INTERVIEW: BRIAN AUSTIN GREEN

Rumor has it that Brian Austin Green has dropped the Austin and is now just Brian Green. But he was introduced to us as Brian Austin Green and never corrected the publicist. I guess we have to wait until Domino comes out to find out what moniker he goes by now.

We know you’ve been waiting for this interview ever since you read our in-depth sit down expose with Ian Ziering. Same deal here. Green is playing himself, cohosting a reality TV show with Ziering, stuck on an adventure with bounty hunters played be Keira Knightley and Mickey Rourke.

It doesn’t look like an easy ride for Green. Dressed with a bandage wrapped around his forehead and bloody, puffy cheeks, if those wounds were real there’s no way he’d be standing up, let alone coherent in conversation. Green wasn’t quite as excited as Ziering, but it didn’t seem personal. It seemed like he’d been working hard and was a bit tired, or maybe just full. Remember, this was right after lunch.

Q: You look so much more injured than Ian.

Brian: I don’t want to talk about it. I get the shit end of the stick.

Q. Is it like a running gag where something happens to him and you always get it worse?

Brian: It’s become a running gag. Tony [Scott], for fun, likes to bloody people up. Keira breaks my nose. She punches me. Sort of from there it’s been the gag of how bad can this guy get it?

Q. Why does she punch you?

Brian: Because I tell her I think that she has daddy issues and she’s full of shit and not nearly as tough as she acts. I deserve it.

Q. Is that how you really act?

Brian: Absolutely. In private. No it’s not.

Q. Did you get the script the same time as Ian?

Brian: I think so. I called him as soon as I got it and read it. It’s like, “Dude, did you get this script? Incredible.”

Q. What was your reaction when you got to the page and it said you step out of the limo? Did you know what the part was?

Brian: I had no idea. My manager called me and said that casting had sent over a script that they wanted me to read and obviously, if I wanted to do it, the part was mine. I thought, “Well that’s nice. Who knows what this movie’s going to be. I get these all the time, you know?” They always end up being your run of the mill Cinemax films.

Q. They don’t all have Richard Kelly’s name on there.

Brian: Well, that was the first thing I saw was Richard’s name on there and then I saw Scott Free on the bottom of it and said, “I’ll do it.” Before I even read it I said, “There’s no way I can say no to this. It’s a great opportunity. It’s a huge blessing.”

Q. Ian said it was important to him that the character in the film be different than himself and edgier. How do you feel about that?

Brian: Not necessarily edgier, but if you’re gonna do something like this, you can’t be afraid to poke fun at what’s written. If I just show up and worry about how I’m portrayed personally, it’s going to be boring for people to watch. I still want to entertain people with this. It’s not like when you have somebody doing a news interview in a film, and so it’s just the newscaster standing there with a microphone being themselves, doing their job. It’s an extreme situation for anybody to be in, especially for us to be these guys that are hosting the show that are then taken hostage, you know, with everything we deal with. You have to have fun with it. It’s great. I just kind of go for whatever’s there and I’m always kind of open to anything and having fun. It’s not really about being edgier to me. It’s just about whatever comes out is what comes out.

Q. What do you do in the movie that the real you would never do?

Brian: Well, in the film I don’t edit myself at all. I say whatever’s on my mind and I pay the price for it. Apparently, look at me. That’s kind of the extreme of it. It’s not that far off. There’s nothing written that’s too far off. There’s always a bit of me in everything that I do. So, the character choice for me was just, I kinda chose to play what people would think somebody from 90210 would be like. It’s kind of a battle I’m always up against. People always meet me and expect me to be a prick and, you know, be cocky and think I’m the shit because I did a show for ten years. So that’s just sort of what I’ve gone with, played with.

Q. In the period between 90210 and now, how hard have you been fighting to shed that image?

Brian: It’s hard. It’s really hard. It’s hard getting in the room with casting people and the directors. It’s a battle and it could be for a long time. I sort of knew going into it. I knew when the show ended that it was going to be something difficult. You know, I’ve been acting since I was nine. It was difficult getting jobs before 90210. It was just a battle. If I work hard enough, then I’ll get a job. If I don’t or if I’m not right for the part, then I won’t. It’s really kind of up to me I think, how much it helps or hinders a situation.

Q. What kinds of inside jokes do you and Ian have together?

Brian: In this? As far as this film goes, the thing that’s been really fun for me that I’ve been trying to play off of is the idea that the two of us, even though we were the way that we were on the show, are really different in this situation. He’s much more excited about doing this reality show then I am. So, it’s kind of a thing of him doing push ups, getting pumped up to come out of the trailer and be on camera for this thing, and Christopher Walken’s trying to get me to put a joint out before I do. It’s been fun, us sort of like at each other a little bit over that difference. And then, by the time we get to the end of this whole thing and we’ve gone through everything we’ve gone through, then I think it’s really redeeming at the end when we’re all fucked up and think we’re gonna die and we have the moments of him pulling me aside and saying, “BA, I love you man, you’re my best friend, you know?” Because if you see us sort of bickering with each other and being at opposite ends of it, there’s sort of a payoff before we go running out of the hotel terrified into the night, finally being let go.

Q. Does he call you BA in real life?

Brian: No, no, no. And you know what, that will probably change on the day. He’ll probably call me Bri or who knows.

Q. Are those real tattoos?

Brian: Yeah, these are. These are mine.

Q. Because Ian said he got all tattoed up.

Brian: Yeah, they put a 90210 band around his arm. I don’t think he knew when he said he wanted a tattoo that it was going to be that. It’s a pretty cool tattoo though. They did a good job.

Q. Ian said you guys are still close with the 90210 cast. Are they jealous?

Brian: I talked to Luke and he was jealous of the fact that Ian and I got to work together again and then something as cool as this. I talk to Jason every once and while and he seemed excited about it. I don’t really talk to any of the other people all that much so I don’t know what their take on it is.

Q. How nice is is to play someone your own age?

Brian: You know, I was pretty close to my own age on the show. I was 17 when I started doing it, so I wasn’t that far off. That’s a question for Ian.

Q. How do you like the atmosphere of feature films versus TV?

Brian: I love it. Since the show, I’ve tried doing as many independent films as I can because I really enjoy them. I’ve pretty much only done dramas, hour dramas on television. So it’s what I’m used to. I like the time between and having the set up time to get yourself ready and find all the things you need to bring into something. I don’t really feel very comfortable on sets that move to fast because I just don’t really feel like it gives me enough time. It might be laziness. It’s just sort of, I’m comfortable with this. This film moves about the same speed as other things. You know, you sit and wait, but once we’re on set and shooting, time moves pretty quick. He sets up six cameras, and you get on set and do it and then the scene’s done. He doesn’t fuck around. He knows what he wants and he gets it.

Q. Do you know what’s next for you after this?

Brian: No, I’ll be out of work once again. We’ll see. I tried, when the show ended, planning my career, to sort of be in control of it. It hasn’t really worked that way as I’ve found. You just sort of go along for the ride. I don’t know. I mean, this was a complete surprise for me and so hopefully I’ll have more of them. But if not, then I’m not supposed to. My only job is to show up at auditions and whatever and do the best that I can.

Q. How was the experience of working with Walken?

Brian: It was surreal. He’s such a great actor to watch, because once he’s on set, you can throw anything at him and he’s just so comfortable and so sure of himself. He knows that he can do anything that you ask of him and so it shows. He’s really dedicated when he’s on set and it’s surreal to be on set with somebody that I’ve seen in all these films and seen host Saturday Night Live numerous times. He’s kind of become such a caricature. There’s so many people that can do Christopher Walken impressions. And then all of the sudden, you’re on set and there’s the real guy and he is exactly the impersonation. He’s hysterical doing absolutely nothing. Just sitting still he makes me laugh. He’s great. He’s a really interesting character.

Q. Does anyone on set do a good impression of him?

Brian: No, not that I’ve seen here. But I have a few friends that do, that have actually wanted to come down to set and have Walken-offs with him to see who does him better.

Q. Are you looking forward to the Vegas portion of the shoot?

Brian: Yes I am. Vegas will be fun.

Q. What do you like there?

Brian: Well, it’s just a whole other world. We’re going to have the opportunity to work and then play a little bit, have a little fun. For most of the cast, it’s been so grueling. They’ve been in long hours every day, so Vegas is a little lighter schedule-wise. It’s Vegas. You get off work and you get to gamble in the hotel and hit some strip clubs and party a little bit.

Q. Mickey was saying he’s not a fan of Vegas.

Brian: [Laughs] That’s politically correct.

Q. So you’re going to buy him a lap dance?

Brian: Of course I’ll buy him a lap dance. I’ll buy anybody a lap dance that wants one.

Q. What’s it like watching Keira go through the media wringer that you went through at that age?

Brian: Keira’s really grounded. She seems to be as comfortable as you can be with it. My take on her so far is that she just really loves working and she works really hard when she’s on set. It doesn’t seem like that media really affects her that much because she’s not really in it for that. There’s some people that are real concerned with celebrity and being everywhere and she doesn’t seem like that type of person. I’ve been really impressed with her. Everybody. We have a really good cast. Everybody that’s here seems to be here for the right reasons.

Q. Are you cooped up in the Winnebago for a long time?

Brian: Oh Jesus. It’s like shooting U-571. We’re in Lancaster just driving back and forth on these empty roads blowing people’s arms off. It’s like being in a submarine. I’m excited to be done with that. It’s nice when we get another location. It’s not the nicest Winnebago. I don’t know if you’ve been in it, but it’s not the most plush. It’s decorated, just not in a nice way. I’d rather use the double banger that Ian and I have than in that thing. It’s pretty impressive though. Tony has cameras hidden everywhere in it. It’s really, it’s cool. It’s really cool having a show within a film because you can get away with so much more. There’s little cameras everywhere and you’re either on monitors behind Walken when he’s doing scenes producing the film. He just sort of cuts it in everywhere. You never know when you’re on or when you’re off.

Q. Have you seen any footage cut together?

Brian: I saw the rough cut of the trailer and it’s pretty impressive.

Q. How do they work you guys into the trailer? Do they give it away?

Brian: Well, it’s hard to say because the rough cut was just within the first three weeks of shooting and it actually says it at the end. You know, three weeks in. It’s just kind of pieced. It’s more visuals than anything. It doesn’t really give away the story or anything too much. I think he started doing it for AFM just to sell it and it’s kind of developing from there, but it looks amazing. He’s one of my favorite visual directors. He’s doing some really cool things in this film.

Q. Ian’s interested in directing. Are you?

Brian: I directed one of the shows, one of the episodes. I directed a film that was out not too long ago. It was kind of a shitty, shaky experience overall. It just didn’t quite work out the way it should have or could have, but it was a great experience. I’ve always been really interested in directing, as far as directing actors. I really love actors and love helping them find things. But to be here and watch Tony shoot this, coming from the standpoint of being so visual, I’ve learned so much being here, so hopefully the next thing that I do, I’ll be able to take a lot away from this. I won’t steal it necessarily. I’d like to clarify that. [Laughs] I’ve learned a lot here.