Michael C. Hall Talks KILL YOUR DARLINGS, Showtime's The Years of Living Dangerously, and More

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Michael C. Hall Talks KILL YOUR DARLINGS, His Early Fascination with the Beats, a Documentary Series on Climate Change for Showtime, and Much More

By Steven Weintraub

Published Oct 17, 2013

Michael C. Hall Talks KILL YOUR DARLINGS, His Early Fascination with the Beats, a documentary series called The Years of Living Dangerously, and more

Opening this week in limited release is director John Krokidas’ Kill Your Darlings. The film focuses on the origins of the Beat movement and follows the volatile friendships of Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe), Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston), William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster), and Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan). There’s also a murder wrapped in between the lines. Kill Your Darlings also stars Michael C. Hall, David Cross, Kyra Sedgwick, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Elizabeth Olsen. I caught the pic at Sundance and it was one of my favorites of the festival. In addition, the entire cast was fantastic and Krokidas announces himself as a serious talent to watch. For more on the film, read Matt's review or read all of our previous coverage.

Last week I landed an extended video interview with Michael C. Hall. He talked about working within the constraints of a smaller budget, his early fascination with the Beats, the way he prepares for a role, having the film play at both Sundance and Toronto, his excitement now that he can make choices that aren’t dependent on the Dexter schedule, is he interested in being in a superhero movie, and more. In addition, Hall talked about some of his future projects like Jim Mickle's Cold in July, a documentary series for Showtime called The Years of Living Dangerously that focuses on climate change (he filmed a segment in Bangladesh), and a lot more. Hit the jump for what he had to say.

And if you missed my exclusive interviews with Daniel Radcliffe or Dane DeHaan, click the links.

Michael C. Hall Time Index:

:16 – Says he never thought of his preconceptions of the real people on set because the performances from the cast were so good.
2:02 – Working within the constraints of a smaller budget. Says it was exhilarating to be reminded of when you have the essentials, you’re reminded of how little you need.
3:17 – What’s the most preparation he’s ever done for a role?
4:43 – How early does he start breaking down the script?
5:45 – Says there wasn’t a great deal of improvisation on set.
6:55 – Talks about his early fascination with the Beats and said he was aware of this specific story. When he started researching his character specifically, he found some surprising information.
8:30 – What did it mean to him to have the film get into both Sundance and TIFF?
9:12 – What did he think of the Breaking Bad finale?
10:01 – Talks about Dexter and how much the television schedule affected his ability to do more films. Says there’s an element of relief or excitement now that he can make choices that aren’t dependent on the Dexter schedule.
11:10 – Would he be interested in being in a superhero movie? If he had the opportunity he would welcome it, if it were part of a larger story that was compelling.
11:58 – Being recognized in public. Says he can’t count the number of times someone has half-jokingly said, “Don’t kill me!”
12:45 – Talks about a documentary series for Showtime called The Years of Living Dangerously that focuses on climate change. He filmed a segment in Bangladesh. Discusses his personal investment in the subject.
14:59 – Future projects. He did a film with Jim Mickle called Cold in July and has plans to do a play on Broadway called The Realistic Joneses later this year.