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Mania Exclusive Interview: Watchmen, Part I
Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Jackie Earl Haley By
Rob Vaux
August 01, 2008
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian in WATCHMEN(2009).
© Warner Bros.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is best known for his work on television, playing missing father John Winchester in Supernatural and making recurring appearances on Grey's Anatomy. Jackie Earl Haley enjoyed success as a child actor—most notably as Kelly Leak in the Bad News Bears movies—but subsequently sank into obscurity upon reaching adulthood. That was before his unforgettable turn as a paroled child molester in Todd Field's Little Children, which earned him an Oscar nomination and led him straight to the role of Rorschach, the tormented vigilante/provocateur in the big screen production of Watchmen. There he joined Morgan, who had been cast as the story's other therapeutically deficient figure—government agent, rapist and so-called "hero" the Comedian. The two spoke to members of the press at this year's San Diego Comic Con about the challenge of bringing such potent characters to life.
Question: Jeffrey, you have that very intense rape scene from the book where your character assaults Sally Jupiter [played in the film by Carla Gugino]. Can you talk a little bit about that? It's a key scene and yet it's pretty brutal.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan: Yeah, you're sitting with the two guys who are probably the most screwed up in this movie. Our characters are screwed up, and as actors, we had a lot of challenges to go through. That scene in particular, it was just… vicious. And I knew going in that it was going to be tough--I had read the graphic novel and I saw what it was. But when we were shooting it, I made the mistake of going back and looking at a little bit of the playback on the monitor. It was maybe the biggest mistake I've ever made in the course of my acting career because what I saw was… repulsive. I don't claim to be a big Method actor: I do my work and I enjoy it. But that was a rough couple of days shooting that scene, and it stuck with me. I still have it in my head.
Some of the things the Comedian does, you just can't make excuses for. Even as an actor. I mean, you want to find the humanity in anyone you're playing, but you wonder what his motivation is sometimes. I was constantly trying to find that out. On some level, that’s just the way he is. He was built that way. But at the same time, you don't hate him. I didn't hate him when I read the book, despite all these awful things he's done. I even asked myself, "Why don't I hate this guy? I really should." You can even sympathize with him at points, like in the scene with Moloch. What is it about him that generates that? I had to find that point, that razor's edge between the two. That was basically my job in this film, and it was hard sometimes. But it was also a joy as an actor to try and achieve that very delicate balancing act.
Q: They showed you getting thrown out the window in the trailer. How did they shoot that?
JDM: By throwing me out the window. [Laughs.] That's me in every frame of that. The opening sequence is actually the first thing we shot in the film. I had a great time doing it. Wirework is fun. In fact, the first couple of times we did it, Zack [Snyder] had to tell me to stop smiling. It was like a ride at Disneyland, and I had to get it into my head that this guy was actually falling to his death. I think we got it, though. The final footage just blows my mind. I just saw it a few minutes ago, and it… did it look good to you guys? I thought it looked good.
Q: Jackie, Rorschach is easily the most popular character in the book. Were you prepared for those expectations when you took on the role?
Jackie Earl Haley: It's wonderfully exciting. Through the process, I've become a big fan of the source material. I'm excited to be a part of the film, and half of me is still geeking out like a fanboy. Like Jeff, I looked at the footage for the time just now, and I had to keep pushing my mouth closed.
Q: How hard was it to get into the mindset of such a troubled character? Did you distance yourself from it or embrace it?
JEH: It's comforting to hear Jeffrey talk about his response to his character. Characters don't normally stick in my head. I can leave them on the set. Even the character I played in Little Children--that was a pretty messed up guy, and I could still walk away from him at the end of the day. For the most part, I did that with Rorschach as well, but there were some things that really stuck with you. The way Rorschach dealt with the child molester, for example, and the particular way we shot that sequence. I don't want to give too much away--and I could go back and do it again if I needed to--but there was something about it that didn't sit quietly in my head. I'm glad Jeff suffered for his art too. [Looking at Morgan.] Sorry, man.
Q: It's always a challenge to transfer literary characters to the screen. There's things that work on the page that just won't work as well in a movie or television program. How did you approach that issue when you came to film it? Were there new elements you could bring to the characters?
JDM: When working with the other actors and Zack [Snyder], we had permission to try new things. We were able to try anything, actually. But it all had to stem from the graphic novel. That was our Bible and you couldn't do anything that didn't fit in with its blueprint. There was so much preparation involved. We were immersed in this universe four, five, six months before we started shooting. And there was a lot of rehearsals and discussion in Vancouver beforehand. I don't think I've asked so many questions in my life about any character I've ever done. It went on for months. By the time shooting started, we were pretty much dialed in. I think we all went through this: an amazing transformation happened when we put on our costumes. For me, I just needed a cigar in my mouth. The Comedian just came to life from there.
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