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 Let's tackle your reputation of being constantly on the Hollywood party scene. That must come from somewhere, correct?Well, absolutely. I go out with my buddies whenever I want.
There have been so many stories about you being out of control, either drunk or on drugs. Was there ever a time you were worried that you were losing control?
Never. Never, ever.
Then what is true? How wild does it get?
I had a birthday party here.
OK, how late did that party go?
[Smiles] All I'm going to say is that I'm a healthy, happy person, and people can think whatever they want to think. I don't care. I understand that people are interested. But to sit here and fight rumors about yourself is a waste of time.
A lot of it is gossip, but some could be a concern. Look at River Phoenix : People knew before he died that he was out of control. There probably is actual concern that you're goign to go down the same road.
If anyone knew me personally, they'd know that's not the truth. And that's all there is to it. Before this all happened to me, I'd hear rumors about other actors and think, "How can they live with themselves when they know those rumors are out there?" And you know what? You get in this situation and you know, you realize that any amount of fame comes with that negativity posted on it.
"The Beach" is really about trying to escape Western culture, and in a strange way you're a symbol of that. You're the thing people can't escape.
Yeah [laughs]. Richard goes to escape Leonardo DiCaprio [laughs].
Was that a draw?
Absolutely that had a lot to do with it. Richard's character in a lot of ways was escaping things that I was. It was escaping this whole whirlwind of stuff that was going on. The ironic thing is that I didn't fuel any of that. I can't help that I'm on People magazine's "Fifty Most Beautiful" whatever. I'm not saying these are horrible things. I'm just saying I wasn't aggressively promoting myself. I did one magazine cover before the movie came out, and then I didn't do anything else.
Come on. You were out at clubs all the time.
Yeah, but I can't do anything about that.
But if you don't want that attention, you don't have to be out with tons of women at the clubs. It wasn't hard to find you. You were out.
I'm not going to be a hermit. That was definitely a rebellious attitude I had toward the whole thing, My whole make-up was saying, "Just because you're in this position, you're not going to stop doing what you normally do." And, by the way, just to clear the air, truly ninety percent of what was written about me was fabricated. The cored might come from somewhat real events, but it's turned into something completely different. I don't want to get into specifics, because it's just a waste of time, but I will comment on one. I don't know where it was coined, but they started calling me and my friends the Pussy Posse, and I think it's the most degrading thing toward women I've ever heard in my life. I've never used that term in my entire life.
Most of your friends are actors. Are there people whose work we'd know, other than Tobey Maguire's?
Ethan Suplee ? he was the big guy in American History X. I don't know if you'd know the other guys ? Jay Ferguson, Kevin Connelly.
There is also the story out there that you and your friends tried to hit on "Showgirls" star Elizabeth Berkley and got in a fight with her boyfriend, Roger Wilson.
That, again, I had zero involvement in. Zero. When I say zero, I mean zero. The truth will come out in the end.... But this has been such a learning experience. I'm glad I went through it. It made me so much stronger.
You said that ninety percent is untrue. Well, that allows you to get away with the other ten percent and just say, "It's all lies."
[Laughs] Well, nobody's going to believe me about anything anyway. I don't think most people know what they're going through until they look at it in the past tense. You need time away. It also has a lot to do with ? not to say I went insane or anything ? but the great thing about Richard sort of going nuts on this island is what when you're in that state of mind, you don't know you're in that state of mind. In fact, you usually think you're more clearheaded than ever. Only later on do you realize what you've done and what you were clearly going through.
Did you take the role in Woody Allen's "Celebrity" to make fun of your image as a drinking, drugging, sex-crazed, hotel-trashing party boy?
People assumed that, but not at all. Woody Allen called me to do a funny ass character. I based it on a lot of full-of-shit people I've met, a lot of Hollywood types.
I heard you based it on your "Gilbert Grape" co-star Johnny Depp.
No. I guess the only similarity would be that both the character and Johnny Depp destroyed a hotel room. You gotta understand, Woody Allen wrote everything. I just played it.
Does it surprise you that people want to believe the bad stuff?
It doesn't matter in the end. Look, I admired River Phoenix before he unfortunately passed away, and I heard all these things about him, and it changed my image of him. But at the same time, I never got an opportunity to know the guy. I don't know the truth. And none of that stuff matters in the end. All that's left is the acting. That's all that matters.
Are you a better actor today than you were at seventeen and working with Robert De Niro in "This Boy's Life"?
I don't know. I don't watch anything of mine much. I haven't gone to drama school, or college, either. I just like to watch other actors in action. I learned so much from working with De Niro. I'd be in a scene with him where I was supposed to be acting, and I was just watching. I don't ask other actors questions. I think that's too intrusive. I just watch. I don't want to be constructed to an idea of what acting is by anyone else. I want to take my own education.
Would you take the role in "Titanic" again, knowing what it would do?
Yeah, I would, definitely.
Is there anyone besides your parents who will tell you if you're turning into an asshole?
My friends. I had a period when I was sixteen where I started to get a big head. I was going through puberty, and I was nominated for an Academy Award. My head got inflated. My friends were the real ones who said, "You're acting different." But the truth is that I don't need that, because I don't get out of hand.
Didn't you fly a gang of your friends over to Thailand at the expense of 20th Century Fox during the filming of "The Beach"?
Yeah [laughs]. If a studio is going to offer me the opportunity to invite my mother and grandmother and all my friends to visit me free of charge in Thailand, I'm going to take that opportunity.
When I saw you watching "The Beach," it was your tenth time. Since you said you don't like watching yourself, this intense involvement must be a new experience.
Yeah. The last couple of years have really made me buckle down and focus on the process in which I would like to make films. And that is to hopefully get as involved as possible without interfering with the director's vision. Basically it's a transition away from the child actor and looking at the director more as a partner and less as a big brother.
The most obvious difference between the book and the movie is that the movie has less violence and more sex. Did you have input into that?
I was encouraging more violence, but the truth of the matter is, it's interesting sex. To me, it's not sex for the point of having a passionate scene. It's more about characters manipulating each other... But I'd like to talk about what The Beach is a metaphor for.
Fair enough. What was it about for you?
Essentially, it's about how the human animal is pretty much preprogrammed to destroy the natural order. It's why Richard was such an engaging character for me. He's searching for paradise, but at every turn he destroys it by wanting more and wanting to go to the edge with every experience. He's like today's primate. He thinks he wants to live in a very primitive, isolated world, and no matter how much he tries to escape it, he is a product of the technological revolution. He's a Sony Playstation boy no matter how much he tries to fight it.
So much so that he becomes a video game in the movie.
Exactly. Within the forces of nature, he makes up his own video game. That's what he knows. He's like this silicon man.
Do you think it's a cynical movie in the end, or is it hopefuly?
If you're really listening to the end, I think it is hopeful. It's a clich?but you have to make the best of life and the memories you have.
Do you expect the audience to take that message away, or is it going to be fourteen-year-old girls who think you're cute?
Well, I think like a film that bombards you with a million ideas you're supoosed to be affected by, and it's all set out and told to you. I like the sublety of looking at a movie and interpreting it.
This new input you have into movies you do, does that apply to your upcoming movie with Scorsese?
It's not like a designed thing. It's not like a mattress tag that comes with me now : "If you work with Leonardo, you're going to have to take his input." It's just something for me, at this transitional time in my life, where I've decided to take the reins more.
Which will be much tougher if the movies don't turn out well.
Yeah, it's much more on me now. It's not like, "I'm just a little kid, I just got hired."
People think of you as a kid, but you're twenty-five. You're not a kid anymore.
Unfortunately [laughs]. Man, I'm twenty-five. In other walks of life, I'd be considered a full-grown adult. But I'm looking forward to it. I know there were times where I would have liked to speak out, but as a teenager I didn't think I was allowed to. I just felt lucky to be involved.
Is there a theme to the characters you've chosen to play?
I think I'm drawn to the abstract, things that are not of the traditional mold. I can't get myself to do the typical films you see a lot of. A lot of it has developed from my dad's taste.
Which is what?
It comes from the underground art world. He's always steered me and said, "I know this seems like great art or a great writer, but there's a whole other world that as just is much relevance and is just as socially important."
In many ways, your characters ? from "This Boy's Life" to "The Basketball Diaries" to "Total Eclipse" to "The Beach" ? have all been rebelling against something that they can't even name.
Right. They're looking for something dangerous.
That must be a part of you.
Believe it or not, in life I play it very safe. I feel like I'm in such a lucky position. This all happened because of some profound luck that's been bestowed upon me. So I play my life safe. But, yes, when I go do movies, that's my release. That's where I vent.
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