with him for, goodness, nine years or
something, but he remembered doing
J Edgar together and that was really
sweet. He’s a real sweetheart. And of
course Timothy Olyphant I worked with
for many years on Justified and he’s
a lovely guy and a great friend.
Do you find there is added pressure
in portraying a real person as opposed
to a fictional character?
Yes and no, because at least the advantage
you have [in playing a real person] is you
have a starting point. When there are just
words on a page, you’re always second-
guessing. What do they want this to be?
Who is this character? Am I going to bring
it to life in the way they would have
hoped? When there’s a real character
- especially if there’s footage – then
you’re already halfway there to some
degree. Where it is hard is you then
have to pull it off.
What drew you to the role?
Actors like playing really cool roles and if
it’s a complex role then it’s all the more
interesting. I felt like there was a challenge
there and you don’t get challenges like
that too often. Having watched pretty
much everything of the guy, there are
a lot of different Mansons depending
on which day – or in fact which minute
- he was speaking. It was definitely
a challenge to work out exactly how
to approach it. You also have things
like make-up and hair to help and, in
the case of a Quentin Tarantino script,
really great dialogue.
Can you still walk around Hollywood
without being recognised?
Yes. I can walk around Australia without
being recognised! I think I have the
fortune of looking, in a lot of the roles
I’ve done, different from how I look in
day-to-day life. It’s very rare that someone
recognises me in the street. It happens
occasionally and people are always lovely,
but it’s certainly not something that happens
often. And in America even less.
Do you relish that, though – that you
can have this amazing career doing
what you love, yet still just be Damon?
Yeah, I feel very fortunate. That’s a pretty
lucky place to be in. I might just have to
keep playing more of these characters
that don’t look like me to keep that up!
Who else would you still like to work with?
There are lots. Actor-wise, Meryl Streep,
she is just the best. Again, living in fantasy
Actors like
playing really cool
roles and if it’s
a complex role then
it’s all the more
interesting
20 Foxtel AUGUST