Happy Sad Confused - Emile Hirsch

Episode Date: December 14, 2016

Emile Hirsch, acclaimed for performances in films like “Into the Wild”, “Milk”, and “Lone Survivor”, has returned to the big screen for “The Autopsy of Jane Doe”, a thriller that earned raves when it screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest earlier this year. In this, his first extensive interview in nearly two years, Hirsch opens up about his formative acting experiences, from “The Girl Next Door” and “Alpha Dog” to “Speed Racer.” He also opens up for the first time about the incident that changed the course of his life in 2015 when, drunk past the point of recall, he was arrested for aggravated assault at a nightclub during the Sundance Film Festival. Hirsch plead guilty to misdemeanor assault, servicing 15 days in jail. In this candid conversation, he candidly discusses for the first time his rehab time, sobriety, and finding clarity as the father of a three year old.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Or boogie, wooogie to work, where you boogie, boogie down the hall to your boss's office to tell him you quit. Sure got the boogie, boogie, boogie to the elevator. As he boogie wugie's after you begging, please take me with you. The electrified Jeep Grand Cherokee 4 by E. Learn more at jeep.com. Jeep is the registered trademark of FCA, U.S. LLC. Hey, guys, welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. This week, Emile Hirsch opens up and my review of Star Wars Rogue One.

I'm Josh Harowitz, and with me, as always, is Sammy. We need to just work on that. It should be better by this time. Sylvie. Sammy, Howard. Yes, so welcome to the show, guys. Thanks, as always, for tuning in this week. As I said, Emil Hirsch is on the show.

He's got a lot to talk about. We're going to talk about that because it's an interesting conversation to say the least that we cover a lot in. But first, I do want to talk about because I'm a big old nerd. And by the time you, and by the time you hear this, the embargo, the review embargo is up. I'm not going to give you any spoilers. So don't worry, but I have seen Rogue One. How do you feel? How do you?

I feel good, Sammy. Oh, that's good. I went in, because I know there's obviously a tremendous amount of curiosity around this. What is it? Well, I mean, it's basically a prequel to a New Hope, the original Star Wars movie. Prequel to the prequel. No, not the prequel to the prequel. The prequels are different.

We'll get into that another time. Okay, got it. So anyway, so it's great is my short review. It feels super. One of the cool things about it is that it very much feels of the world of those original trilogy movies. It's made in that spirit with those iconic stormtroopers and sound effects and look. And if anything, I would say it actually has more of a Star Wars, authentic Star Wars feel even than the Force Awakens, which I love Force Awakens. I have some issues with it. I certainly

have some issues with this film. But my first blush review, and anytime I see a Star Wars movie, it takes a little time to process. I need to see it like six times before I actually understand what I've seen. But I think I liked it more than the Force Awakens. What? Yeah. Yeah. I think it's a lot. It's a very satisfying... I love the Force Awakens. And I think the Force Awakens has the advantage of it, has maybe more emotional power because you were so invested in those characters.

You know, like, obviously, Han and Leia and the Spectre of Luke over it. And this film doesn't have, like, the aspect of, like, the Jedi and the Force. There's none of that kind of stuff in it. And that stuff I miss, but it compensates in other areas. The action in this, I will say, is awesome. It's probably the best action in a Star Wars movie. The last Force Awakens, I was sad And that there were no space fights

There's a ton of space fights in this So no lightsaber duels, but some space fights You get Darth Vader back There's a lot in here, it's a lot How is Ben Mendelssohn? Great. That cape, that white cape? Come on, guys.

Rocks it always. It really is an ensemble. Felicity Jones is great. Really loved, really in the entire ensemble. I love Diego, Luna. Who's the one? Who's going to be like the breakout, everyone? No. I mean, it's word to say that it's a breakout for Diego because he's been around forever, but it's a good look for him. Like, he's great in it.

It's a good. No, it is. And, no, they're all good. I really like them all on. There's some surprises, some surprise cameos, some Easter eggs for the fans. So, you know, I'm going to see it again this Friday. Any new voices for you to learn or do? Because everyone knows you do a great jar jar jar. I do a great jar jar. There's no, I will spill this. There's no jar jar burying. No, that's what I was trying to get to. A little bit annoyed about that. going to write a little old letter. Dear Mr. Lucas, not that he has anything to do with them anymore. But he should know. He should know. Just in case you didn't know, there's no, Jod.

You should know. Also worth mentioning, I've seen a lot of stuff lately. They had this, 20th Century Fox had a really cool exclusive, like, event for journalists and stuff where they showed a ton of footage of the upcoming films. I know, and I snuck in. And I saw a bunch of footage from Alien Covenant, the new alien movie, a new film called A Cure for Wellness, which stars Dane DeHan, which looks really good. And I saw Logan. I saw the first 40 minutes of the new Wolverine movie, the last Wolverine movie, supposedly. Okay. Tell us.

The first 40 minutes. Literally the first 40 minutes. So then it stops and were you like breathless? Yeah, kind of, because it ends on a great note. I mean, you've seen the trailer by now, and you can tell that it's a different feel. This is definitely a hard-ar, like, from the first couple minutes, like F-bombs galore. Oh, my God, I can't wait. Yeah, so there's a novelty factor to that, but it's more than just, like, the novelty of, oh, wow, he's saying fuck a lot.

It's actually, like, it feels stripped down. There's, like, a rawness. There is. There's definitely a rawness, certainly compared to the other X-Men films. And I feel like that's what they've wanted to do with Wolverine for a long time. Yeah, they've wanted to get to the, like, rawness of this character, but it's never quite gotten there. Well, what they say, what I heard is that Hugh Jackman actually cut his... You don't need to say his last name.

We know exactly what you're talking about. Hugh cut his price down just to make the film, like, so that they could do it the way they wanted to do it. Of course he did. But, I mean, of course he did, because also he's, like, done it so much. And, like, he wants to go out on his own terms and make the movie he's been kind of promising for years. I like getting a little... It looked really good. So I'm not going to spoil anything.

But you know, like, if you've seen the trailer, you know that Patrick Stewart's in it. You know that there's a young girl that factors into the plot. It definitely feels kind of like a road... Not the girl from stranger things. No. Because I thought it was the first three times I watched. Understandable. The trailer. But it feels kind of like a road movie.

Anyway, I couldn't be more excited about it. Director James Mangold is back for this one, and hopefully we'll have him and or Hugh on the podcast when the time is right. So, yeah, a lot of cool stuff going on in movies. All the good trailers are coming out for the next summer's movies. So, yeah. You've had a good week. It's good stuff. In the cinema.

Cinema. So, okay, so this week's guest is important and a big one. I was excited to bring him in. Emil Hirsch is the guest. And you, of course, know Emil Hirsch is the guest. And you, of course, know, Emile from Into the Wild and Speed Racer and Awards of Dogtown and tons of great movies. He's, I think he's just like 31, but he's packed a lot into his career. And he's somebody that, you know, I've covered and talked to over the years.

He's always been game to do, you know, fun stupid bits with me. and you've been a guy that I've really enjoyed hanging out with over the years. This conversation is about the autopsy of Jane Doe. It is a new film that opens December 21st. It's going to be available on VOD as well. It's kind of a horror thriller, him and the great Brian Cox. They are morticians and a father-son mortician duo, and they encounter some mystery in the mortuary.

It's a cool little genre flick. getting great reviews from that kind of crowd. So if you're into that kind of thing, you're going to love this one. Autopsy of J&O. Check that out soon. Also worth noting that this, and this was not part of the agenda, certainly, of this conversation. But whether you know it or not, Emil Hirsch has not done an interview, really, in about two years. And that's unfortunately because there was an unfortunate incident almost two years ago at Sundance,

where Emil, you know, got into an altercation. I mean, he was convicted of a crime of misdemeanor assault. He pled guilty to that. He went to jail for some time, did some community service, et cetera. And you can read up on it online for the nitty-gritty details. Suffice to say, it was not a good situation, and he made some serious mistakes that he has paid the costs for. And he hasn't talked about it since then. And this interview, whether by circumstance of the timing of it or his comfort with me or whatever, he decided to open up quite a bit about where he's at.

and the consequences of that incident, which were alcohol-related. He talks about, you know, going into rehab. And, I mean, the good news about this unfortunate event is that he is clearly in a much better place. And he sounds great and has seems to, he talks about going to rehab and kind of doing the things to get his life in order. And sounds like he's in a good place as a dad. He's a father now. and as a guy just trying to, you know, live his life the correct way. So I wanted to give some context to that discussion, which comes a little bit later on in the interview.

It is, for the most part, a light conversation until we get to kind of this dark stuff. But even in that section of the interview, I think it's an illuminating look at an actor and a guy, a young man, who, you know, had some demons he had to deal with. And thankfully, he has. So thankful that Emil felt comfortable enough to talk about that kind of stuff. with us here today. And I hope you guys enjoy this funny and serious conversation in equal measures. That's my spiel for today. I hope you guys enjoy this conversation with this talented young actor.

Please enjoy. Oh, and just a note, the first moments of this conversation, you're going to hear Emil chowling down on a Snickers bar. Just so you know. That's an exclusive for happy sake of those listeners. I love that kind of detail. So let's join me and Emil, a meal amid Snickers bar for this conversation about the autopsy.

of Jane Doe. Enjoy. If you're just joining us, you're hearing Emil Hirsch eat a Snickers bar. Does it always satisfy? Is it true? Is the marketing true, Emil? It's pretty satisfying right now. I'm not going to laugh. Is it always your go-to candy bar of choice? Yeah, we're sure good. What? It's like a great shot of energy in the morning. Hold on. Maybe watch it done with some black coffee.

Okay, good. Yeah. For those of you that want to be big Hollywood movie stars and you want the perfect body, this is what Emil has done. He has black coffee and a Snickers bar. That's how I lost all the weight and into the wild guys. All wanted to know the secret. Here it is. Finally revealed. As you scarf down your coffee and get a little caffeine jolt, it's good to see you, man.

It's been a while. That's great to see you, too. We've got a lot going on. We're going to talk about the autopsy of Jane Doe, a cool new flick with you. and the great Brian Cox. I mean... Cox. Is that what you call him?

Do you just call him Cox? No, no. I usually call him Brian. His last name is Cox. Yeah, I mean, that's documented. It's not like something we're making fun of. C-O-X, though. True.

True. Yeah. It's just a fact, guys. It's just a technical. Yeah, I mean, we don't want to, like, parse it out, but you are, you're many things. You're a great actor. You're a great father by all accounts of the photos that you post. Clearly, you're enjoying that.

part of your life and you're a master tweeter you're a master of social media ameal what's it what's the um what's your tactic what's your approach to social media because my sense of you like a good hashtag you like a good pun yeah i mean i think um it's probably i mean it's it's sort of one of those things where it's not i don't think it actually does like any good like for me or whatever it's not like it's not like a career thing right where it's like oh you're going to help your career by, you know, writing some absurd puns or something. It doesn't really work like that, but, you know, I'm a product of, like, Gary Larson and Bill Watterson, like Calvin and Hobbs and the far side. And I grew up with reading those comics nonstop. And so that single panel kind

of sense of humor and puns and comedy is just something that I really, I really like and I have fun with. And it's sort of just a fun creative game. And if you, like, even on Twitter now, like, if you look at a lot of the, like, sort of things that are, like, trending, it's like word games. So it's like people really do enjoy it. It's not just me, you know. They're like some of the top things. So I think it's just a fun, it's just word games, you know. I think it's just a way to kind of stay creative. I think that there are different ways to go about it, right? I mean, I think of what we just had on the podcast, one of your contemporary Shaya. Shaya goes at it a much different way on Twitter. It's a little more esoteric, a little like, I don't know what he's trying to say, but it seems meaningful and profound.

But does he actually tweet those out himself, do you think? Do you think it's the collective his group? I mean, I don't know. I don't know. I should have asked him that. Damn it. Yeah. He's awesome.

He's the best. Yeah. He's awesome. Did you guys grow up together? Were you friendly in like the acting circuit? Because you're about the same age. We didn't actually know each other until like our early 20s or something. But we kind of, we got to know each other.

And he's just, I really appreciate him. We used to read actually, we used to read that play, Orphans. in my place in Venice Beach. Wait, was that the one he was going to do on Broadway? Yeah, that was the one. That was the one that was supposed to be the album thing. It was that one. We read it a bunch of times, like me and him. Oh, my God.

And then, yeah, he's awesome. He really is. I mean, yeah, I think he gets a bad rap, but I think folks that, if you haven't listened to the podcast, check it out because I think he's somebody that, if you hear a full conversation with him, you realize, like, he's legit. Like, he goes, like, he takes the art seriously, and this is not, like, a game to him. And I always find him really refreshing to talk to as I do you, sir. Um, so talk to me a little bit about, uh, since we have some time and we've never really had a chance to have kind of like one of these kind of careerish conversations. I do want to go into background a little bit if that's cool. Yeah. So, so growing up, um, it seems like you got into acting, uh, the first gigs were TV, you know, when you're like, what, 12, 13, something like that? Is that? Yeah. Well, even earlier, really, like, 10. Oh, wow. So I saw, I saw my first kind of movies that made me want to be an actor when I was like around six. It was like, home alone. I was like, I want to be Kevin McAllister hitting the frigging.

with paint buckets. That sounds real good career choice. And, um, and so, you know, I had this really big interest. People always ask me, did your, did your parents chain you to the car and make you audition? I really was like all about it. Yeah. I was like all about trying to get into movies. Probably annoyingly so. And was it just about because you were obsessed with the movies you saw and you're like, I think they were just so, they were like these magical things. Yeah. He's like this world of fun. And I didn't realize. then how tedious making movies could be. So it's like, you watch Home Alone, you're like,

making it must have just been like a longer version of Home Alone. I just get to hit Joe Pesci with a frying pan every day. You have no idea what it actually is, like the like ridiculous tedium. Right. There's this one quote. I think it was like Christopher Hitchens. He's like some people that have never been on a film set don't realize what a thundering bore. It really can be.

It really can be. People always go like, why's James Franco working on like 50 different projects at once? Why is you, like, reading between takes? I'm like, have you ever been on a film set? Yeah, the ratio of downtime to actual work. And it's not, like, sitting around your house where you're just totally content to sit around and you're like, oh, man, isn't it great that I'm doing nothing? When you're in a work environment and suddenly you're doing nothing, it's like for some reason, while you're on the clock working, doing nothing is not the same as doing nothing when you're not working. Right.

Where it's, like, pleasurable. When you're not working, you're just not enjoying work. working. Well, because, yeah, and you also have in the back of your mind, oh, I need to get back into that character in either an hour or three hours whenever they see fit to actually get the next take ready. Maybe that's why Daniel Day Lewis just stays in character all day. He's like, I was just too bold. In fact, I was just very bold. So I decided to. I have an exclusive on Daniel Day Lewis. I saw him walking into a sporting goods store a couple weeks ago. So I think he is training to be a guy that buys things at a sporting goods store in his next movie. Yeah, just like a Black Friday shopper. Yeah, I mean, it's going to... Playing a black rival, short-packed.

Very beautiful. You're listening to Happy, Sad, Confused. We'll be right back after this. The Jeep Grand Cherokee-Wurkey 4x E. It's electrified. Boogie-Wo-Wogie. So you can boogie-woogie-woogie into the forest. Boogie-woogie.

Boogie-woogie through the mud. Or boogie-woogie-woogie to work. Where you boogie-woogie. wuggy-woogie down the hall to your boss's office to tell him you quit. Sure got the boogie-woogie-woogie to the elevator as he boogie-wuggy-wugies after you begging. Please, take me with you. The electrified Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xE. Learn more at jeep.com.

Jeep is a registered trademark of FCA, U.S. LLC. So what do you do on your downtime on a film set now? How do you cope with the madness and the downtime? Well, it kind of depends, you know. Like, I did start to kind of read a little bit more. and, you know, teaching myself how to read. That was a big thing. It was a big hurdle together.

Oh, that was the first step. And, you know, lately, I did a film with J.K. Simmons recently called, I think they just retitled it all nighter. And I play a, like, a hipster musician in that. So in that particular circumstance, I was, like, you know, making songs and, like, singing them. And is there a concern when you have a concern when you have. of like, downtime, especially on the bigger films of like, is it hard to get back into the character after like six hours of waiting in a trailer? Or at this point is...

I mean, I think sometimes, yeah, like you'll be like a little bit out of step and then, you know, you'll maybe do a take or two and you'll kind of find it a little bit. Have you ever done theater? I did theater, like, that was the first thing I ever did when I was a kid. I did like summer camp theater where we put on Shakespeare, midsummer night's dream, two summers in a row. That was like my... At the age of what were talking about?

I was like eight and nine. That must have been a good production. Yeah, and it was fun. you got to like make your own costume and I was like had this ridiculous Oberon fairy costume that I'd like cobble together from like you know things in my closet right it was great because it was at this place called the Wilgear Theatricum Botanicum which is in Dupank Canyon okay which is like this nature canyon so it was like this awesome way to be introduced to acting where it's like the opposite of like a cloistered set right a cold medicinal studio setting oh god that's a great word to describe it especially when you're like on ER which I was you guest started in the ER was that one of the first gigs no I was like yeah actually

yeah I was like 14 that must have been a big deal because that was probably ER also at the height of its superpowers maybe I think it was like just after Clooney left so it was like

you can still meet Anthony Edwards I mean that's cool but where's George where's Sherry Stringfield so okay so you're you're getting into it you're obsessed with Kevin Mchouse

You start to go on auditions, and is there immediate gigs that happen as a kid? I mean, how good way did it happen? There were, like, little immediate gigs that sort of happened. So I'd get, like, a little voiceover for, like, the Chicago Field Museum, or I got, like, a little guest start on a TV show. But I didn't actually start getting kind of the bigger kind of things. I didn't work on a film until I was 15. And that was dangerous life.

And that was, you know, so I'd kind of been working for about five years on a lot of little things, and then I had this kind of opportunity to do this film. Did that feel at the time, even at that young age, like a big leap? I mean, suddenly you're working with Joey Foster's in that film, so that's got to feel like, okay, there's a rub of real movie star-ness to this. Yeah, yeah, no, it was wild. I mean, it was like, I definitely felt, you know, a big sense of responsibility and excitement. And it's interesting, you know, looking back on some of the earlier films I did, you know,

Being, like, a teenager, it's a lot of, like, pressure to, like, kind of be under, like, a film set and you're, like, have to work and you have to be somewhere on time. Yeah. It's tough enough for adults to do that, let alone a teenager. Yeah, no, it's interesting. It's interesting. So did that teach you, like, a level of responsibility? Or did it not, did you kind of keep that at bay for as long as possible? Yeah, well, you know, I think that you certainly, like, learn how to, you know, handle certain types of pressure over time.

Yeah. And who were your – because, I mean, we're going to get to some of the films also that, like, you were in a bunch of cool films that had really cool ensembles of young people like yourself in the same age bracket, whether that's alter boys or it's alpha dog, et cetera. Like, did you have contemporaries that you kind of befriended early on in the process that you stuck with that have stuck with you through the years? Or that you were going on auditions repeatedly with or something, or no? Not particularly. You know, it was more like the older actors that I had worked with, you know, like Sean Penn. Um, you know, and, uh, Victor Rousseau comes still tight with from Dogtown, John Robinson, Michael Ongarano, those guys are great, you know, Ben Foster, Chris Marquette, Paul Dano. Yeah. Jesse Eisenberg. There's a lot of them. They're awesome. And to, so talk to me a little bit about where, so in, in the course of something like altar boys and then emperor's club with Kevin Klon. Yeah, Karen Culkin on altar boys too. Sure. Great guy. Sure. Um, so and then girl next door happens somewhere in there. Yeah. And that's, that's, that's a shift because that's like, that's kind of mainstream, like, kind of classic John Hughes of its time.

Yeah, yeah. And probably exceeded almost everybody's expectations. I remember at the time. It's like, this is, wait, this is actually a really good movie. Yeah, well, it was, girl next door was actually kind of a weird thing because it was like, I guess it tested really well. And then it came out and it just. It didn't do it. It bombed.

Yeah. I mean, it was like a massive bomb. And, you know, I mean, since then it sort of. gained a following on DVD or sort of word of mouth or whatnot. Well, it's a legit good movie. Yeah, I mean, it's better than like you might think or something. On the curve of that kind of movie, you're geared to for disappointment. Right.

That was a sweet movie. Yeah. You and the crazy Tim Oliphant and Alicia Cuthers who's been on this podcast. It was, yeah, a good group. So Talk to Me About, so Awards of Dogtown is a big one talking about these great ensembles. did you like for instance like heath was a few years older than you yeah is he someone you looked up to so much so much that was such a that was so devastating what happened and i actually just recently did an interview for they're making a documentary about them they were asking me some questions

about what it was like working with him and he was just such a creative uh inventive guy he was he was really something special and he was a guy who he didn't really take it too seriously so he could be really playful and kind of snap in and out of things. But, you know, he also did really, you know, want to do great work. So it wasn't like he was blowing it off and being blasé. He was just sort of like being available to have fun. And you could tell, you can also tell by the kind of choices that someone is making early in their career where he's working with someone like Terry Gilliam. And then when he finally gets that shot sadly at the end in like this mainstream movie, like what he did with that character, like he just went for broke and like took chances.

Yeah, he was so daring. It's so tragic. Yeah, that's one of those that will never get less. He was, yeah, he was, and, you know, large dog town was an amazing experience for me, you know, getting to meet the Jay Adams' legendary skateboarder that I portrayed and flying to Hawaii and hanging out with Brock Little, the big wave surfer who unfortunately passed away earlier this year, I believe. And, you know, getting to kind of into the world of those hardcore skateboarders,

And Jay was a really wild guy, and Jay also passed away, too. It's a dog town, yeah. A bunch of people passed away. Did you still skate at all? I still, like, have a board always with me everywhere at all times. Really? But, like, I don't get on it very often. Right.

The opportunity doesn't come up. Yeah, but I have, like, a son now, and he's, like, three, and I'm like, I don't want to, like, break my leg. Right. So you don't want to set a bad precedence. It's hard to, like, carry your son around with a broken leg. Right, no, you've got to be practical at a certain point. You must be practical and put away your toy. Boy. Is that how you talk to your son?

No, that's what I would talk to myself. Oh, I see. Like, my toys being my skateboard. That's my inner conscience, like piping up in a butler outfit. Got it, got it. You must come to the responsibility now as you're an adult. You must act proper on a podcast with Josh Horowitz. Yes, sir. Perry proper, podcasting. Podcasting etiquette. Podcasting is just due enough to where there's actually no etiquette. Have you ever podcasted before? Is this your podcast debut?

I think. I don't want to overstate things, but this might be. It's like, yeah, last time I, like, did these interviews, like, I don't think the technology existed. It's been kind of a while. I don't want to make this more of a momentous event than it already is, but this feels... Can you feel the ground-shaking when you feel feet, Mr. Horowitz? Alpha Dogg. What are your memories of Alpha Dog? It was wild, man. Nick Cassavetes is a really talented director who kind of pushes his actors. He's, like, that kind of director where he's, like, just gets in their heads and, like, has him just going wild.

he had us all working out and training nonstop and that was with Timberlake and Ben Foster and just a really interesting group of people Amanda Seiford was in that film Really Anton Yeltsin

Who was the best part about that movie Such a sweet guy, right? And yeah Who just, you know It's so tragic So in something like We'll talk about something Working like

With a director like Nick Cassavetes Versus other folks Like is there a kind of director that you found over the years that you respond to, a kind of experience that you're going after on a film set, or are you kind of open to everything at this point? I'm pretty open to everything. You know, I have fun with directors who are like, let's just do one take.

And then I have fun with directors who are like, let's just do like 20 actually make something good. And I'm like, man, I see the reasoning in both arguments. Right. And the fun thing about movies is there's really no correct answer. Right. And where it is someone like, sequentially looking at your career, someone like Sean fit in in terms of his approach, Sean was actually kind of a funny hybrid where because he's worked with both of those directors, you know, he's worked with Fincher and he's worked with like friggin Gus Van San, you know? So he, he would be someone who, on certain moments at certain scenes, he would do a lot of takes.

Yeah. But then there were other scenes where it was like suddenly he was Clint Eastwooding it. And he was just like, that was a great take. Move on. So, I mean, what always strikes me in talking to you now and over the years. years is clearly you I mean the Kevin McAllister clause you love movies like you grew up with this stuff and you reference other filmmakers and stuff are you the kind of guy that's like when's my Eastwood moment when's my Fincher moment like you have that kind of internal list there are those people that you're trying to you want to get to I actually don't really have the list yeah because

I just wouldn't want to be disappointed it's right yeah I mean it's like it's like yeah and then I've got my Steven Spielberg movie you know I don't like I'm not I don't really keep the like lists like that because what I learn about making movies so far is like you never really know what kind of jobs are going to come along and what opportunities might present themselves and you just sort of got

to be open because it's like it's usually not what you expect. I mean you've had some amazing opportunities I mean whether you mentioned someone like a Gus Van Sant or the Wachowski's which very you know haven't made that many films. That being said is there like one that haunts you like one that got away one part that you were like oh my this this is the experience

that I want whether the movie became a big it or not. I loved the script for the social network and I auditioned for that and I thought that was awesome and, you know, I just wasn't good enough. Stop. That's just, I was not talented enough.

I wasn't good enough. I won't listen to this. I wasn't just right for the, you know. I was, to be honest, to be fair to myself, to be my own agent for a second. I wasn't really right for any of those parts anyway. It wasn't enough of a dork. You're too damn cool.

It's just too cool. Did you audition for Fincher? No. No. He didn't even get the Fincher time. Come on. No, he's like, I'm not even going to walk in the room. He's not good enough for me. Thanks for turning the screw, Josh.

No. No, I actually auditioned for Leray Mayfield as casting director, who I'd worked with on the Danger Slides of Walter Boys. She was the one who gave me my first gig. She's amazing. So, and Into the Wild, life changing, I would think, in every way, both from a career standpoint and just a life experience. Yeah, still?

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that remains sort of the kind of just. super seminal experience that I've had making a film in many ways just not only due to the kind of the physical toll and kind of experience that my body went just with the weight loss and the working out

and the adventure and traveling but also you know the amount of time that it was because it was like several months of prep and there was a really long shoot for that type of movie it was like seven months shoot and working with Sean just probably a year or two later on milk what did it feel like a much different kind of experience with him, obviously, as an actor versus a director. Yeah, I mean, he was, like, way less

hands-on as an actor. He's just, like, kind of just, like, chilling, quiet. He trusts someone like us, I'm sure. Goes right into it, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And as a director, he's much more interactive. Um, probably one of the first time that I spoke to you was Into the Wild and then Speed Racer, and Speed Racer, which, of course, has, it's ardent fans. And it does hold up. It's a pretty cool movie, I think. Yeah, it's weird how that movie over the years has become, like, a bit of, like, a fanboy cult favorite. Well, I think, and I have this conversation a lot with people like any films that go for it and they have a couple like this like cloud atlas for instance i loved their their their take on that i just like audacious filmmakers that kind of like

go for it and clearly speed racer both in kind of tone and just the the treatment of it was um was different to say the least maybe most audiences weren't ready for that at the time yeah i mean it was even for even for the wachowski's it was a bold film i mean if you think about too that everyone expected them to take that matrix kind of dark black and green color aesthetic and just apply it to SpeedRacer and to just totally change the aesthetic of Speed Racer the fact that they like went through with creating

the new colorful aesthetic for Speed Racer is amazing because you know everyone was telling them not to. Everyone was being like just go with what we know what we know works for you guys just stay in your wheelhouse and the fact that they refused to is kind of amazing

because they really did take a huge risk and you know when the movie came out and it bombed I mean you see why You know, the executives are like, We told you so. Just make more of the same. More of the same. Yeah, but, you know, they sort of get the last laugh

when, you know, 10 years later, people were really big in the movie. At what point did you realize it wasn't going to resonate in terms of a commercial? Like, did you have an idea making it or as the reviews came out or was that not until it came out that it turned from like, this is going to be the biggest thing ever to, I don't know. I think when the trailer dropped and I like saw some of the comments online where people were just like, just seeming to just reject it. Right. Just flat out, like, it was like,

the blood type, it's not, it's not working. You know, that's when I was like, ooh, hmm. This is Happy Say I Confused. We'll be right back after this. I think one of the last times I saw you was maybe at the premiere for Prince Avalanche, which is a great movie. David Gordon Green, love that guy. You and Mr. Rudd.

I mean, you've, you've, even, you've, in recent years you've been working with some cool like diverse kind of filmmakers uh william friedkin um who seems like the like the consummate storyteller i don't know how he actually makes a film on set because i feel like every story he has is 30 minutes long i know it's amazing yeah he's his memory is so probing and deep and he's just like just seems to remember everything and then something like uh like i say also saw you for one survivor we had a fun on that one um and that kind of that group of guys yeah um do you remember the shoot we did that silly shoot that was so much fun with walberger was like a Walbert Christmas or something? It was a Walbur Christmas

special. I watched it the other day. It holds up. It's so weird. If you guys want to go down the rabbit hole of strange collaborations between Emile and I, check out the Mark Wahlberg Holiday Spectacular from 2013. Yeah. You could do a lot worse. It was pretty wild. There's mistletoe involved. We really went for it. You certainly

went for it. We all went for it. I feel like Taylor was like, how the hell did I get here? Yeah, yeah. But then by the end, he was like nibbling my hat, so it was fine. That's true. That's true. So, okay, so let's talk a little bit about this this current film a little bit more because it's a cool piece of work

but we were talking as you walked in I think it did it debut at Fantastic Fest? It debuted in Toronto where it actually got the runner up to the audience award from Midnight Madness. So talk to me a little bit about this is basically it's almost a two-hander

I mean there's well it's kind of a three-hander because there's a woman there's a Jane Doe in the room but it's you and Brian Cox very confined space, very cool filmmaker talk to me a little bit about what was super intriguing about this one and what resonated with you for autopsy?

I just, I thought it was like a really cool Sherlock Holmes kind of mystery where these, it's like it's not like a normal horror where it's just cheap scares. It's like we're building the sense of dread. And these guys are morgue workers who are assigned to find this woman's cause of death and dark and stormy night. Yeah. And as they go deeper and deeper into their process of the autopsy, more and more clues reveal themselves kind of leading to the horrific,

kind of conclusion. And if you like kind of CSI or Sherlock Holmes, that type of detectives on the case, so to speak, this really satisfies that in a big way. And we were saying it seems like it's also like checking the box for like horror thriller audiences, genre audiences especially, right? Maybe not so much for the squeamish. Are you squeamish or are you squeamish guy?

You know, I'm not super squeamish, to be honest. when I was preparing for the part I went on my 30th birthday actually, it's kind of a strange thing to do on your birthday but I went to the Los Angeles County Morg Yeah What's that like? I guess the producers had a connection of a guy there

I know a guy hey Emil They're like yeah we know this guy He runs it this guy Craig Harvey So I went and I decided to fill out all these forms Which are like if you get Ebola You're not gonna sue us And I went from like Never having like seen a dead body

before to like seem like 400 or something like that some crazy huge number i mean it was like so traumatizing did it help or was it one of those things where like i can see in theory why it would help i mean it was it definitely um i think it contributed to the like disturbed air that the character has of the movie like the character he's sort of a regular guy but then he seems just a little down beat and i think that the little down beat quality is kind of informed by some of those experiences. And what do you take away from spending however many weeks you were with Brian Cox, who's just a legend?

He's just so cool. He's just a strong guy who is super talented and fun and funny and has so many experiences to share, but also like a great theater actor too. You know, he's had a huge career on the stage as well. And you just, it was nice to have like a scene partner to where I just, I always knew he'd be there for me. Yeah. You know?

In a certain sense, it's like the doctor thing where it's like scalpel and you throw your hand out. Right. Like, I always put the scalpel in his hand and his hand was always there asking for the scalpel. I'm not the guy asking for the scalpel with Brian Cox. I'm the guy handing it to him. Over to you, Brian.

And when did you shoot this? How long has this been? This was like a year and a half ago. Got it. So, I mean, and I want to mention one thing. I don't want to belabor of this. But like, this is the first time you've done interviews in a while because, I mean, there was an unfortunate incident.

Obviously, it's Sundance a couple of years. years ago. We're not going to go into the details of everything, but I'm sure you have some regrets over the stuff that happened. I mean, what do you take away from that, which it seems like, you tell me, did it change the course of your personal, professional life going through an incident like that? Absolutely. You know, I'm still just so sorry for what happened and, you know, still just shocked, even that it happened. And also grateful, in a way, way that you know it um gave me an opportunity to make my life a lot better right and to um you know do some of the things that helped me and finding um you know ways of just clarity and and you

know i went to like rehab and and was able to really clean that side of myself up and just discovering that you know problems with like alcohol and binging on alcohol and other drugs um You know, these are problems that I was able to, you know, see a lot of people face. And maybe I didn't quite realize that before, identify that in that way. And just getting that handled in my life, just improve my life in so many ways. And as difficult as the, you know, an unfortunate as that whole thing was, I'm grateful that I was able to really move forward and improve my life from my son

I was going to say especially as you're just becoming a dad I have a three-year-old son and it's like I'm so I'm just so much more present in there for him and that means so much to me and the quality of like just days and not waking up hungover and not knowing what happened or something like that and you know the stuff is

stuff is strong and I think a lot of people you know that I've talked to a lot of people and you know the problems there's a there's a lot of people that struggle with those problems of of addiction and you know I mean if I could if anything positive could sort of come of it it would just be like people just getting a little bit more awareness because sometimes you need to like hear somebody say something about it or you know be like this is this is not like your life doesn't have to be this way right you don't you don't you don't you don't have to like be like oh yeah everyone's everyone's going out and drinking and i have to too because that's just the way it is yeah and then but i'm different why do i drink so much more than everybody

else why does it get to that place and then i just have to like deal with those consequences like that you know do you blame any of that on the circumstance of like your career and like where you grew up and stuff like that or would this kind of stuff you think have happened anyway i mean i i don't know you know that's that's that's sort of a chicken-or-the-egg kind of question and i think that when I you know being being in you know rehab and then jail afterwards um you know it I was able to see that it didn't matter if you were an actor or if you were a bar hand or whatever you know there a lot of people would um would have kind of problems uh in that in that world you know it kind of it's like sort of an equalizer you could say I'm sure and landing in like what's the wake-up call

moment is it like when you find yourself in jail and you're like holy shit like the okay it's come to this and I don't really remember what happened. I mean, that's a scary place for any person to be in. Yeah, I mean, I mean, a lot of people when they, you know, they think about, you know, blackouts, a lot of the, like, the craziness is like, oh, well, what, what, what happened, you know, and when something actually happens, that's, that's just like, it's just, it's, it's horrible. Well, I'm happy you're in a better place, man, because I'm, you know, you, uh, I really appreciate that.

And, and, you know, it's, it's, it means a lot for me to be able to sit here and to, like, really know how much more improved that I've been able to like make my life and not just for you know myself but also for my son and the rest of my family and my friends it's huge it's huge and I appreciate you being as open as you are and it's the kind of thing too where you know like I put I put I put friends and family and people like that I put them first in my life and I'm able to do that so much more now and and much less on the priority scale I think when we're talking about these kind of real issues. Like, this is real life we're talking about, is the career stuff. But do you feel like this has reoriented where you're at with your career in terms of what

you're looking for? I mean, how do you feel in terms of, like, the opportunities you have or has you changed, serve your approach to what you're looking for? Is that, or is that state study? I mean, I think that the way that I choose projects or campaign for projects or however work comes about, I feel like it's always kind of been an organic process. and so control of that kind of stuff and so you know it's for me it's just if something lines up in the right way that's that to me is what's exciting and and that that feeling of being able to do it and i i truly love acting and and kind of the i feel like when i found that kind of clarity um it really improved the quality of sure uh you know the my work and also the experience of making films it was just it was so much more fun and and i realized too like the best some of the best experiences i've ever had were you know totally clear you know and that was like into the wild you know what i mean like like i didn't have a drink on into the wild yeah yeah you know it wasn't

there was there was one night on into the wild actually where uh i had one drink uh and then the crew member who gave it to me like freaked out right after he gave it to me he's like don't tell anybody. And I'm pretty sure that the dude dose me with like MDMA. Are you kidding? Yeah, because I was like freaking out and like the AD had to like literally sit and talk to me

like all night. And this was on the river of the Colorado, like the Colorado River. Yeah. Like this is like on the river bank all night where we're like tenting out and I'm like literally like like freaking because I didn't know what was going on. Yeah. And what do you do? How do you recover from that so quickly? But I knew it was the guy. I was like, who's that guy? I was that thing you gave me.

I know there was something in there. And then I didn't sleep at all. And then in the morning, that was the second day I had to do the rapids. So I'm like literally getting out of this frigging being dosed, getting into this kayak, which is a sea kayak. It's not even meant for rapids. And I'm getting in it and Sean Luxemu's like, you're good to go again, buddy?

And I was like, hey, all right, here we go. And I went and I just got absolutely. Oh, no. And the first day I did the rapids, I made it. all three times. But then the second day, I just got pummeled. I mean, I got thrown around, and I realized that the life jacket they put me in was just like a wardrobe life jacket to look cool, and it didn't actually work. I just gulped in all this air, I mean, all this water. You're leading a charmed life, though. I'm happy you're still sitting here with us.

Yeah, yeah. The good news is that we have now 100% clarity, Emil, for future projects. No excuses anymore. It's all good. And you've got a lot going on, right? I mean, did I see also, are you writing a bit? Are you trying to develop some of your own stuff? Yeah, yeah, I've actually, I've written a bunch of scripts over the years and I kind of, you know, I play with them sometimes and I'll muse about making one of them. But again, just because it's my project, I'm not going to give it any more credence than I would another script. So it's like, until I get that feeling of like, oh, I really am going to make this, I wouldn't

make one of them necessarily. Like, I'm not going to, like, play favorites just because it's mine. Sure. And then something that I started to do recently, too, is I, I, I, I actually wrote a novel. No kidding. Yeah, I'm working on it now. It's not done or anything.

It's in the process. But I spent a while and I wrote, yeah, our first draft of a novel. And I'm kind of taking some time and then I'm going to kind of go back into it. And it was a lot of fun and it was probably the most creative experience I've ever had. And are you the kind of because like, I mean, I write, I write my stupid little sketches, et cetera. And I find it both beautiful and torturous at the same time. But it sounds like, I mean, it sounds like a joyous process for you, and at least in this novel it was. Yeah, well, I think the way that it got done is I sort of got into the habit of just waking up in the morning, having a cup of coffee, sitting in kind of a quiet place and just going for like two or three hours and then just being done and just repeating that process every day.

You got to be disciplined about it. Yeah, I mean, just as long as I was just disciplined about when I did it, I was able to do it. Nice. Um, you know, it was just a lot of fun. And the process of discovery for it was great. There was this book Stephen King wrote called On Writing. I've read that. That's a great book.

It's so good. Yeah, yeah. And I just followed all of his advice, like to the team. Works for Stephen. And, and I mean, obviously, like, it's Stephen King's a genius. So it's a little different. Um, but I had a great time doing it. And I mean, it's something I would recommend anyone to try.

It just, it's just a really, it's just a satisfying experience. Who knows what will ever come of it. Right. Maybe I'll, you know, just throw it in the desk when it's done. But in terms of, you know, because sometimes, like, acting, it's like you'll wait for a job or you'll, you know, it's like you don't get to just be creative whenever you want necessarily. You're at the whim of some other people, other factors. Yeah, or like you have to think about a little bit outside the box. So to be able to find creative outlets, you know, outside that, and the writing is just something, it's just super portable.

Very doable It's great for a lazy dude like me You know, it's like, oh man, I just have to sit here And move my fingers This is like the minimum movement possible Minimum movement for maximum output You can still eat your Snickers bar with one hand Doodle with the other

You can multitask So no plan for like when that We're gonna actually see the light of day It may never see the light of day or may Yeah, who knows I mean no one's read one sentence of it Wow, yeah But that's according to King

You know he said you gotta write it with the door closed. Right. And then you do the first rewrite and then you can show people eventually. Okay. So I won't probe deeper on the subject matter. But for the next time, maybe you'll give a taste of what's to come in the, from the mind of Emil Hirsch, the deranged, amazing mind.

Yeah. If you like Twitter puns, you'll probably, if you like comedy, you might like the book. I'm so glad that you came by to talk today. I know it's been a couple years since you've done this kind of thing. And, you know, I've always been a fan of yours. I was always rooting for you. and I appreciate your honesty about all aspects of your career and life today. It's good to see that you're in a good place, man.

Yeah, thank you. And everybody should check out the autopsy of Jane Doe. A very cool new flick. If you love genre, if you love thrillers, if you love horror, if you love Brian Cox, if you love this man, Emil Hirsch, you can do a lot worse than checking this one out. It's a good one. Thanks, buddy. It's good to see you.

Yeah, thank you. And so ends another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you. get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley and I definitely wasn't pressure to do this by Josh. This episode of Happy Sad Confuse was produced by Michael Katano, James T. Green, Mukda Mohan and Kashamahailovich for the MTV Podcast Network with additional engineering by Little Everywhere. You can subscribe to this and all of our other shows on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts.

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