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Aidan Quinn (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.com )
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HBO:
What about this project piqued your interest?
Aidan Quinn:
I read this book when I was in high school, and I became obsessed with it, the tragedy of it.
That such an incredible aboriginal culture was treated this way became kind of an obsession
with me, and always since then I was interested in native issues. So, when I heard that HBO
was doing this, I got on the phone. I'm not a chaser; I like people to come to me. But, I chased
this one.
HBO:
Do you think you share any personal similarities with your character, Henry Dawes?
Aidan Quinn:
Maybe in some ways. There probably is a little bit of a moral crusader in me, and he certainly
was seen as that. He was continually calling the railroad and business interests to task for their
abuses of Indian people. But, I'm very, very different from him. He saw that their native
culture was savage, and he wanted them to become part of us, civilized. So, it's that whole
ethnocentric, racist kind of, "I want you to become like me because then you'll be all right."
HBO:
Did you immediately know you wanted to play that part?
Aidan Quinn:
Yes, when I read the script, that was definitely the part for me. The interesting thing about
him was that, from the perspective of history, what he did is obviously crazy. But, he
absolutely believed what he was doing was for the betterment of Indians and that if he didn't
do what he did, that they would be exterminated by the more radical, racist members of his
own government.
HBO:
What was it like to work with Adam Beach?
Aidan Quinn:
Adam is an extraordinary guy. I love working with him. He's such an open heart; we bonded
immediately. And, he's so talented. He did some things - the close-up, non-verbal things -
last night in a scene that we were initially struggling with that were just amazing. The amount
of different emotions that he went through on his face, they were kabuki-like and very
extraordinary.
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Aidan Quinn (George Pimentel/WireImage.com
)
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HBO:
How did you react to Yves Simoneau's vision for directing the film?
Aidan Quinn:
He's really remarkable, very hard-working. One of my favorite things about good directors is
that when something isn't working, they have the confidence to wade right in and say, "You
know what? This isn't working." And, what that does is bring you all together to make it
better. We had a moment like that yesterday in a scene where I had all this exposition, moving
the plot forward and everything, but the scene had to be about something completely different
than the words. And once he explained that to Adam and me, we were able to just start to find
what the scene was really about - the relationship between these two men.
HBO:
What do you hope this film will get across to audiences?
Aidan Quinn:
I think it's extraordinary that this story's never been told. The hope is that they will just get
involved in the drama of the good storytelling. Then, as a side-shoot to that, learn a lot of
history and think about how, whenever we think that we're better than another culture and try
to force another culture to become like us, we all lose something. And certainly, the gifts and
the wisdom of aboriginal cultures is something that this world is now in dire need of. The idea
of using every bit of an animal if you kill it. The idea of living in a community where it's not
about the lands you own. The idea of living in communion with nature so there's plenty left
over for generations to follow.
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