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Victor Mancini, the sex addict and con artist trying to find love and redemption in "Choke," is not your typical leading man/romantic hero. Of course, if he were, you wouldn't expect him to be played by Sam Rockwell.
A versatile actor adept at both quiet intensity and exaggerated-yet-restrained comic precision, Rockwell has been piling up screen credits over the last decade in a wide range of movies: "Charlie’s Angels." "Galaxy Quest." "Joshua." "The Green Mile." "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind."
The screen adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel "Choke" gives him another chance to shine as Victor, whose sex addiction and fondness for conning people out of their money might make him seem like a bad guy. Except he uses that money to support his mother (Anjelica Huston), who suffers from dementia and lives in a constant care facility. To prepare for the part, Rockwell anonymously attended some sex addiction meetings and spoke to a sex therapist.
While sporting a "Pirates arrrrrr cool" shirt, Rockwell talked to Metromix about filming super-fast sex scenes, how to fight near-sex addiction and his multiple roles as "manipulative, weird fuckers."
How much did the part take you back to your past? You've mentioned some experience with prostitutes and massage parlors.
[Laughs] Boy, that's really coming back to bite me on the ass. I think that just helped me get a little deeper into the part. Just kind of understand a little more about what the guy's going through. I think a lot of guys have dabbled with that stuff. They lie about it.
Speaking of lying, you're a very versatile actor, but you've played a few roles as a con artist. Why are you good for parts like that?
Yeah, that's true. I guess I have played some manipulative, weird fuckers. I don't know. They're fun to play. My girlfriend's friend just called me a rapscallion. I guess that means that you're mischievous.
Do you take that as a compliment or an insult?
I take it as a compliment because I think you have to be a bit of a rapscallion to be an actor in a way. I think a lot of actors are mischievous. I think actors like mischief. They like a little bit of chaos. I think that that's the reason to be an artist, to shake things up a little bit.
Did you get nervous to do the sex scenes in "Choke"? What's something you do to calm yourself down?
We were doing them in such a hurry; we were just trying to make the women feel comfortable. Often they would come in for a day, so we'd tell jokes. But it was really like, "Let's go, let's go, let's go!" We were like, "OK, let's do this, OK, hey!" And then it's over. And like, "Let's go to the next scene." There wasn't time to get nervous about those. I wasn't nervous 'cause I was going nonstop in the movie. Guerilla filmmaking, 25-30 day shoot. It was a murderous shoot. One of the hardest things I've ever done.
What do you do to stay sane in that setting?
Drink. Heavily. It was tough. You really gotta go to the gym and try to decompress. Don't drink too much coffee. Try not to smoke too much if you're going to smoke. Take your vitamins, basically. It's tough.
How would Victor fare if he was an actor and had to simulate sex all the time with beautiful women?
I don't think he could handle it. I don't think he would do well. Too naked for him. He's a damaged character.
What do you think he learns throughout the movie?
I think he learns about intimacy, not to compartmentalize eroticism and love and to kind of integrate the two. And that's intimacy, and I think that that's what he starts to learn, that you can have both. I think that's a healthy thing. That's a cool lesson for him to learn.
What lessons do you relate to?
All of it. I think it all comes out in the wash, so to speak. It's a lesson I learned a long time ago. I'm still learning, but not to the extent that he is. He's got some serious problems. I have a girlfriend, and I'm a fairly normal guy. But he's fucked up. It's fun to explore those characters with abandon.
What's a message you would give to people who aren't sex addicts but possibly sliding in that direction?
Go kiss your girlfriend. If you don't have a girlfriend, try kissing. Try kissing first.
Kiss anybody.
Go kiss anybody, you know what I mean. Try the kissing first. See where that gets you.
And if that doesn't work?
And if that doesn't work, try a hug. Don't drunk-dial anybody. If you're using your credit card a lot, it's probably a bad sign.
While drunk-dialing.
While drunk-dialing. If you're drunk dialing and you're using your credit card, that's a bad sign.
