*How are you coping with working on so many films at one time?
1997 was amazing. These movies just kind of tumbled, like with Good Will Hunting - and I've never had that experience. I haven't stopped working since last August. Although there is that old joke - what are the two worst times in an actors life? When he's working, and when he's not working!
*Do you get any advice from other actors?
Well, Matthew McConaughey is a friend of mine. He did Dazed and Confused with Ben Affleck, who wrote Good Will Hunting with me. We're this gang of young actors who kind of struggled together for awhile. When he took off, we were so excited. His theory is to totally live your life now, assume that your privacy will be totally invaded and then you will feel like there were things that you weren't able to do.
*Are you scared about losing your privacy?
Right now it's hard to wrap my brain around the idea that I might be a public figure. It's a by-product of the other thing, which is getting the best material first and working with the best people. That's what a movie star gets. Like Tom Cruise - he gets first crack at everything. Everything. He's the biggest movie star ever!
*Do you have actor friends who are still struggling?
A bunch of them. Cole Hauser, Rory Cochrane, Casey Affleck - Ben's little brother. They're actors - that's what gets them juiced. It's not the celebrity. It's about the work. We sit and do monologues for each other. We're acting nerds. That's what we do! That's what keeps us up at night. Late-night phone calls. I'm working, and Ben is doing Armageddon right now - he's saving the world from an asteroid with Bruce Willis. I'm calling him, and he's calling me in the middle of the night going, "Well, in this shot, what would I say if…" We're constantly trying to help each other out.
*Do you think your work in Courage Under Fire led director Francis Ford Coppola to pick you for The Rainmaker?
Yeah, I think that helped me get this part. I was just do happy that he gave me the job - I didn't want to ask him why!
*What kind of research did you do for The Rainmaker?
I went down to Knoxville, and I tended bar for about a month because Rudy, in the book, is from Knoxville. I wanted to get that experience. It's a really good way to listen to people. So I was kind of trying to soak up whatever I could there.
*Why do you think so many current stars came out of the 1992 film School Ties?
Yeah, a bunch of people came out of that. It was a bitter pill to swallow at times too. Brendan Fraser and Chris O'Donnell got so huge off of that movie. I'd be lying if I said there wasn't some envy there, jealousy. I mean, you see these guys - yesterday you were hanging out with them, and today they're these huge movie stars. Chris O'Donnell's a huge movie star now!
*Are any of your friends jealous of you?
No. Well, it's different. Those are personal relationships. With Chris and Brendan - while we were friendly when we worked, we never were true friends. You know what true friends are? They're the people who you call when you're in trouble. I remember when Matthew exploded, there was literally not an envious one among us. It recharged us. We said, "We can do this. It's working."
*And how did you end up being in Steven Spielberg's next film?
After The Rainmaker, it was "OK, let's go with Good Will Hunting." Then, we were in Boston with Robin Williams, and Steven Spielberg was there for the day doing Amistad. So Robin says, "You guys want to meet Steven?" and we said "Uh … yes!" Steven met us, and a week later I was cast in his film.
* What's the most valuable thing you've learnt about Hollywood?
For me, my basic philosophy is I want to work as hard as I can and I don't want to let people down. For me, the best I can do is to just look back and say "I don't have regrets. I tried my best." I always try my best, and I think that's probably the most valuable thing that I've learnt.
This interview is from the March 1998 Issue of TV Hits.
