JoBlo Interviews Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines star Nick Stahl
Posted: June 18th, 2009 | Author: Jamie | Filed under: 2003 | Tags: Interview, JoBlo, Terminator 3 | No Comments »JOBLO.COM – JULY 1, 2003
One of the fresh faces appearing in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is Nick Stahl, veteran of such acclaimed films as In the Bedroom and The Thin Red Line.
With Edward Furlong officially entering into the drug-addled, self-destructive phase of his E! True Hollywood Story, understandably skittish producers booted the troubled child actor from the project and offered the role to Stahl. Seeing Stahl in the role of John Connor is a little odd at first, but the feeling fades quickly. It’s kind of like when your favorite rock band changes bass players – it’s not nearly as big a deal as one would think.Joblo.com interviews Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines star Nick Stahl
One of the fresh faces appearing in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is Nick Stahl, veteran of such acclaimed films as In the Bedroom and The Thin Red Line.
With Edward Furlong officially entering into the drug-addled, self-destructive phase of his E! True Hollywood Story, understandably skittish producers booted the troubled child actor from the project and offered the role to Stahl. Seeing Stahl in the role of John Connor is a little odd at first, but the feeling fades quickly. It’s kind of like when your favorite rock band changes bass players – it’s not nearly as big a deal as one would think.
Stahl, looking a little bit like a rock star himself (unshaven, mussed-up hair, untucked shirt), talked about stepping into the blockbuster Terminator franchise.
Do you consider yourself more of an “In the Bedroom” or more of a “T-3” actor?
I always respond to good material, good roles and stories. I can see the importance of doing a movie that’s a little bigger, that more people will see, just to create more opportunities.
But that was the furthest thing from my mind. It’s not that I didn’t want to do a blockbuster, but I just always was cast in smaller movies. More people will see this than any other movie I’ve done, by far. That’s a positive thing, I guess.
Were you a fan of the Terminator movies?
I was. Mostly the second movie, because I was really young when the first one came out. I watched the first one once I was cast in this. But I loved the second one – I saw it multiple times.
Can you talk about meeting Arnold?
I met him when we started rehearsing for the movie. I quickly discovered that he likes to sort of give you a hard time. That’s his sense of humor. He said, “You know, I saw your audition tape.” I was all nervous, and he said, “It was…all right.” (Laughs)
That’s sort of his sensibility. But it was great. He has a really strong work ethic. It was evident that he really wanted to make this movie as good as possible, so he really wanted to collaborate with the director and worked really hard.
That was definitely something refreshing to see, from someone of his stature.
What’s it like stepping into a movie franchise that you were such a big fan of when you were a kid?
I didn’t know what to expect from it. There was some initial pressure I felt, I guess, just because the role had been done before. I know that there were a lot of fans that wanted to see that again, to see that formula repeated. But I realized that I really couldn’t think about that and I had a responsibility to make it my own.
This was a pretty intense role, from a physical standpoint.
Yeah. I’ve done physical roles before, but not as physical throughout as this one is. There’s such a furious pace throughout the movie – we never stop running. There were times in the movie when I felt like my role consisted of looking over my shoulder and saying, “Come on!” And Claire’s role consisted of saying, “Oh my God!” (Laughs).
I also did some weapons training for the film. It was as if I got to do everything I wanted to do as a kid. I got to learn to ride a motorcycle, too, which is something I’d wanted to do anyway.
But it really doesn’t matter how much you work out – you still have to face Arnold each day.
Right. It’s definitely an uphill battle. Arnold has a gym housed in this huge truck – an 18 wheeler that followed us around wherever we went. He told me I could use it whenever I wanted to, but I never did. I was a little freaked out by the notion, I guess, but I looked inside a few times. It’s a nice setup.
What was the audition process like?
When I found out they were doing the movie, they didn’t have a script or anything. But they did say they were going to focus more on John Connor as a protagonist. I felt like it was an interesting idea, to explore what he’s like 10 years later. The one thing that struck me with the second film was that, despite the fact that it is a commercial movie with all this action, there was a really strong story. That really intrigued me.
I knew I wasn’t really an action star or whatever, but if it’s a good role, then maybe I’ll have a shot.
So I went in for the first audition, which led to five or more auditions and two or three screen tests. It was pretty intense – each time it was one or two hours, really hatching it out.
Was Arnold involved at any point in the audition process?
No. There was just a couple of readers who tried to do Arnold. It was like two or three USC students reading opposite me. And they could not help doing at least a mild impression of him. But I didn’t meet him until rehearsals started.
When did you get to see the script?
I didn’t get to read it until after I got the role. I went to an office and had to go into this room, where some guy was standing there. I think he was the “script-keeper” or something. It was very much under wraps. I sat in the room – I felt like I was sealed into a vault – and read it. But I couldn’t take it with me.
Are you signed on to do a sequel?
Yeah I am. But, it’s all speculative, I guess – depending on the success of this movie.