Paul Giamatti Anything But a 'Cold Soul'

Source: AOL

Posted: 08/04/09 4:06PM

Filed Under: Film

By CHRIS JANCELEWICZ

You know Paul Giamatti. You do. So many people respond to his name with a blank stare, or they put their finger to their head and think a bit before exclaiming, "Oh, that guy!" "That guy" is actually an Oscar nominee, and he has taken home an Emmy (for John Adams), three SAG awards (John Adams, Cinderella Man, Sideways) and a Golden Globe (John Adams) for his work. Mostly associated with independent films and small-yet-somehow-robust roles, Giamatti tends to thrive in the background.

In the Sundance-released film Cold Souls, he takes the lead role as, well, Paul Giamatti. His character (who he insists is not really him, but rather a character who happens to have the same name), faced with a crippling depression, turns to a bizarre clinic in New York City that specializes in soul removal and transplantation.

The struggling thespian contemplates if the removal of his soul will make his life better or worse. It's a treat to watch Giamatti as he navigates the treacherous waters of self-discovery, and his spot-on facial expressions of bewilderment and horror deliver the laughs when they're most needed.

AOL Canada sat down to talk with Giamatti about making the film, what it was like to play himself (but not himself), and how it feels to be an indie darling.

You must have done a lot of 'soul-searching' for this film...

Nice.

Did you have any personal revelations of any sort?

[Laughs] No, I don't think so…but it was an interesting movie to do because I had just done four or five movies in a row, and I did the HBO miniseries John Adams, which felt like 10 movies in one. I was exhausted by the time I did this. It was a revelation, acting-wise, because I was so damn tired that I put myself in the right frame of mind. I felt a lot of the time that I was about to collapse.

It was a very moody film. It made me feel kind of sad.

It should, a little bit. It's got a melancholy tone to it, definitely. I'm not surprised - it makes me feel a little sad, to be honest with you.

The grayness, Brighton Beach in winter, the scenes in Russia, the cold...

It's very bleak. Believe me, in Russia, they wanted it more bleak. We went in the middle of winter, but it actually turned out to be one of their warmest winters on record. They didn't have 4- or 5-foot snowdrifts, which is what they wanted. Bleak was the object. It was pretty cold, though. There's a scene where I'm standing on the Gulf of Finland [which borders Russia]. It was iced over, but there were floes of broken-up ice, and I don't think I've ever felt colder in my entire life. And you can tell too...you can see it in my face. It was insanely cold.

How did you approach playing yourself, but not yourself?

Not really any differently than anything else. What was interesting to me was this guy was a type. There were certain elements from personas I'd had in other movies; I knew what she [director Sophie Barthes] wanted me to do that would be identifiable - the New York actor, the neuroses, that sort of thing. It was a character. I didn't think, 'Oh my God, I'm playing myself!' If it had been myself, I don't think I would have known what to do, strangely.

You're kind of a Hollywood anomaly. You're not A-list, but you're so respected that you get some great roles. What do you think is the key to that?

I think it's about not having a lot of hair, and being slightly overweight. [Laughs] I think a lot of it is about what I look like. I'm limited in a certain way, and I'm talented enough to pull off the roles. I'm not being facetious, I'm being serious. What I look like doesn't make me interesting to people. I can keep my private life private as well...being an actor in Hollywood is all about what you look like. It shapes people's attitudes towards you.

I have a sort of latitude, because I'm not the big gorgeous-looking guy. It actually gives me a lot more freedom in a weird sort of way. It works to my advantage. I get interesting parts. I'm pretty lucky, I've gotta say.

In the movie, your character acts out scenes from Chekov's play 'Uncle Vanya'. At times (depending on the soul or lack of soul in your body), you're manic, at other times completely disheartened. Was it hard to switch from one extreme to the other?

It was fun. It was hard to do it decently and well, though. It was surprising how easy it was to do it so completely wrong. Maybe that just means I'm better at acting badly than I am at acting well. But there had to be a clear difference between the manic and the subdued - whether I pulled it off, I don't know.

It was interesting that the soul was tied in with human dreams and memory. Are you personally a believer in that sort of spirituality? Or had you not given it much thought before this film?

Oh, sure, I've thought about that kind of thing. I don't know where I come down about it, though...I don't know if I necessarily believe in the idea of a soul, although things like dreams are interesting to me. I'm kind of wishy-washy about it, and don't have any certainty. I envy people that do.

If you could have anybody's soul, living or dead, in history, who's would you like to have?

Uh...that's a tough one. Wow. Napoleon.

Why is that?

Because he conquered Europe! Just took it all over, man. But the difference is I wouldn't lose it this time.

Didn't he have short-guy syndrome?

[Laughs] Well, that's his problem. I'll take the soul, though.

Paul Giamatti is currently filming 'Barney's Version' in Montreal. Catch him in 'Cold Souls', which opens in Toronto on August 7th.