The Daily got the chance to catch up with actor Benjamin McKenzie, the star of "88 Minutes," which will be released this Friday. In the film, Al Pacino plays a professor with a double life as a forensic scientist who lands a serial killer in death row. Before the execution can take place, he receives a phone call warning him that he has only 88 minutes to live and begins a frantic race to investigate many of the people involved, including a strange student played by McKenzie.
McKenzie talked about his experience working with Pacino, cross-dressing and his transition from "OC" star to feature films.
Question: Do you have any concerns that it may be difficult for audiences to separate Ryan from other characters that you now will play?
Benjamin McKenzie: Television is a very powerful medium, and to be on a show that had some success and kind of permeated the pop-cultural Zeitgeist to a degree, I think, makes people sort of associate you with that character more than they might if it were just a film or a more short-lived experience.
To be honest with you, the way that I have tried to go about doing projects other than "The OC," since "The OC," I've basically picked things that are in my mind quite different, whether it's "Junebug" (2005) or this movie with Al where I get to act with a legendary actor. I've tried to do things that aren't perhaps the sort of film version of "The OC," whether it's a teen thriller or teen comedy or whatever those sorts of things are. So I've tried to do things that are a little bit outside the norm in terms of picking roles that are different from the role I played on "The OC."
But I think that you only have so much power over it. It basically comes down to how other people view you, so yes, maybe I'll just hole up in a cabin somewhere for a few years and chop some wood, work on my horseback riding or something.
Q: What attracted you to this role?
BM: My agent called me and said, "There's a role in an Al Pacino movie, and your scene is with Al Pacino." And I said, "Great. When can I start?" It was literally that simple. I actually knew Jon Avnet, the director, socially; I'd met him socially maybe a year before, so we knew each other a little bit. But basically the real question was whether it was going to be able to work out schedule-wise because we were still filming "The OC."
Thankfully, they were on a Wednesday-to-Sunday schedule up in Vancouver, so I literally shot Monday through Friday in LA and then went up on the weekend and shot up there. But any time you have a chance to work with such a legendary figure, you might as well go for it. I mean, what's the worst that happens? And, if nothing else, I can say that I worked with him, and that gives me some pleasure, actually.
Q: If someone told you [that] for 88 Minutes you had to play one character that would really change things for you either as a person or change your character, what would you spend that 88 minutes playing? What kind of role would that be?
BM: Wow. How would I spend 88 minutes playing a particular character. That's a good one. Maybe Dustin Hoffman's role in "Tootsie" (1982). A little cross-dressing never hurt anyone, really. That would certainly change the perception of me, I would imagine, both in good ways and bad. I honestly have no idea how to answer that particular question ... I hope that was off the radar enough, that that was random enough for you. But I figured, if I'm going to play someone for 88 minutes, I might as well get to wear a dress, you know?
Q: People are saying that "Gossip Girl" is sort of the new "OC." Having been on a TV show - a really popular show and a teen-oriented show - what advice would you have for them being on the show now and also transitioning after the show into the future?
BM: I would say enjoy it as much as you possibly can. There's a lot of pressures on you when you're shooting a show and shooting it for a long time. It's a lot of work. So I would say my advice is pretty simple: Focus on that work. Get as much satisfaction out of it as you can. Try to keep it new and fresh and interesting for yourself by working on it as an actor.
Then, in terms of the parts that you choose to take outside, my advice is to go and stretch yourself as an actor, but I think it really depends on sort of your philosophy. I think people can have different opinions, and ... people can be right and disagree with each other, and they can still be right. Some people want to swing for the fences and get a bit movie and star in it and ride that horse, and I think they should. But for me it was about kind of switching it up a little bit.
Q: Since "88 Minutes" takes place in real time on the screen, were the scenes shot in order, or was it done like a regular movie where you did one scene one day and a different scene ... out of sequence?
BM: It was done out of sequence. I think it was logistically too difficult to try to shoot it sequentially. That being said, you did have to be kind of aware of the fact that pacing-wise, the movie needs to start ramping up pretty quickly, and it needs to start at a certain level, which is already relatively high, as soon as Al's character is getting the phone calls. It needs to start at that level, but it needs to get more and more sort of intense and faster and faster-paced as you go along. So we sort of always had to be aware of the fact that it was taking place within a very limited time span, taking place theoretically live for the audience. That's the idea.
Q: You started off onstage and doing some stage shows in college. Do you hope to get back to stage someday or are you planning on staying in TV and film permanently?
BM: No, I would love to, I really would. The closest that I've really come to it since doing "The OC" was this film that I shot, this "Johnny Got His Gun" (2008), which is basically a one-man play that's filmed, so it's sort of a hybrid. But to be honest with you, I really would. The opportunity just hasn't really arisen. When I was shooting the TV show, we just literally didn't have enough time in between seasons for me to really do a play because there wouldn't be enough time to rehearse and do enough shows for the investors to recoup their expenses. So it was an impossibility while I was shooting, and now that I'm off, the right thing hasn't come along. But I would love to. It's been a dream of mine to go back to New York where I lived for a little while and ... theater acting is very good for the soul and good for the old acting chops. I think it really makes you a better actor in the long run.
