Sunday, August 17, 2008
A+E, Movies, Q&A

Cool hand Luke

Luke Wilson on his latest role, spirituality and keeping it in the family

By Bert Osborne
 
An unusually heartwarming comedy from the director (Mark Pellington) of the thrillers "Arlington Road" and "The Mothman Prophecies," "Henry Poole is Here" casts Luke Wilson in the title role of a dejected loner who moves back to the small town where he lived as a child. Through an inexplicable turn of events, Henry forges reluctant relationships with some of his outgoing neighbors, and he’s eventually compelled to question his spirituality and the very meaning of life.
 
In addition to collaborating with his brother, Owen, on several films by Wes Anderson ("Bottle Rocket," "Rushmore," "The Royal Tenenbaums"), Wilson is primarily known as a straight man/love interest to such leading ladies as Reese Witherspoon ("Legally Blonde"), Drew Barrymore ("Charlie’s Angels") and Uma Thurman ("My Super Ex-Girlfriend"). The 36-year-old actor talked about his new movie during a recent interview in Los Angeles.
 
Q On what personal level did this script appeal to you? It seems to allow you the chance to expose a wounded and vulnerable side we don’t often see in your work.
 
A Yeah, I liked the idea of exposing myself [laughs]. In a nutshell, that’s why doing this movie was so difficult for me. Mark [Pellington] was always asking me, "Could you just be serious for a second?" [He laughs.] Obviously, I liked the idea of playing Henry Poole, but I thought all of the other characters in the story were really interesting, too.
 
But are you a particularly spiritual person? Would you say you believe in miracles?
 
The problem I have about praying is, I always have to start with, "I know it’s been a while, God, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about you” [laughs]. I don’t know. Not that I’m an atheist—I’m not, at all—but couldn’t you be an atheist and still be spiritual? … I mean, I definitely believe in miracles, and one of the things I really liked about the script was that it was never preachy about it, you know? I don’t know about some of the specific things that happen in the movie, but I definitely liked the idea of playing this guy who doesn’t believe and then is forced to really think about it, because I know that happens to people. Either something good happens or something bad happens, and it totally changes how a person feels. That’s an interesting idea, an interesting character arc to play.
 
Do you and Owen have plans to work together again any time soon?
 
Nothing specific, but I’m sure it’ll happen eventually. We’re always looking to put the old band back together. The last time we worked together, with our other brother Andrew, was on a project I’d written ["The Wendell Baker Story"], and we always have a blast. We just know each other so well, which can be good and bad, just sort of falling into those old familiar roles we had when we were little kids. Being so close to the people you’re working with is fun.
 
Are you working on anything now, writing-wise?
 
Yeah, I just finished a script I’m trying to get set up, a period piece based on a book called "White Widow," about a bus driver in Texas in the 1950s. That’s going to be easy finance, huh? [He laughs.] Hopefully, Andrew and I would be co-directing it.
 
Do you turn to writing in order to create opportunities for yourself—whether as an actor or a director—that you don’t get through the normal Hollywood channels?
 
Sure, just trying to write something that you like, a type of script you don’t ordinarily see. That’s how the whole writing thing started for me, because I wasn’t getting the types of roles I wanted or that I felt connected to. But sometimes it’s just about having some extra time on my hands, because writing is something I enjoy doing, whether anything comes of it or not.