It is ironic that Ed Harris picked a film on a dying technology to make his foray into the world of Netflix. Yet, it is a paradox that best explains the actor: marching into the future with values of the past. His character in the 2017 Netflix drama Kodachrome has a bone to pick with the obsolescence of modern technology. Harris plays Benjamin, a terminally-ill photographer who takes a road trip with his son (Jason Sudeikis) to the last lab still developing Kodachrome film to develop photographs. “I’m glad we shot [ Kodachrome ] on film,” he says, over a phone conversation from Malibu, California. “The feeling of film — the texture and the way it is shot — I just find it more immediate and more involving with the crew.” While he concedes that digital is more accessible and simpler, allowing young filmmakers to experiment, he is quick to remind me: that “I’m still old-fashioned in that sense.”
Over four decades in Hollywood, Harris — who plays the “Man in Black” in the dystopian sci-fi television series Westworld — has appeared in over 70 films, earned two Golden Globes and four Academy Award nominations, been part of innumerable stage performances, and even dabbled with producing and screenwriting. “I started out wanting to become the best actor that I could,” recalls the 67-year-old actor about the start of his career in the mid-’70s, where he performed in small Los Angeles theatres and appeared in television shows. His big screen debut came in 1978 with Coma . He has, since then, proved his chameleonic ability to inhabit any character, with memorable roles in films like Nixon (1992), A Beautiful Mind (2001), and Snowpiercer (2013).
Introduced to the life and work of artist Jackson Pollock by his father, Harris carried the story with him for a decade before he made his directorial debut with Pollock (2000), Essaying the titular character, he portrays the tortured, alcoholic artist with a melancholic charm. “The whole directing thing came about mainly because I had worked so hard and long on the project, and the directors I had spoken to had their own ideas, so I didn’t want to hand it over to anyone,” recounts the actor.
Since then, Harris has only directed one more film: Appaloosa (2008). “I hope to direct [again] this coming August, if I work out the finances, so I am very excited about that possibility,” he shares.
Indie-strong
Harris’œuvre, with its brooding roles and bold choices in indie cinema, has famously earned him the reputation of the “thinking person’s sex symbol”, even as he continues to receive mainstream attention for his role in Westworld, the Anthony Hopkins-starrer set in a futuristic amusement park.
With an enigmatic character, the Internet is, of course, rife with geeky theories and interpretations about Harris’ role in the show. “I know a lot is written about it, and I am glad people are fascinated, but I don’t pay any attention to it, to tell you the truth,” he confesses. What fascinates the actor more is the show’s behind-the-scenes rhythm, where directors keep rotating, and where self-destructing scripts battle spoilers. “By the end of the second season, there were certain days when you had three to four crews shooting different portions, maybe five different episodes [at once],” shares Harris.
Evergreen acting
Even with the rapid changes that the film industry has experienced during his career, for this veteran, the craft of acting remains the same as it was four decades ago. “I just hope I am getting better at what I do,” he says modestly, adding, “But the nature of film and theatre, — of inhabiting a character, of penetrating material and getting to the deepest place you can with your character — that hasn’t changed at all.” Yet, technology in the age of streaming and binge-watching has certainly evolved, and Harris’ films have periodically commented on the transformation. Take for instance, Peter Weir’s The Truman Show , which analysed the rise of simulated reality and reality television at the fag end of the last century, or even Westworld , which casts an eye on the darker side of artificial intelligence and robots. “The progress happening in the world of technology is unbelievable and so fast that it is outpacing human ability to deal with it. Sometimes it is frustrating,” says Harris.
Looking beyond
In his long career, Harris has worked with a range of acclaimed directors. Some, like Polish director, Agnieszka Holland. have become long-time collaborators. “I’ve done three films with her and I really love [her] as a human being and director,” he says and proceeds to mention Ron Howard and Peter Weir among his favourites. After watching Spike Jonez’s 2009 film, Where the Wild Things Are, Harris wrote a letter to the director saying “I wish to work with you some day”, a hope that he still harbours, given that retirement is not in sight for the actor. He has so much more to do, including working with Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, he insists, reminding me of the scene from Pollock, where, in answer to a question about when a painting is truly complete, the artist says, “How do you know when you're finished making love?”
