Scott Haze doesn’t just play Lester Ballard in James Franco’s big screen adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s Child of God. Haze is Ballard. He loses himself in this role like you’ve never seen before, handing every ounce of his being over to this disturbed and violent town outcast, almost singlehandedly carrying this particularly unsettling film himself.
However, thankfully, off set, the guy’s got a good sense of humor because during our one-on-one interview with him leading up to Child of God’s August 1st limited release, the lights kept going out – literally. Hit the jump to catch our half standard, half Paranormal Activity-style video interview to hear what Haze has to say about his incredibly intense prep process, choosing to live in a cave prior to shooting, how he turned his love of basketball into an acting career and more.
Scott Haze:
- 00:00 – On discovering his passion for acting through basketball.
- 02:45 – Lights out!
- 03:03 – Deciding to leave LA to live in a cabin and cave to prep for the movie.
- 03:51 – Lights out – again!
- 04:15 – On the evolution of his prep process.
- 05:02 – What it’s like living in a cave.
- 06:39 – The shoot got pushed three weeks; to stay in the cave or move to a hotel?
- 07:53 – Was he able to relax and laugh on set at all?
- 08:52 – The Lester Ballard detox.
- 09:13 – The Lester Ballard menu and his one cheat drink during the shoot.
- 09:51 – How being a writer and director effects his work as an actor.
- 10:50 – Filming the movie himself before they really shot it during production.
- 12:04 – An improv scene in the film that isn’t in the book.
- 14:24 – What Haze likes to do for fun.
