Q: Was it hard for you to get into character, with that crazy fan and media circus going on all around you?
RP: Kind of, at the beginning. And then about halfway through, I sort of had an epiphany about it. I don’t know what happened, but it was just fine. But at the beginning, it was just insane. Especially for a character who’s supposed to be lost, and looking for things all the time. But you just have to be more disciplined about it.
Q: How do you deal with the wild stuff always going on, whenever you show up?
RP: It’s just sort of learning how to black things out. But you can’t look up. Because then all the cameras accelerate. You know, you can’t smile, or behave normally.
Q: How do you feel about the fact that you remind so many people of James Dean?
RP: I don’t know if it’s a bad thing. But it’s great. Um…Yeah! I think James Dean has been one of the most influential persons for young guys, especially for actors. Definitely, in the last 50 years. So yeah, I’m not ashamed to say that I’m very much influenced by him!
Q: This character is a lot like Cullen in Twilight, actually. So are you worried about becoming typecast as the brooding, wounded guy in movies?
RP: Ah, maybe I just am brooding and wounded! And I’m only just realizing it. Nah, I’m not. You just take little steps. But I’m always quite aware of how people are going to view things. And you kind of have to go halfway.
Like if I played a 400-pound woman, or something. I mean, people are probably going to judge it more harshly than other people who have been doing character parts for 20 years. So all these projects, I’ve been doing them, not in a calculated way, but little baby steps towards other things.
I mean, the thing I’m doing now is completely different, in some ways. But at the same time, it’s got a lot of intensity. And I like that, it’s what I like in characters. People do judge me differently after Twilight. But there’s nothing you can do about that.
Q: How about your strange gig as Salvador Dali in the movie, Little Ashes?
RP: I didn’t think anyone was ever going to see it! And it’s a very different place to be at, when you think you’re making a movie that nobody’s going to see!
Q: How so?
RP: You’re not afraid to experiment with things.
Q: Do you feel you were able to bring your all to Remember Me?
RP: I don’t know. I don’t know what my all is!
Q: In what way did you relate to your character Tyler personally?
RP: He’s always the one being harmed. I mean, looking back into the past, bearing grudges and things, I don’t really do that. But the way his violence comes out and doesn’t have legitimate targets, I related to that.
You know, when you have a spasm of rage, it goes almost inevitably to a completely wrong target. And it causes you more problems. So it’s much better to keep it chained up.
Q: There’s also a lot of fighting going on between Tyler and his father, played by Pierce Brosnan. Is that anything like your relationship with your own father?
RP: My relationship with my father is the opposite! Actually, Pierce’s character in the script was more controlling and arrogant. But Pierce is just a nice guy! So he wanted the character to be not as horrible a man, or a monster. And that completely changed Tyler’s relationship with him.
But I thought it was quite interesting, that this guy is rebelling against nothing. And I’m just attacking him, because I know he can be attacked. But Pierce is great. I had no idea who they were going to cast. And when I found out it was Pierce, I thought, “This is going to be a tough act to follow!”
Q: Were you ever worried you wouldn’t pull off an American accent?
RP: Well, with Pierce being Irish and Emile being Australian, I always had a great excuse! But I grew up watching American movies, so I learned how to act by watching American movies, way more than English ones. And I kind of feel a lot more comfortable speaking American. It feels more real to me, in a lot of ways.
Q: Now about those abs you developed for this movie, how about, you know, just a sneak peak?
RP: They went away, it’s been a while since they were here! It’s been months!