Q&A with EZRA MILLER: "I provoked them, and they were rougher"

We Need to Talk About Kevin's Ezra Miller chats with CP about how he prepared for his role as a school shooter, his own bad behavior and his experience playing Egyptian Ratscrew.

options

Q&A with EZRA MILLER: "I provoked them, and they were rougher"

POSTED: Thursday, March 8, 2012, 2:00 PM

Filed Under: Interview

Ezra Miller gives a phenomenal performance as the titular school shooter in We Need to Talk about Kevin (read City Paper's review here), a film especially timely in the wake of the recent high school shooting in Ohio. Miller, who has played a gay teen in Every Day and a recovering drug abuser in Another Happy Day, spoke with City Paper about how he prepared for his breakout role, his own bad behavior, and his experiences playing Egyptian Ratscrew.

City Paper: Given your previous screen roles, it seemed only a matter of time before I saw you play a full-on raging psycho. What appealed to you about playing Kevin?

Ezra Miller: It was a long time coming. Initially when I read the script, [Kevin] struck me as someone whose persona and actions were difficult to understand, but I found an avenue, a channel to identify with him on a basic, primal human level — he is a kid who wants his mother’s love and attention. Building on the fundamental elements of wanting love [provides] strong justifications that guide him through his deed. What lies beneath is something very basic and human. As an actor, it continued to provide a challenge and excitement through the whole process.

CP: Did you have fears that this performance would lead to you being stereotyped for future roles?

EM: Certainly that’s a concern, but it comes down to a choice. I will always have an option, and because I feel wary of getting pigeonholed, as it were, I will be selectively avoiding roles that fall down the same alley for a while. It is quite fun, and you see and understand how villain actors can get stuck on that track — it is a joyous endeavor. You explore characters with vast complexity and they contain multitudes. I want to keep going to new places. I’ll be saying no to some killer [roles] in near future.

CP: What research did you do on the topic of teens that kill?

EM: A whole lot. Probably more than was healthy for my understanding of [Kevin’s] world. In the end, you see things that are startling, and constant in cases of school massacres — in this country, specifically. Kevin seemed like an exception after all that research. The true reasoning behind his act was not peer social. In fact, it was a smokescreen or a performance art act for the benefit of one human being. There’s a scene we filmed but it’s not in the film, where his mother asked why he killed [people]. But when you’re putting on a show, you don’t shoot the audience. It’s a show, or a performance, for an emotional conquest. That made it different from Columbine or Virginia Tech.

CP: How did you work on Kevin’s expressions, which are all kinds of smug and sinister?

EM: The sneer, we called it. It all fell together in a nice way. It’s a funny feeling where the character and how his sardonic aspect feeds into his sexual persona, and his true discomfort at his core. It created itself in a nice way. That sneer in particular ended up being a pivotal symbol in the film. On the first day, Tilda [Swinton] did a mirror image of it and fit that in multiple parts of the film to show the root of Kevin’s smirk. It was a reflective motion — the son can be a mirror for the parent. That [idea] was more horrifying than anything else.

CP: Can you discuss Kevin’s look? His hair seemed pretty specific in framing his face, and his collection of T-shirts was wild. But he often appeared shirtless for effect.

EM: After reading the script the first time, I had a specific idea of what his hair would look like — including certain pieces that were longer than others — that stuck out to me as quintessentially creepy and slightly provocative, in an untraceable manner. I was so deeply invested in this role, I had my friend and band mate cut my hair into that shape before my last two auditions. We kept it with some minor adjustments to make it more extreme. The clothing was really specific, an intentional motif. He’s was wearing the same clothes he had at 9. He won’t allow his mother to go through the motions of motherhood — to fool herself or anyone — by dressing him, feeding him, or doing the superficial things that compose the mothering/nurturing act.

CP: What’s the worst thing you did as a kid that your mother punished you for?

EM: I remember this time when I stuck chewing gum in my friend’s hair. At the time I couldn’t explain the motivation, but it was one of those senseless things — you do it to understand its repercussions in that time in youth when you run unfortunate experiments to know you’re capable of hurting and lying. I wasn’t particularly violent except with my sister. I remember shoving her head into the snow, and her biting my arm until I bled. We were rough with each other. I channeled my violence in make believe. I did things to imaginary bad guys.

CP: What was it like to be handcuffed and placed in a police car?

EM: That was fantastic! We got real police officers. We got a squad of Connecticut cops. We asked them to perform the procedure — what they would do in this exact situation. It was cool and frightening. But we sensed they were holding back, so before the last take — this sounds ridiculous but it’s very true — I said “You fucking PIGS!,” and you see [how] they slammed my head against the car, and pushed me into the vehicle. I provoked them, and they were rougher.

CP: Kevin plays mini golf and shoots archery, but also collects computer viruses. What are your hobbies?

EM: In my life, it’s hard to find a hobby, but I play a lot of music, and I do collect velvet smoking jackets. I don’t enjoy many sports, but I enjoy card games. We’ve been playing Egyptian Ratscrew. You have to play with someone you have a comfortable and sound relationship with.

We Need to Talk About Kevin opens this weekend at Ritz at the Bourse.

(@garymkramer)

Posted by Gary M. Kramer @ 2:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Comments (0)

Q&A with SHARI SOLANIS: "The goal isn't pornography"
SEXY TIME Q&A: I've never had an orgasm during sex with a man — and I'm 30!
NOW SEE THIS: Transit cop arrests marijuana activist for alleged disorderly conduct.
CONCERT REVIEW: Primus (3D & quadraphonic sound) @ The Tower 10/17
What we're trying to do this weekend
Q&A with Tony Goldwyn: "Life is gray, and relationships are, too"
ICEPACK ILLUSTRATED: Indian fare rules, Dunder Mifflin lives on, Tom Jones is a god
Bradley Cooper promises he's not an asshole
Q&A with Goon’s Seann William Scott
CITY PAPER WRITING CONTEST 2013: Send stories! Send poetry!

About this blog

Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

Follow Critical Mass editors Patrick Rapa and Emily Guendelsberger on Twitter:

@mission2denmark | @emilygee

Search this blog:

Topics:

Blog archives:

May
April
March

February
January

Past Archives: