“Resurrecting the Champ’s” Hartnett: ‘Loved the kid, happy to hand him back’
By Stacey Silberman
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 8/22/07 – Actor Josh Hartnett (“Black Hawk Down,” “Pearl Harbor”) says he was ready to embrace his first-time role as father. If that will play out in his real life as it did in his new film, “Resurrecting the Champ” is another question.
“It was a film, so I got to hand the boy back to his mother at the end of the day, so it wasn’t a lot of responsibility,” he told Hollywood Today. “It was fun playing with the boy, but I’m not yet ready to be a father.”
Hartnett, who in person doesn’t look much older than a college kid, plays an ambitious, down on his luck journalist who is father to six-year old Teddy, (newcomer Dakota Goyo) in the Rod Lurie directed “Champ.” Hartnett’s role focuses a lot on the father-son dynamic, dramatizing the inability of his character to step up and be the father he wants to be.
He soon realizes that he is a carbon copy of his own inept father. Kernan is an extremely motivated writer at a Denver newspaper. But, he is faltering in every way possible. His editor (played by Alan Alda) is continually on his back, berating him about the steady stream of mediocrity he churns out, at every opportunity.
His inspiration as a father was drawn from experience as a babysitter to his younger siblings, his observation of his friends with children and his own experience as a son. He said he had a very good relationship with his father. In addition, Lurie showed the cast the movie and a documentary “Kramer vs. Kramer.” He pointed out Dustin Hoffman’s technique in bonding with his actor son that proved to be an inspiration to both Hartnett and Goyo. “The kid is so sweet, we bonded within three days and he was hanging onto my leg like a son,” said Hartnett.
Hartnett feels he’s grown up after 21-plus films over the last decade and wants to diversify as an actor. Other past projects include “The Black Dahlia” and “Sin City.” “The shift in my career is that I’d really like to have a little more input in the final cut,” said Hartnett.” Big paychecks and super stardom are not the driving force behind his compulsion to succeed. To the contrary, the striking 6’3” actor is purely project driven. He looks for unique stories with well-developed complex characters, like Kernan, who ring true and challenge him to grow. “When I read something that’s new, I want to be a part of it. And he thinks that movies like “Champ” are the ones that really affect people. According to Hartnett, this strategy has paid off.
He told Hollywood Today, “I’ve been lucky because I’ve been in films that have made money!”
“Resurrecting the Champ” is loosely based on a true story about a Los Angeles Times sports writer named J.R. Moehringer. The film is an uplifting tale of a journalist who almost lost everything before stumbling onto the story of a lifetime. The film also stars Samuel L. Jackson as the “Champ”. Kernan comes to the Champ’s rescue when he witnesses the violent assault against him by a gang of sadistic street thugs. He soon realizes that the man he saved was an old boxing champion, presumed to be dead.
This discovery would be the beginning of his transformation from mediocrity to extraordinary hero. But he finds some things are too good to be true.
Hartnett learned some new acting techniques while working with veteran cast members Jackson and Alda. Jackson completely immersed himself into the role. He had to go through a dramatic transformation that aged him by twenty-years and he had to look like a drunken homeless man. He has his own specialists in the art of hair and make-up. He changed everything from the way he walks and talks, right down to his inner soul. “Working with Jackson was an inspiration and exposed me to a different approach in character development,” said Hartnett.
The well-acted drama also focuses on the concept of journalistic integrity, which is a sore subject, affecting most actors and celebrities today. It’s about the “dog eat dog” world of journalism and the competition among reporters to find great untold stories. It explores the distinction between gossip and the truth.
When asked about his own experience with the press, Hartnett claimed, “In celebrity journalism there’s this fine line between gossip and journalism and people sometimes don’t know the difference and I hear about it all the time. 95% of the stories written about me are false. Sometimes you only have ten minutes and it’s hard. I understand the mistakes.” Hartnett had the opportunity to work with actual journalists in New York, Denver and Calgary to research his character. In doing so, he developed an unexpected respect for the intense pressure that journalists face today.
Hartnett seems to take a lot of pride in his first performance as a dad. He has stepped up to a new level as an actor. And, the well-casted small-budget drama was well-received at the Sundance Film Festival.
Hartnett is currently working on the project, “I Come With the Rain,” filming in Hong Kong. The film is a thriller, but does not have a lot of stunts. Hartnett told Hollywood Today that when he returns to the set, “We’re shooting in a gold mine that is being protected by guys with machine guns and we’re staying in a whore house. We rent it by the hour. It looks like nothing you’ve ever seen before. The director had a very specific idea for this film and this is the site that he wanted for the shoot. People who work in the mines live in shacks with multiple families and the whore house is the only place a man and a woman can be together.”
He is also set to star in what he called “a vampire-related film called ‘30 Days.’” It is based on a graphic novel. Hartnett said, “I’m a really big fan of those old vampire genre films. “Danny Houston is a genius. It is a very scary script.” It looks like Hartnett may be taking a turn back into his original horror film days, but on a much larger scale.