Why did you move from theater into film?

I always wanted to go into film. Being from the South, there isn’t really a lot of great theater. You get musicals and Neil Simon plays -- not that they’re bad, but you can only take so much. So, I had more of a connection with film.

Has your life changed much since?

It’s different, but not shocking. It’s not throwing me into a tailspin. My friends and family take it astride. They call me and wish me well, and every once in a while they’ll ask me something about some star.

We were talking more along the lines of whether your new lifestyle has forced you to make any major compromises.

Oh, right. I’m just learning about that. I guess things will change. People change around you, conversations are different to you. But I haven‘t really felt any of that yet.

All the characters in American Beauty seem to have a history that precedes them even before they appear. So, how did you go about finding the character of Ricky?

I paid special attention to his relationship with his father. What caused all this -- the way he behaves and looks at life -- came from his father. [Ricky] had to find a peaceful way to deal with everything.

You had to do some physically and emotionally violent scenes with Chris Cooper, who played Ricky¹s father. Was that diffucult?

It was very draining emotionally. Very hard to get through take after take, shot after shot -- also physically tough.

Ricky is one of the most intriguing, but unrevealed characters in the film. What else have you discovered about him that you could disclose?

Those are all Ricky’s secrets. But he’s all there in the film

What is it like for a young, new actor to work with more established actors?

I love working with them. They’re so good and so cool. I was lucky. They all have so much experience as theater actors first, so they take time and give you space. They’re giving actors, and that’s all it’s about.

Are you more interested in playing versatile roles or coining a certain style?

Definitely versatility, meaning that every character is different, even if they’re just small parts. You treat characters like people you meet in life -- friends or mentors.

Is it hard to let a character go?

It stays with me. Ricky has stayed with me for months. I saw October Sky a couple months after making American Beauty, and seeing Chris Cooper resolve the relationship with his son made me emotional enough to cry.

Ricky is one of the most kind, peaceful characters. But you seem to play a completely contrasting character [a serial killer] in your next film, White River Kid.

Well, he’s different, but he’s also kinda the same. The kid grew up in a river in Arkansas and he kills people that try to take him away from the river. But he’s basically a happy, friendly guy.

Is Ricky similar in that everyone thinks he’s the misfit when, in fact, it’s the rest of the world that is crazy?

Yes, there isn’t anything mesed up about Ricky. He can accept and take anything.

Each of the characters in this film seem to have endless layers of depth to them. How does this happen?

[Director Sam Mendes] is incredible. He great, brilliant. He has a way of working with characters, to really hone you. But it all started with the writing, [with] Alan Ball’s script. The characters aren’t judged, he gave them room to be human. And Sam allowed no one to step on the fact that these people are real. Then the actors had to take that on, and Sam reminded us of that.

Do you subscribe to any particular acting method or technique?

I never focused my studies on any particular method. At Julliard they teach a bit of Stanislovski and Meisner, but I found my own by studying others.

Are there elements of you in Ricky?

I had to bring real elements of myself into it, I guess I have a little method in me. (laughs) But I’m a Taoist, and so my belief of life is similar to Ricky’s. I’ve often felt the world is so full of everything that literally my body cannot take all of it. That allowed me to access Ricky.

How did you become a Taoist?

I found Taoism in Julliard. They critique you in a group in class. It would tear me apart. I couldn’t hear criticim too well; I was too naive about it. Then I started reading The Dao of Pooh, and about 3/4 the way through I felt this overwhelming calm and understanding. It all hit me at once.

From a Taoist approach, how do you deal with the career and industry you¹re in?

By breathing. My career and any career is just a set of toys in front of me. As long as you¹re just living, not looking for anything.

Do you think American Beauty is a reflection of our real lives?

That’s exactly it. A reflection of an exact image is the closest thing to you -- so that you can see it -- but it’s far enough away so that you really understand it. There is real life in this movie, but it hovers just an inch above reality.

How do you explain the immense optimism that the film gives us, despite being a dark comedy?

It’s in the end of the movie, in what Kevin says of “my stupid little life.” Without looking down at life, he passes it off as easy. You just have to have fun with it.

How do you feel about the film in retrospect?

I’m proud of it. I have been ever since I read the script. It was never really so much a question about whether people would like it. We’re just hoping people get it, if it’s the right time. And we’ve gotten such incredible responses that I think it is.

Christina Kline