used GPS.
Woman: Why would he do this? Why would he push it to the state line?
Man: the same reason he did everything else--to get the FBI's undivided attention.
Tavis: I love this thriller stuff. Nice to see you.
Aaron: Thanks for having me.
Tavis: You OK?
Aaron: Yeah, I'm good.
Tavis: Explain to me the premise of this one.
Aaron: Um, a guy is killing a lot of people.
Tavis: A lot of people.
Aaron: I got to track him down.
Tavis: You got to track him down.
Aaron: Yeah, well, he--it's kind of the serial killer brings--I'm an FBI agent who's been demoted, and he brings me into his world. And then it kind of goes places after that that we can't say, but it's sort of--who you think is the bad guy is not really the bad guy, and all that sort of stuff.
Tavis: That's why--I do this every now and then. I have people on the program. I'm honored to have you on the program. But people come on who are part of these movies where I'm always afraid I gotta... Can't say too much, ‘cause you don't want to give it away. And this one is really tricky because it doesn't go the way you think it's gonna go.
Aaron: No. And I usually give it all away.
Tavis: Yeah, so I'm not saying--I'm not saying anything. I don't want to give it away. It is dark, though.
Aaron: Yeah, um, you know, it's one of those movies where you see Sir Ben Kingsley, you know, just be a complete animal in this, an evil guy. We all remember him from 'Gandhi' and 'Sexy Beast,' if you saw that film. Um, he's just one of those guys that you really want to see be the bad guy. And he might not actually be the bad guy in the end. Um...yeah, it's a good cop thriller movie.
Tavis: I don't want to say that you are drawn to dark stuff, ‘cause you've done some quirky stuff in your career. Um, but are you drawn to dark stuff?
Aaron: Well, um, I guess my mom thinks I am. She wants me to do a romantic comedy.
Tavis: Ha ha ha ha! Now, that would be a change of pace.
Aaron: Yeah, but nobody will hire me. Um, I guess I am. I guess I'm drawn to things that will try to stretch me as an actor. I mean, I just don't really have too much fun doing things that I think I can do. Every movie I do, I think that I can't do it, and it sort of freaks me out. I would like to do romantic comedies. I grew up watching Cary Grant, you know, and Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy and Bogart. Um, it's just--it takes a real talented actor to pull that off and be so smooth.
Tavis: So, you think you can do that? Can you stretch yourself in that direction?
Aaron: I'm gonna give it a go. I think I just signed up for a movie that I can hopefully do that in.
Tavis: Yeah. I was fascinated, so much so that I had to get my--I don't usually use these blue cards, but I had to pull this one out because I couldn't remember all of this. I practiced and I kept messing it up, so I had to write it down. But I was fascinated by this because I think this means something. Now, let me just explain this first. I was fascinated because Aaron has lived, like, everywhere in the world. I don't know who I've interviewed in a long time that's lived this many places. So, as a kid, his parents moved to England, at 13. So he lives in England. Born in L.A.-- let me stop--born in L.A.
Aaron: Born in northern California, actually. Stanford.
Tavis: Stanford, OK. So, you were born in California, then you moved to England, and then to Sydney, Australia, while you were in high school. Then you're hanging out in Switzerland, France, Hawaii--I'm out of fingers here--Hawaii. Change hands. Hawaii, Utah, moved to New York, and then back to California.
Aaron: Yeah. Well, you know what they say about actors.
Tavis: What do they say?
Aaron: They're usually-- they're complete idiots.
Tavis: Yeah. Ha ha ha! And they like to move around every 2 years.
Aaron: They're really selfish and vain. Um, which is true, by the way. Um...they say--
Tavis: They say. Yeah, what do they say?
Aaron: What'd you just call me?
Tavis: Yeah. Ha ha ha ha!
Aaron: They say that, you know, it's the youngest child, and they move around a lot. And if you ask actors, you know, that come onto your show, it fits, you know? I am the youngest of 3 brothers and I moved around a lot. And so I ask other actors that. I say, 'Well, did you move around a lot?' Or 'Where are you in the family tree?' Um, my dad was a business guy, and we moved around. I came home from scout camp, I think, when I was 13. I was just going into eighth grade, I was just surfing, just gonna get the girls.
Tavis: Aw, yeah. Ha ha ha! And your dad says, 'Guess what, Aaron?'
Aaron: You're, like, 'Oh, yeah.' And, um, and my dad goes, 'OK, guys we're moving to England.' So, um, it was crazy, it was horrible, it was a nightmare.
Tavis: So, there were no girls to get in England?
Aaron: Uh, there was. Michelle was there, luckily.
Tavis: Ha ha ha ha!
Aaron: And then, um, somebody else. Don't make me say it.
Tavis: Yeah, I'll stop you right there.
Aaron: But, uh, no, we had a prom and stuff like that. I went to international schools. Um, but it was--I mean, it ended up being the greatest thing in the world because after the first year, I would go, 'Wait a second. I'm skiing in Switzerland 3 times a year, I'm vacationing in Greece, I go to Moscow for a vacation, or for an educational tour, I'm playing rugby in Paris, baseball in Holland, and, um, you know, soccer in Munich.' So, I'm, like, 'This is really cool.'
Tavis: What has--the reason I wanted to run down that list was because I would think-- I could be wrong about this-- but I would think that that kind of experience has given you a worldview, an appreciation of the world, and maybe even brought something to your acting. I don't know. You tell me.
Aaron: Uh...that's making me sound very smart.
Tavis: That's my job, Aaron. I'm supposed to do that. You know what they say about talk show hosts.
Aaron: No, I don't.
Tavis: We're supposed to make you look smart. You actors.
Aaron: Sometimes it's easier than others. Well, it definitely puts you in, um, you know, the vibe of the other country. I mean, when you live in England, you're talking about European politics. You know, that was in the height of the Cold War. It was Maggie Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, and everything that was going on. After--I went to the wall in East Germany, and I had the opportunity to go through Checkpoint Charlie and tour East Berlin by myself. And I have a piece of the wall, and all that sort of stuff. It does give you a flavor of how Americans are perceived abroad. For example, one time I was in Greece, I think just outside the Parthenon, or somewhere in Athens, and... God, I hope the Parthenon's in Athens right now.
Tavis: That's a good place to put it.
Aaron: Yeah, OK, good. The Olympics are there now. I know that. And, uh, you know, a cab wouldn't pick me up because I was American. Things like that.
Tavis: I have that problem in New York sometimes. But that's another issue, though.
Aaron: That's another--well, let's talk about it.
Tavis: Ha ha ha ha!
Aaron: What'd you say?
Tavis: Yep. I said, 'Hey--' No, I can't say that on--yeah, I can't say on TV what I said. My mom is watching.
Aaron: You know, in London, though, if you go there, they don't pick you up there, either. I swear to--I mean, it's unbelievable. Because they have the prerogative not to pick you up, and they use it often.
Tavis: They take that prerogative in New York, but that's another issue.
Aaron: Well, I know. It's, uh... I'm sorry about that.
Tavis: You're sorry. So was I, ‘cause I was drenched in the rain, yeah. I needed the cab. Let me ask you--and I don't want to do politics here with you. That's not why I asked you on the program. But I am fascinated to the point you just made about how Americans are viewed around the world. It does give you some perspective. Given the way that we are not so much loved around the world these days because of politics, um, have you done much traveling outside the U.S. over the last couple of years? Have you noticed a difference in how people really now feel about-- or don't feel, as it were, about Americans?
Aaron: Yeah. I just did a play in London for 5 months, and it was interesting because I was watching this--they have the Houses of Parliament, where they all scream at each other.
Tavis: I love watching that on C-SPAN.
Aaron: They have it on C-SPAN?
Tavis: I'm, like, how's a guy supposed to talk if everybody's screaming and, 'Yah! Dah! Dah!' How do you get a word out?
Aaron: Well, I saw Tony Blair speaking, and I thought, 'Man, can that guy speak.' I mean, he really has command of the language and the issues.
Tavis: He's got a flair, yeah.
Aaron: Yeah, he really does. And so, what I started doing after that was, whenever I would take a cab, I would ask the cabbie what he thought of Tony Blair. Because I thought, is he pulling the wool over people's eyes, or is he loved? And I'll tell you, the cab drivers hate him. Hate him. You know--
Tavis: Aaron Eckhart's independent scientific poll of the cab drivers in London. They hate Tony Blair.
Aaron: They hate him. So...
Tavis: What do they think about Americans?
Aaron: Well, look--I mean, look, America's got the--around the London embassy, the American embassy in London, it's barricaded, they have machine guns, it's painted--these huge cement barriers are painted black and red.
Tavis: Sounds like the White House.
Aaron: Yeah. It gives you an idea how--I will say this, though, that, um, you know, tourism has suffered after 9/11 in London. And they were happy to see the Americans coming back and putting money into their coffers. So, it's a mixed bag, really. I guess they didn't like me until I tipped them.
Tavis: Yeah. Ha ha ha! That usually works.
Aaron: Or I said, 'Go England' in the--in the soccer.
Tavis: That usually works. What do you want to do with this awesome talent you have? I know you want to do that romantic comedy thing somewhere down the road to make your mama happy, but beyond that, what do you want to do with this talent you have?
Aaron: Ah...I'm not--I've got to find it. I've got to find and see if I've got any talent, and I've just got to become a better actor. That's what I really want to do. I want to work with great actors and I want to become a better actor and, um, and hone my craft. I feel like I have a long way to go as an actor.
Tavis: Give me one area right quick in which you think you can get better as an actor.
Aaron: Oh, God.
Tavis: Just one, just one. I don't see the deficiency, but you gotta give me one right quick. I'm out of time. You said you want to get better, Aaron! And you don't know where to start?
Aaron: No, I do--I--
Tavis: All right, you know what? Tell me later. Think about it. When we're off the air, you tell me. And the next time Aaron's on the show, he'll share with you that one area he's been working on, how much better he's gotten at it, and why he did get that role in that romantic comedy.
Aaron: Maybe combing my hair.
Tavis: Ha ha ha ha! Nice to see you. Aaron Eckhart. The movie is 'Suspect Zero.' Check it out.
That's our show for tonight. As always, you can catch me on the radio on NPR. See you back here next time on PBS. Until then, thanks for watching. Good night from Los Angeles, and as always, keep the faith.
Back to September 6, 2004