Seth Peterson – Hate Crime

Q.  What are some of the recent projects that you’ve been working on?

A.  Well, I was on the end of this past season of “Deadwood.”  I have an episode of “The Shield” coming out where I play a murdered.  I’m working on “CSI” right now, where I play kind of a jerk, dead-beat dad.  He’s a little bit of an opportunist.

Q.  Not that long ago you worked on the movie Hate Crime, the DVD for the film will be coming out very soon.  What can you tell us about the premise for the film and about your character?

A.  My character is an attorney who has a life partner who he wants to have a wedding, if you will.  They are getting their lives where they want them, they have a beautiful home and family that is supportive.  As they’re in the midst of planning this wedding they are struck by a horrible situation which occurs to one of the two, it’s a hate crime.  There is a fundamentalist preacher’s son who moves in next door and there are some problems with that dynamic.  My character believes there might be some relation to that person in this crime and he pursues that avenue and some other avenues to try to come up with justice.  At first he tries to go through the proper channels, but having been denied by those channels, he’s forced to try to rectify the situation on his own. 

Q.  What made you want to be a part of this project?

A.  I really liked the script, I thought it was powerful, timely and it was intriguing.  It was well-written, it had a lot of great twists and turns.  It was entertaining and the character that I got to play was really rich.  He had a lot going on, he makes an amazing transformation from the beginning to the end of the film.  Somebody who has to face his own demons.  Somebody who has to come to terms with his own decisions and the consequences for his own actions, which are pretty extreme.  It was a character that I had never played before and I was really up for the challenge.  It was really exciting; a lot of fun.

Q.  Did you do any research into hate crimes and people who’ve been involved with one?

A.  Well, I learned a lot about hate crimes throughout the process of the film.  My opinion, this was a character who didn’t really know much about the issue.  I didn’t really feel it was necessary to learn a whole lot about hate crimes in general.  He was living in his own little bubble; this guy.  Then, when he’s struck with this horrible situation, that’s when he starts to get involved.  He doesn’t really get involved with hate crimes, per say, on a bigger level.  It’s really just his own personal fight for justice and trying to solve the mystery of what occurred and who did it. 

Q.  Do you have a really memorable moment from filming the movie?

A.  I really enjoyed working with Lin Shaye, she plays the neighbor who loves the boys that live next door to her.  She was a brilliant woman to work with, she’s so powerful.  She comes from such a rich acting background.  I really had a great time working with her.  Also, Bruce Davison who was nominated for an Academy Award.  There was a lot to draw on from him and he made his character really intriguing and frightening but in a normal kind of way.  There were a lot of great moments for me, it’s hard to come up with one.  There were some stuff with the hospital scenes that was really powerful.  I had a great time overall, it was a real challenge and it was a really great cast.  I was really lucky. 

Q.  What was challenging for you about the role?

A.  I’ve never played a character who was gay before.  Because I had never done it, I wanted to just capture the essence of this character.  I felt like this character, I didn’t want him to be a caricature.  I wanted him to be what he is, which is really every guy, this guy has his own issues and his own situation.  I think his essence though is like an uptight guy who has everything in his own little world, the way it’s supposed to be set up in his mind.  That entire is ripped out from underneath him, for me, the fun is what happens to somebody like that.  What happens to somebody who has everything mapped out and then their whole design is destroyed, where do you go then?  For me, that’s what really made the character appealing. 

Q.  Why should viewers take the time to check out the DVD?

A.  Well, I think it’s an entertaining movie first and foremost.  There are a lot of great performances, it’s a great story, it’s a thriller.  I think that people will enjoy it.  I have gone to a lot of different screenings and out in Canada there was a lot of really powerful reactions to the film.  It makes people think, it makes people talk and it’s a powerful piece of work.  I’m really proud of it. 

Q.  What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

A.  I didn’t even realize I had any fans or supporters.  Thanks, I’m really grateful to have anybody out there.  As far as this movie goes, I’m really excited about it, I am really happy that it has been getting the kind of reception that it has.  Hopefully it will get people thinking a little bit about what’s going on and learn a little bit about the issue.  It’s a really amazing thing in our culture that from state to state the laws of hate crimes vary.  We don’t really have any consistency regarding this particular situation.  There are different races and classes that get treated differently, there is a lot of different situations that I had not even considered before.  In other countries, some of the biases and prejudices are real.  Some countries it’s illegal to even be homosexual.  I’m kind of more along the lines of a human rights person.  I believe in human rights for everybody and I’m straight, but this is a big issue for everybody.  Hopefully, people can take a look at the website, http://www.hatecrimemovie.com and learn a little bit about what’s going on and go and see the film.