In an industry often shrouded in the mystique of method acting and eccentric genius, Michael Jai White's reflections on his time working with Heath Ledger and Christopher Nolan on the set of The Dark Knight offers a refreshing counter-narrative.
"Yeah, first of all, I found out you don't have to be a weirdo to be a genius. I thought Christopher Nolan was going to be this eccentric dude, or whatever, because of all the amazing movies he had done, and he's just such a regular guy. I mean, he couldn't be more down to earth and chill. He's very collaborative. He was nothing like my sign image of what a brilliant director is."
"And, the same thing with Heath. I thought he was going to be in character and all that type of stuff. Very approachable. I tried to leave him alone, because, you know, I knew what his workload was going to be, but he's the one approaching us, and we would trade magic tricks, and we were just having fun on set. He wasn't in character. I mean, maybe there's certain parts where he would stay in character, but I never saw that. He was just a very approachable, fun guy. So, you know, it saddens me that people kind of mark him with this Hollywood method acting type of kind of persona and, you know, haunted by darkness or whatever, that was far from the case from what what I experienced. So, I mean, they both were just the most cool down-to-earth guys you would ever want to meet."
Hell bent on avenging the death of his father, Johnny Black vows to gun down Brett Clayton and becomes a wanted man in the process while posing as a preacher in a small mining town that's been taken over by a notorious Land Baron.
Directed by Michael Jai White
OUTLAW JOHNNY BLACK is only in theaters September 15!