2012 On the Road
James Gandolfini on Kristen Stewart in ‘On the Road’
November 26, 2012 | 02:00PM PT
SAG Preview: Actors on Actors - Gandolfini on Stewart
“The only people for me are the mad ones.” — Jack Kerouac
Kristen Stewart is one of the mad ones. But mad in a beautiful way. And she is determined to make people mad. To show them she is more than Bella in “Twilight.” To show them she does burn, and smolder, and wants more out of her career and life. And smolder she does.
As soon as she steps into the movie “On the Road,” you can’t take your eyes off her. As Marylou, whenever she fixes her gaze, you see someone who will go as far as she can, and do it as mad as she can, to live and feel alive. And it is sexy and scary and reckless and smart. She can play all of these things. She has them at her fingertips. She is just beginning. She is fearless. And that can be that good, and that can be very bad. But she is smart enough to handle it.
Stick around my friends, and there will be much, much more to come. Thinking about it, I am smiling already.
What was it about Kristen Stewart that led you to cast her as Marylou?
SALLES: The casting started very early on. When I was invited to pursue this, my first reaction was, “Let’s do a documentary, in search of a possible film based on On the Road, just to see if this is feasible or not.” So, we interviewed family members and the characters who were still alive and we met the Beat poets from that generation who were still going. They were the youngest 80-year-olds that I’d ever met. We also talked to filmmakers and musicians that were influenced by them. At the same time, we were conducting casting sessions because we didn’t know whether we would find those actors. Kirsten Dunst was the first person who I invited, in 2005. And then, in 2006, two friends went to see the first cut of Into the Wild, Sean Penn’s beautiful film, and they said, “You know, we saw Sean’s film. It’s wonderful. In that film, there’s a young actress that’s really luminous and has something mysterious. She reminded us so much of Marylou in the film, that you should definitely contact her.” So, they gave me the name Kristen Stewart and I remember writing it down, not to forget it.
When I saw Into the Wild, I understand why they had been so impacted by that performance. It was quite unique. In meeting Kristen, in 2006, I was impressed by the knowledge that she had of the book. She knew it intimately and she understand that Marylou was 30 years ahead of her time. She was colliding against a very conservative society and she was trying to find her own path in that world. I felt that she would be perfect for that, so I invited her on the spot. It just happened that the film took so long to get financed that other films surfaced and she became a really well known actress, but that wasn’t the case [when I cast her].
Behind the casting of this film was the passion that the actors had for the characters and the book. When you do something as complex as this, you need to create a family. And if you’re going to drift for 60,000 miles, as we did, you better be a united family and not a dysfunctional one. Kristen had the talent, but also the passion for this, so it was quite wonderful to collaborate with her. Obviously, actors carry the imprint of the roles that they have done in the past, but talented actors are always redefining themselves, and I think that Kristen has that desire. I’m not just saying that because of On the Road. With the other choices that she’s made, there’s a common denominator. They’re characters that push the boundaries of what is acceptable or not acceptable, in their time and age, and On the Road falls under that. She has made choices that were as courageous as this was.
Was she nervous about the nudity, at all?
SALLES: I think that she’s such a mature and serious actress that [it wasn’t an issue]. Although the character is very different from who she is, herself, she understood the logic of the character.
Read more : Walter Salles Talks ON THE ROAD, Adapting the Film from Jack Kerouac’s Novel, Casting Kristen Stewart before TWILIGHT, Plus DVD Extras and Future Projects by Christina Radish | 20121219
2012 Festival de Cannes
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