There’s no denial that inspiration can come from the most unusual of places. For actor Emile Hirsch, preparing for his role in the movie Walden involved gleaning insights from his conversations with the late Academy Award victor Heath Ledger and seeking motivation in Oscar-winning Sean Penn‘s performance in Milk. But alongside these acting greats, Hirsch also found inspiration in an unexpected character – SpongeBob SquarePants!
The Art of Assembling a Character
Hirsch opened up about his unique approach to character invention in an exclusive chat with MovieWeb. The actor shared the valuable lesson from Ledger about looking at acting as an ‘art piece’ or a ‘collage’, merging varied influences into a novel creation. He found applicability of this approach in his character for Walden, drawn by the exuberance of Penn’s performance in Milk.
“The process… was something that I talked to Heath Ledger about a long time ago, and it’s a conversation that’s always stuck with me. We talked about creating characters and how sometimes you can almost look at acting like you’re assembling a collage or an art piece, and you’re fusing them together into something new. I felt that’s probably what this particular part called for. I don’t want to say it was like getting the divining rod until you find ‘X marks the spot’ or whatever, but it was a bit of that. I tried to take sources of inspiration that I knew I liked. I knew there was an exuberance to what Sean Penn did in Milk. This character is obviously nothing like [Harvey] Milk, but there was an exuberance that I really loved.”
Having worked with both Ledger and Penn in the past, Hirsch expressed the profound influence the two actors had on him, which extended onto his portrayal in Walden.
SpongeBob Joins Ledger and Penn as Inspiration!
Hirsch also disclosed that not all his influences were purely dramatic or theatrical. Somewhat surprisingly, he included SpongeBob SquarePants — a fun and congenial cartoon figure loved by all — as an inspiration.
“I’m someone that has gotten so much out of recognizing patterns and making sense of that. Now, whether it’s outside me or it’s just an ability to kind of see things that don’t seem related, then you see how they’re related… I don’t know, that’s sort of above my pay grade. But so often I find with acting or even writing, or even influences you have in life, that they manifest in different ways. You know, watching SpongeBob with my son and working and taking advice from Heath Ledger on Lords of Dogtown, years and years ago, or working with Sean Penn and Milk… all these types of things. I’m someone that’s really a large result of my influences. And being able to fuse together those influences, I think that’s a powerful tool to have.”
The upcoming movie Walden features Hirsch as Walden Dean, a court stenographer who witnesses all types of injustices and decides to take matters into his own hands after finding out about his terminal illness. Written and directed by Mick Davis, the movie hits the On Demand & Digital platforms on December 12th, 2023.
If you’re excited to see Walden, or are a fan of Emile Hirsch’s previous works, be sure to explore the carefully curated collections of movies and TV shows available on HITPLAY, where you’re sure to find something you’ll love.
