Johnny Whitworth – Bad Hurt

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) I do have a film that is coming out on February 12^th called Bad Hurt. It’s something I am really excited for people to see. It’s a nice piece of art. It’s great work by some really talented craftsmen. It’s kind of a testament to life and life’s drama. It’s an old school view of filmmaking. It’s a simple story, but is real life that I find is really strong. I have another film I wrapped back in April in New York called Finding Her. I’ve also been on “Blindspot” as well.

Q) What is it like for you getting a new generation of fans from your work on “The 100?”

A) Good question. That piece of work in itself encapsulated on something that I hadn’t gotten to embark on. I followed and discovered a character as I kept working. To have the development happen was really interesting to me and to see the audience respond to me…What I gather is that people loved to hate him and some people understood what difficulties Cage was going through. In some people’s eyes he would be villain and in others you could see the struggle for having to do what is right for his people. I hope the show will go on for much longer and being a part of “The 100” makes me feel very lucky. I could see it could go on. I’m pretty excited about Season 3. I’m not in it, but I’ve become fond of all the characters. I guess it just seems to make me feel very lucky. I just do my work and who likes it and appreciate it – I appreciate them.

Q) As you mentioned, we’re also getting to see you on “Blindspot.” I love your character’s official name is “Ruggedly Handsome Man.”

A) That is rather embarrassing. Fortunately, they shortened it to RHM. I think for all intents and purposes he doesn’t have a name. I don’t know his name. I don’t know if he is a good guy or bad guy. I’m waiting to find out. I can’t talk too much about the show in regards to Ruggedly Handsome Man. The funny thing is to be on set. You have all these PA’s who have walky talkys who are sent to get the actors, know where they are and bring them to set. So, there are things that you can overhear by not only the PA who comes to get me, but then you have your PA saying, “I have Ruggedly Handsome Man and we’re heading to set.” Then, you’ll hear someone else say, “Does anyone have eyes on Ruggedly Handsome Man?” I want to just bury my head in the sand…But I just have to laugh at it. The guy was named that already, but that is an interesting aspect.

Q) Please tell us the premise for Bad Hurt and about your character Kent Kendall.

A) It’s a real life drama set in 1999 out in Staten Island where it is a family dealing with real life issues in a really compact way. The mother is played by Karen Allen who is phenomenal and the dad is played by Michael Harney who is outstanding. I’ve watched the movie and these guys brought me to tears. It’s a testament to the whole piece. Those are true facts. I don’t watch my work and go, “Wow! That was amazing.” I kind of cringe watching my own and try to avoid it if I can help it. But this movie, watching it the second time, I was just moved by a really silent moment between the mother and father based on all the drama in the movie and what they were going through. It’s about this family in Staten Island struggling to keep their stuff together. Their son has come back from the Gulf War and he has PTSD along with a not commonly known disease called Gulf War Syndrome. It’s this multi-systematic illness that doesn’t just ever focus on one thing. It’s due to the heavy radiated artillery that they use and all the inoculations that they get. They had chemical warfare that happened. When our soldiers would have to go fight in chemical warfare, the best the US could do was to give them like twenty different inoculations that hadn’t been tested. The subsequent effects to the body and the radiated artillery…There were more deaths after in the years after (and still happening) than the actual people who died in the war on the ground. It’s sickening. War, there is nothing pretty about it. I play Ken Kendall who is struggling with some physical and emotional issues. He’s living in his parents’ attic. They also have a special needs child played by Iris Gilad, who is phenomenal. They are dealing with the struggle of keeping the family together and how to deal with these super real and super intense issues. The movie is based on a play. It was written and directed by. It’s based on his family.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the movie?

A) When it was proposed to me, I read the script and it was fantastic. I sat down at a restaurant in Hollywood with Mark Kemble and we ended up having a few hour conversation about this. It was really the story and the director that made me want to do it. Theo Rossi is also in the movie and he plays my brother, Todd. I was originally considered for that role. I was reading for that role and at the time Theo wasn’t attached. This was probably two years before we actually ended up shooting the movie. It was the director, the story, his passion and the way he goes about working with the actors. We just hit it off. So, the description of the brother was not what intrigued me as much as the journey of just making this film. As I fell into how deep this character’s wounds were I got progressively more in tune with some struggles that this man was going through. I was happy to be done with it, but the process was a really great experience of shooting the film.

Q) What kind of research did you do for the role or did you just focus on what Mark discussed with you?

A) There was a lot I did. I didn’t know anything about Gulf War Syndrome. I knew of PTSD and I knew what it was – the idea of it. Conceptually, PTSD – it was someone suffering from something based on a huge traumatic event in their life. Subsequently, I watched things on YouTube and I watched interviews with soldiers who had Gulf War Syndrome. And the government, only in the last five years, have actually admitted that it is a thing. But as I discovered more and more…How I tried to achieve it was that I really just locked myself in my hotel room in Staten Island and I spent a lot of time alone. I did everything alone. If I went anywhere I did it alone, which I think informs Kent. What was priceless and surmountable was the impression that I got from Mark when he would talk about his brother. He would do impressions of him as he would do his stories and that was a great jumping off point. I stopped eating. I locked myself into a hotel room. I started smoking again (which is embarrassing). The guy was a chainsmoker so I didn’t feel right not doing that (even though maybe when I get older I might get a little more intelligent and realize that smoking isn’t a good idea). It wasn’t a good idea and I did quit again, but it was a commitment to making it as real as possible. When I’m walking around and I’m this guy from Staten Island – I’m trying to make it where I walk on set and it isn’t “Action,” and then I start acting. That’s my struggle. My artist struggle is to keep it authentic. When I’m walking around, then there is some modicum of Kent in me. I know there are plenty of people who don’t know me and all they heard was that voice. So, in that theory, if I’m outside smoking on the streets I’m not going to smoke a fake cigarette. If I wasn’t committed to making this real, I would have been smoking fake cigarettes. Kent was actually a chain-smoker so I would have had to do that in the scene. So, it was the story that intrigued me, but Kent was a bastard to get into.

Q) Was there instant cast chemistry when you all began working together or did you spend time together to develop a familial bond?

A) We got up there within a week of the idea of rehearsal and talking about the script. It wasn’t so much as trying to lay down what we were going to do in a scene, but to build a comradery and have a feeling of family because that’s what the whole thing is about. What I found when we got there was that we innately had that. Because this is a small movie with a real story that nobody was making any money so everyone kind of came to the film, to Staten Island, where they were doing it with the same idea that I had. We all had the same intention and drive. So, there was a common bond with, “This guy is going to be in the trenches with me and he has chosen to be in the trenches,” there is something that just organically happened on this project that kept us united. We were obviously in a working environment, but we were there for a common purpose that made us all feel like family. Everyone was supportive. From the PA to the director, there needs to be a community vibe when you are working on this small of a movie. And everyone from the catering to the PA’s…I had PA’s, unsolicited, say how great the experience had been working. They were driving me to work and it was the conversations that we were having. I think that says a lot about the heart that was put into the film.

Q) What were some of your most memorable moments from filming Bad Hurt?

A) Like I said, I was alone mostly. In other movies there have been things that have come to mind. If there is something that has a real life vibe if it is on location to get an actual feeling is to go to the mall and eavesdrop on people. It was an added pleasure and a treasure trove of gifts that were given to me as far as insights was taking the Staten Island Ferry. I would leave at night and so there were all these people who would be coming back from working in the city as I would go out. So, I’d come in with the people going to work in the morning. I’d hear all these conversations and how their rapport was. There is a pride that comes from people of Staten Island and there is something that is intrinsically woven into the fibers of someone’s character if they are from there. I think it has to effect you. If you ever go to New York, take the ferry to Staten Island and come back. As you are on the ferry (which is beautiful), you pass the Statue of Liberty. That has to have such a conscious or unconscious (maybe I’m looking too deep) sense of American pride. It’s really, really beautiful.

Q) That also has to help you when you are getting into the frame of mind of a former soldier.

A) Very good. Absolutely. It absolutely plays a part in that. His structure in as far as he went, he was the golden boy. He had a chance to play pro-baseball, but chose to go fight in the war instead. His father was a Vietnam War vet so the idea of going off to war seemed to impress his dad, as to why he would do things. It wasn’t necessarily doing it for the right reason, but as a youngster you don’t know why you are doing things (especially with the effect a father can have on his son). So, there is a sense of “Hooha! US! America!” But I think it was more a sense of pride that he thought his dad would feel about his son going off to war.

Q) What do you hope viewers take away from watching the film?

A) That’s a good question. I would say that anything is possible in life with the element of love and doing things for the right reason. What I mean by that is the Kendall family are a very strong representation for the blue collar worker and they are just dealt shitty cards. They persevere and it’s about doing, not complaining. Their love and support for one another is a testament to Americana and I would hopefully feel that the audience would leave there with a sense of something that they relate to within their own family in some regard.

Q) You just celebrated the 20^th anniversary of your movie Empire Records. How does it feel to have a movie that continues to have such a lasting impression?

A) I didn’t know about Rex Manning Day until about two years ago. It was let on to me by a friend who I didn’t know was such a big fan of Empire Records. I started to glean the effect it has had on people over the years. With the years and nostalgia that is involved, I’m very proud. I love how people have embraced it over the years. It’s totally surprising to me and on the other hand I can see it because each character is pretty straight forward. You can relate to any one of them. Then, the nostalgia of a record store. How many people don’t know what a record store is? I started that movie when I was eighteen years old and I turned nineteen years filming it. Ethan [Embry] was sixteen years old while we were filming it. Around my fortieth birthday, I put it together that his son Cogeian was about to turn sixteen years old so he was the age that Ethan was when he and I met. If that doesn’t mess with your head…It puts things into perspective. As far as the fans go, I love them. And I support the film in any way that I can just on the basis of people actually enjoying it. I think my girlfriend at the time said there was a screening of the movie because she had a flyer and then I talked to Ethan. Early on, he embraced it and social media. I’m still trying to figure it out. But the film in itself was something that I didn’t grasp until I went and sat in front of 5,000 people who ended up dancing joyfully. Seeing their faces at the end of the movie, sitting in front of that and seeing that happening and having the director watching that (who didn’t really ever get to see that response) was so heartfelt. To see [Allan Moyle] watching all these people react to something he directed moved me. As well as seeing all the people who were moved by the movie. I guess people show their kids? It just seems weird to be a part of it. I grew up watching The Breakfast Club and all the John Hughes movie and so to have something in that regard (what is quoted to me as a cult classic or cult film) is phenomenal because not many people can say that. Personally, I wanted to play the Lucas role and when I got offered the film they said I was either going to play Lucas (Rory Cochrane[tps_footer][/tps_footer]) or AJ. I wanted to be Lucas because he had great one-liners, but he didn’t get to kiss Liv Tyler at the end! Everything comes together as God intends it. So, it was all good to me. It was something that I remember where I was when I booked it because it was my first lead in a movie. I love that movie! Over the years, I’ve become fonder of it. It was a little different as an actor. I found myself while I learned. So, it was painful to watch it years ago and now I’ve accepted it as it is.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporters of you and your work?

A) Right now, I’m trying to connect with my heart…When you put it that way, I’m touched. Thank you. What do I want to say? Just thank you and God bless. I’m humbled and I really, honestly, from the bottom of my heart appreciate it. And I’m glad I could have a positive effect on anyone’s life. So, thank you.