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Sam Rockwell is an actor known for taking interesting and challenging roles, such as game show host Chuck Barris in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind or the sex-addicted Victor in Choke, which likely prepared him to take on two difficult roles, that of astronaut Sam Bell in Moon, a movie that revolves entirely around Rockwell's solo performance, and rich industrialist Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2, a role Rockwell accepted "on faith" when the script arrived only one week prior to shooting.
With both movies, Rockwell is having a great time, in part due to the amount of improvising he gets to do, especially on Iron Man 2:
It's not dissimilar to other studio movies, but the thing that's different about it is [director Jon Favreau] really likes to improvise. So we get to play more on this movie than you would on a lot of studio movies.
Moon, with only Rockwell as the camera's focus, also had opportunities for improvisation:
The first [take] that you'd shoot you'd have more room for improvisation. The second one you'd have to get it within the window of time — you had a space of time for your line. I could change the ad-libs as long as they fit the same amounts of beats. You could ad-lib but you had to be very clever about it, otherwise it wouldn't work.
Still, acting alone is a challenge no matter how much freedom you have, as Rockwell discovered working on Moon:
I had a body double, and he was a young actor who I would work with sometimes. And sometimes I would work with a tennis ball, and I would act with myself. It was pretty complicated. My sense of timing came in handy. Whether that be comic timing, or like dance or something. Timing was very instrumental in making it work.
With Moon finished and released Friday in New York and L.A. before opening in other cities, Rockwell can now concentrate on Iron Man 2 and his fight scenes with Mickey Rourke:
We don't punch each other physically, but we do punch each other in other ways — it's emotional.
And this time, he won't have to do it alone.
Posted 06.13.09 by Ryan -
A sex-addicted con artist who spends his days working in a Colonial Williamsburg theme park isn't the type of role too many actors would want -- let alone be able to carry off. Yet Sam Rockwell does with perfect aplomb in Choke, the movie version of Chuck Palahniuk's cult novel of the same name. Find out how he prepared for his seedy role in our exclusive interview with Sam Rockwell.
Posted 09.23.08 by reelz -
Chuck Palahniuk's Choke is finally making it to the big screen, rolling out in limited release September 26th. ReelzChannel got the chance to check it out a little early, and we've got the Choke review for you today.
Stay tuned to ReelzChannel for more Choke coverage, including an upcoming exclusive interview with star Sam Rockwell. In the meantime, check out the Choke trailer and movie clips.
Posted 09.17.08 by reelz -
Clark Gregg's adaptation of the Chuck Palahniuk novel about a sexually addicted colonial reenactor with a crazy mother in a nursing home, Choke, is mere months away from hitting theaters. But the photos are here now!
Check out our Choke photo gallery to get a preview of the next movie from the author of Fight Club. It looks great.
Posted 07.09.08 by reelz -
We caught up with the talented Sam Rockwell here at AFI Dallas and got him to give us some details on his starring role in Choke--the next movie by the author of Fight Club.
To get the scoop, read our Exclusive Interview with Sam Rockwell on Choke.
Posted 04.06.08 by reelz -
It's pretty quiet out here in Hollywood this week, what with everyone rubbing elbows in Utah for the Sundance Film Festival.
It's been a bit of a slow fest on the sales side, with only a few movies finding homes. First to sell was Polanski: Wanted and Desired, a documentary on the rape-of-a-minor sex scandal that got director Roman Polanski permanently exiled from the U.S. 30 years ago. Other higher-profile sales include the Chuck Palahniuk adaptation, Choke, the Luke Wilson spiritual dramedy Henry Poole Is Here, and the high school comedy Hamlet 2.
For more information on the happenings at Sundance, visit our Sundance '08 page.
Source: Variety.
Posted 01.23.08 by reelz -
According to Variety, Irish actress Saoirse Ronan has been cast as the lead in Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold's bestselling novel about a young girl who is raped and murdered, and then watches from heaven as her family tries to move on. She will join Rachel Weisz and Ryan Gosling in the cast.
In other news, Clark Gregg (What Lies Beneath) has written and will be directing an adaption of Choke, a gritty story about a sex addict/living-history village actor who fakes choking in restaurants to get attention, free meals, and enough money to support his crazy mother's nursing home bills. The book was written by Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk, so you know it's hard core.
The film, which is set to start shooting in New Jersey this week (according to AintItCoolNews), will star Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston.
Posted 07.12.07 by reelz