Q&A with HALEY JOEL OSMENT: No "I see dead people" jokes

We've been keeping an eye on the 23-year-old Osment, who made his bones locally in The Sixth Sense. Happily, he's outgrown the baby face.

0 comments

Q&A with HALEY JOEL OSMENT: No "I see dead people" jokes

POSTED: Thursday, October 27, 2011, 2:00 PM

Filed Under: Interview | Movies

From left to right: Director Anders Cato with actor Haley Joel Osment, Philadelphia Theatre Co. artistic director Sara Garonzik, and actor Stephen Rowe at the cast party following the opening of PTC’s production of the Tony Award-winning play RED, running now through Nov. 13 at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre. (Paola Nogueras)

Here's what we know: Suzanne Roberts Theatre. Director Anders Cato's RED, written by John Logan. A biographical drama about abstract expressionist Mark Rothko performed by two actors at Philadelphia Theatre Co. through Nov. 13. (Read David Anthony Fox's review here.)

After that, it’s been up to Stephen Rowe (as the eternally difficult Rothko) and Haley Joel Osment (as his beleaguered assistant, Ken) to create stoic, wonky whimsy from the dark and difficult magnetism of abstract expressionism. Each actor is energetic and coolly curt in their roles. But for Philadelphia, our eyes have been mostly on the 23-year-old Osment, who made his bones locally by starring in M. Night Shyalamalan’s The Sixth Sense. Happily, Osment has outgrown the baby face we remember cinematically and become a stately, bold acting presence. I chatted with him after the first performance. No seeing dead people jokes.

City Paper: The first moment of RED finds your character just staring at us, the audience. It’s a painting, of course, that you’re looking at, but that abyss: We are a substitute for Rothko’s work. And you seem so symmetrically square and spare standing there. What are you thinking right at that moment?
Haley Joel Osment: The use of a painting unseen by the audience — and technically invisible to we actors — gives us a way to open up the deeply personal and private experience of observing a painting to everyone out in their seats. We spend a lot of the play looking out into the abyss, and it's a useful tool for our performances, balancing the suspension of disbelief we require to ignore all those pairs of eyes with the living, breathing sensation we know Rothko's paintings possess. Both Stephen and I have spent time with the real Rothko paintings scattered around the world, so I think it's an exciting and beneficial energy within the play, that of our imagination and memories of those paintings working to create the reality of those scenes each night.

CP: It’s a big deal for you to pick a play — this play — as your first after graduating NYU. Why this one? What spoke to you about RED and the role of Ken?
HJO: I think RED offers a fantastic opportunity to explore the evolution of an intense relationship between two characters, one that’s both contentious and caring. My strategy in selecting projects — theatrical or on film — has been to find ways to stretch myself as an actor, to keep searching for challenges I haven't faced yet. Acting is a craft you can be learning about until the day you die so there's always the motivation to do the most you can when you can. RED is such a challenge and it's unique among the roles I've done in that Ken is in many ways an antagonist. Although that doesn't encompass everything he is or does, his courage in standing up to a titan like Rothko and defining his place in the world is an inspiring and instructive task to take on.

CP: Why take that first big role here, in Philadelphia, rather than wait for the New York City stages?
HJO: I always follow the material. I have been working mainly in New York since graduation, but film shoots have taken me back to the West coast and in the summer I was lucky enough to participate in a theatrical workshop in Cuba — with the U.S. government's permission, of course. There's great theater everywhere, and the opportunity to do something as powerful as RED was impossible to pass up. The director, Anders Cato went to the same drama studio (the Experimental Theatre Wing) at NYU Tisch that I did so that added to my interest.

CP: There’s a line of thought/reasoning that Rothko/Rowe states in regard to young audiences/painters have no past, no deep references and that we live in a world of “nice.” You’re a young man — does it bug you that 50-plus years after this play takes place, the script sounds as if it's talking about the present?
HJO: With regard to that line, Rothko is both right and wrong. … It's easy to generalize about ignorance and apathy in younger people, but I have been lucky enough to interact with many, many students my age in the past few years I've been in New York who are quite the opposite. And that's just in one city. I think the pettiness and negativity that characterizes most internet interaction and social networking leads us to believe that the situation is more dire than it really is with the younger generation. One of the most respectful — you know, no cell phones ringing — and engaged audiences we had was an 11 a.m. matinee of high school students last week; that was encouraging. That said, it’s very important to push ourselves toward a complete education like the one Rothko begins to describe in Scene 1 if we really want to be of use in our field.

CP: What is your relationship with Rowe in rehearsal — it really is just you two and a spacious, barren stage?
HJO: I can't imagine doing this play without a powerful sense of support and respect between the two actors. Stephen has provided that and so much more; he's an actor who's done it all in the theater and for that reason I'm always making an effort to learn everything I can from his honesty, professionalism and generosity. Having him as a partner in this project has been terrific.

CP: What was hardest about the rehearsal process, nailing the perfect rhythm?
HJO: The short rehearsal schedule was a huge challenge in putting this complex play together; we only had two weeks of rehearsal in New York City before coming down to Philadelphia to do previews. It's a very tech-heavy play and on top of the priming of the canvas that serves as the centerpiece for Scene 3, we're mixing paint, moving frames and trucking stuff all over the stage the whole play through. We were helped by Stephen's past experience with the play, he having been Alfred Molina's understudy for the 2010 Broadway production. While Stephen has found his own wonderful interpretation of Rothko and we have produced something new — as Rothko demands in the text — not depending on past productions, it certainly helps that Stephen already knew all his lines! It was a great motivation for me to get everything together posthaste. This week, starting with our opening night, it's been a great feeling to have made all the technical aspects become second nature and really dig into the reality of the world RED illustrates.

CP: You’ve been in town for a minute now — is there anything that springs to mind immediately from your past dealings with Philly?
HJO: I've always loved spending time in Philadelphia. I first stayed in the city for an extended period of time in 1998, during filming for Sixth Sense. In 2006 I started studies at NYU and frequently came down on the train over the past five years, visiting friends and seeing shows in the area. This time I'm staying in Center City and I'm having a great time. Nightlife and dining aside, there’s such a strong historical presence in Philadelphia. Along with the museums and monuments that presence creates an atmosphere that I really enjoy.

Posted by A.D. Amorosi @ 2:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

0 comments

Comments (0)

PHILLY LOVE NOTES: An ode to Spruce Street
Q&A with SHARI SOLANIS: "The goal isn't pornography"
ICE CUBE: In Memoriam: Joe Tartaglia
CONCERT REVIEW & PHOTOS: James Blake @ TLA 5/11
What we're trying to do this weekend
SEXY TIME Q&A: I've never had an orgasm during sex with a man — and I'm 30!
Coming soon to Philly: Two cockamamie movie promotion schemes
Q&A with Tony Goldwyn: "Life is gray, and relationships are, too"
CONCERT REVIEW: Primus (3D & quadraphonic sound) @ The Tower 10/17
ICEPACK ILLUSTRATED: The Archbishop meets the Geator, the Mayor goes suit shopping, Le Bec Fin fin.

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: