E R I C D A N E
Interview} John Russo
Photographs by} John Russo
Location} Los Angeles, California
Produced by} Ken Waller for Photohouse Productions
Grooming} Christine Nelli for Forward Artists
Styling} Cannon for the Cannon Media group.
JR: So can we talk about Euphoria? Absolutely amazing, raw, in your face, your character is definitely not expected, (laughs) which I think makes him brilliant. When you were offered the script did you have any reservations about taking this role?
ED: No, I jumped at it, leapt at the opportunity. Cause nobody had ever asked me to do anything outside of the, be the archetypal character that they see when you look at me. And to date that was a plastic surgeon and an Army-Navy commander, right. Which are two very specific kinds of vibes. And while I have no problem playing those characters, I never truly felt like I was that guy. Part of my job is leaving behind that guy and being the guy that is being asked of me to play. But I don’t necessarily feel like a Navy captain or a hot plastic surgeon, I don’t know. I am a big fan of my insides don’t necessarily match my outsides.
JR: How did you mentally get into that character, the thought process, specifically with Euphoria and I just loved that character, as did so many other people. I think it was brilliant.
ED: Thank you. I found a way in with other areas of my life where I sort of felt like, like I just said, I don’t know necessarily that my insides match my outsides and how people perceive me is how I saw myself. And a big part of the reason why I took that job was to kind of mix it up a little bit. And to answer your earlier question, I didn’t really have any reservations, I thought it was an interesting choice too. I mean it made sense because in a way I kind of am that guy, I am the successful pillar in the community, dutiful husband who had great kids, football stars and blah, blah and all these things that sort of put up this sort of facade that I have at all. And not only that, I make every right choice and I am doing everything correctly, but it couldn’t be more the opposite, right? And while I don’t have that as my life experience specifically, I have other things to draw on in my life that are no different.
JR: 100 percent, I totally get that.
JR: In your next film, One Fast Move, you play an estranged father helping his son to pursue his dream of becoming a professional motorcycle racer. Prior to this role did you have any knowledge of the world of professional racing?
ED: You know I have been to a couple of Moto GP events, they are beyond exciting and electrifying. And I have ridden motorcycles for a while now, but I never experienced the world of super bike racing. And that’s my story starring me. (he laughs)
JR: What is it about sports dramas like Friday Night Lights, Ford VS Ferrari and Rocky that you think resonate so well with the American audiences?
ED: I think people love stories of redemption. I think people love stories of triumph against all odds, and don’t forget Hoosiers, the greatest sports movie ever, and The Natural, Hoosiers are I think the two greatest sports movies. One Fast Move is right behind it. But I think people love stories of redemption. And the underdog, people love stories with the underdog,
JR: So in Bad Boys Ride or Die, you are the villain. How is that experience, just being a part of that whole franchise?
ED: It’s fun. It’s a Jerry Bruckheimer movie and it’s Will Smith & Martin Lawrence and there’s a studio behind it and it’s got a release date and it’s got distribution and they have got a lot of money and it’s all these things that make for a kind of fun or sound working environment. And then you get personalities. And I couldn’t have been more pleased with the people that I worked with on that production, it was super fun. I am happy to report back that Will Smith is a fucking amazing guy. And I had a lot of fun with it. But playing the bad guy is fun. And my pat response is you get to do all the things, most of the things you wanted to do or say without having to experience real world consequences. And that’s part of the appeal. And the rest of it is just getting to be a part of that franchise, getting to be a part of something that’s as big and recognizable with the exposure that it gets and how beloved those characters are to their audience. Just going along for the ride man.
JR: How do you think this film compares to the past films in the franchise?
ED: You know, there’s a through line between the third installment and this one, because you have the same two directors. You have Mike Bay doing the first two and you have Adil and Bilall doing the second two. Both teams, Michael and Adil and Bilall are super adept at shooting action sequences while maintaining story, they are visually really dynamic guys. And after seeing the third one I knew that it was going to look amazing. But the script for the fourth one was terrific, Chris Bremmer did a great job with it. So the story was there and we knew that visually the tonality was going to be there because the directors had proven themselves on the third one. So in that regard, personally I think this is the best of all of them, because I think everything kind of culminated into this really great, so this one puts a story to an end that had been kind of a common denominator between the first three installments. And this kind of closes, kind of buttons up everything nicely I think.
JR: And that helicopter scene was pretty epic. Was that like all A.I. or was that real?
ED: No, that’s real. We had a massive Chinook helicopter on a gimbal and there’s, when people are parachuting out of the back of it, that’s CGI. But for the most part, all the fighting inside was practical.
JR: Yeah I have to see that, I can’t wait to see this movie.
ED: You have to.
JR: So the dream roles, some actors have had it, some actors are searching for it. Have you had your dream role and if so, what was it, and if not, what would you like it to be?
ED: I would like to think that the way that I approach the job, any next role is the dream role. But I guess to answer your question, I haven’t gotten it yet, it’s still in front of me. And while the runway behind me may be a lot longer than the runway in front of me as far as my life goes, I still think my best days are ahead of me.
JR: So these days, anybody with an I-Phone is now a filmmaker. Filmmaking is more accessible than it was back in the day. What do you think about this whole revolution of young filmmakers basically creating their own vehicles, or actors creating their own vehicles. Are you on board with this new approach to filmmaking?
ED: I love it. Anything, anyway, any sort of accessibility that you can offer somebody so that we can get great art, I don’t care how it fucking comes. A good idea is a good idea. And whether some kid in the midwest with an I-Phone creates a feature length film with his friends, I don’t think it makes it any less artistic, I don’t think the endeavor is any less worthy and I don’t think the finished product is any less meaningful than say something Martin Scorsese did with the 80 million dollar support of a studio. It’s art, people create, so there’s more avenues and a better conduit to that.
JR: I couldn’t agree with you more on that one.
JR: So is there an actor or director that you have not worked with that you would love to work with?
ED: You know, Denis Villaneuve creates such great worlds, I would love to work with him. Martin Scorsese would be great to work with because he’s such a master, it would be fun to get in there and watch him do his thing. Steven Spielberg is so great, all these great directors who I have heard that were really great with actors, I would love to get the opportunity to work with these people who have worked with the best of the best. They are the ultimate in our field, for acting, photographers, art, filmmaking, they are the gods of it all, the GOATS.
JR: A lot of my actor friends are on a roller coaster ride trying to adapt to current Hollywood. What are your thoughts on the current political correctness of Hollywood? The notion that you have to like what everyone in Hollywood is liking or else.
ER: I think words are powerful and I think with the exposure that people are allowed with these various platforms without any arbiters to make determinations on what gets seen and what doesn’t get seen, I think people in general need to be very selective with the words that they use because words are powerful. And I think it’s a very tricky climate to navigate. But my advice I give to myself and I would give to anybody else is, choose your words very carefully. I don’t take a political position or a social position on really anything because everybody buys movie tickets and everybody watches TV. So I don’t want to alienate anybody, that’s just part of my job. I’m not a politician, I’m not an activist, I don’t need to speak up on anything. That said, I am still very careful with how I word things.
JR: If you have an opinion that is not in alignment with the current popular movement or trend, you are called out and potentially canceled. Do you think this has gone to the extreme and is forcing people to conform to get work and stay in the game?
ED: I think the idea of, “if there’s a little innocent bloodshed to move the overall sort of ideology into the right direction” is wrong. Personally I am not against anybody but that doesn’t necessarily mean I am for anybody either. I think everybody has a right to an opinion and a voice. But I do think that when you get into destroying people’s lives and chalking it up to well there’s got to be some innocent bloodshed to course correct and ultimately right the ship, I’m like uh, I don’t know if that’s such a great thing or if that is necessary, I don’t even know if that is necessary. But thankfully I have been able to stay out of this conversation, I am going to stick to that.
JR: So if there is one thing that you could change about today’s entertainment industry, what would it be?
ED: You know I think there used to be a lot more opportunity for actors. And that has diminished greatly over the past ten years, fifteen years. I can’t put a finger on why exactly that is, but I know that opportunities are scarce. Obviously movie studios aren’t making the amount of films they would make annually because the 40 to 60 million dollar movie doesn’t exist anymore, which actually gave birth to a whole new movement in independent filmmaking, which has been great. But I think the opportunities have diminished and they don’t like they are course correcting.
JR: The way the industry has changed is crazy. And definitely I think the people like yourself, bankable actors, will continue to work and prosper and find new ways and new vehicles to succeed.
ED: I hope so, from your mouth to God’s ears brother. (laughter)
JR: So finish this sentence, I worked with Eric Dane on set a few times and I have got to tell you, he is really ________
ED: Pleasant to be around. Wasn’t that your experience John Russo?
JR: It totally was!
JR: Yes, you were friendly when I shot you when we were fucking in our 20s, we were at my studio on Wilshire Boulevard, in the garage, with my friend Dan’s cool old Karmann Ghia convertible and you were just awesome. Crazy has fast 20 years goes by! I got to witness your career just go up and up and up and I caught you at a different stage in your career and got to photograph you again and talk to you, which is the beauty of what I do.
ED: Well you are just as pleasant to be around. I had fun shooting with you John.
To learn more about Eric follow him @realericdane