LOS ANGELES—Cementing his reputation as one of the best actors around, Aaron Eckhart does justice to another complex role in “Towelhead,” the feature directorial debut of Alan Ball, who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his “American Beauty” screenplay and created HBO’s acclaimed “Six Feet Under.”
Based on Alice Erian’s well-received novel, “Towelhead” (a derogatory term for Muslims, Arabs, Sikhs and other groups who wear traditional headdresses) centers around Jasira, a 13-year-old Arab-American girl (Summer Bishil) coping with adolescence and her sexual awakening, which are complicated by problems of race and identity at a time when the US was involved in the first Gulf War.
New surroundings
When Jasira’s American mother (Maria Bello) forces her to live with her strict Lebanese father (Peter Macdissi), she finds both comfort and cruelty in her new surroundings, where three people figure prominently in her confusing life: a married neighbor, Travis Vuoso (Eckhart), a black schoolmate (Eugene Jones) and a compassionate housewife, Melina (Toni Collette).
Aaron and Summer, who was 17 during at time of the filming (he was 39), effectively delineate a provocative but forbidden relationship, culminated by a sexual act that was delicately filmed by Ball. It takes a superb actor like Aaron to imbue the role of an unhappily married man who loses control and falls for a minor with humanity.
The star of such films as “No Reservations” and “Thank You For Smoking” narrated how he considered the role: “My agent prefaced the script by saying that it was written by Alan Ball of ‘Six Feet Under’ and ‘American Beauty.’ She told me to read it with Alan’s thoughts in mind. Alan had written a letter, prefacing what the film was going to be like, how he was going to deal with the sexual content.
“So, I read the script with an open mind. The writing was beautiful, and it was well-rounded—it’s not racially prejudiced in any way. The script showed the many sides of adolescence in America, the state of sexuality and racial relationships. Every character has a human quality that helps him get past his inadequacies.”
“My character was especially dangerous,” he acknowledged. “When I talked to Alan, I said that I needed to be clear that my character falls in love with Jasira. I didn’t want it to be an aggressive relationship. I wanted it to be a tender, sensitive relationship for a man who was missing something in his life—youth, love or hope. He finds it in Jasira. That way, I could justify my character’s behavior.”
“I read the book right after reading the script,” Aaron continued. “What I got from the book is something I didn’t expect—it was full of humor. Even though there were many seemingly awful things that happened to this fictitious character (Jasira), she deals with them very humorously, humanly. She has a hovering perspective over what happens. She’s able to detach herself in a way that I didn’t expect. So, that really took a lot of pressure off me as an actor. Because although it’s a drama, I felt that we could look at it not in a tortured way. Alan didn’t torture us with the material.”
On the delicate nature of filming a provocative scene with a 17-year-old actress who’s playing a 13-year-old character, Aaron, now 40, paused and carefully chose his words: “I’ve often thought about it. You can say that Summer was 17 when she made the movie, but that’s neither here nor there. When people are watching the movie, they’re watching a 13-year-old and a grown man. It was pretty touchy. We talked about it at rehearsals. It was important for me to look at Summer in the eyes and say, ‘This is what I’m going to do. This is how I’m going to do it.’ I needed her reassurance that it was okay. So, it worked pretty well. Thankfully, Summer trusted me, I trusted her—and we both trusted Alan. But, to do the things that I did physically, it was a challenge. I can only hope that when people see the film, they’ll understand that it was done in the quest for love!”
In good spirits
When asked how he and Summer got through filming the scene, Aaron explained: “Alan closed the set. He got Summer and I together. We walked through it very mechanically.
“But, when Alan said ‘Action,’ we did it from the heart. It was very helpful, too, that afterward, Summer was so happy making the movie. She was always in good spirits. She’s incredibly well-adjusted. She was always going, ‘Was that okay?’ She took the tension away. I’m glad that she was so mature about it.”
Of his character, Aaron commented: “He knows that what he’s doing is wrong. He’s conflicted about that. But, that’s for the audience to decide. In the movie, he’s exposed, and he goes to jail. He’s repentant. That makes a difference. Travis really has a heart—he just finds himself in a situation he didn’t premeditatedly get into. Those feelings took over him. Now, if I had a daughter and if somebody did that to her, I don’t know if I would accept that.”
Saying that he does want a child of his own, the never-been-married actor was asked about Ashley Wick (a publicist for Anya Hindmarch, an English fashion-accessories designer), whom he has been dating. “Are you still together?” a reporter inquired. “I’m not sure,” he replied with a smile. “I have to call her.” He brought out his cell phone, and pretended to make a call and asked, “Ash, are we still together?” “She’s a lovely girl who comes from San Francisco,” was how he described Ashley.
Aaron disclosed a bit of glum news. “Three weeks ago, my dog died,” he volunteered. “It was a sad time. I managed to keep myself busy. It’s important to be creative while you’re not working.” The actor, who stars next with Jennifer Aniston in the romantic-comedy, “Traveling,” has taken up photography to help take his mind off the death of his beloved pet.
“His name was Dirty Dog,” Aaron shared, breaking into a sheepish smile. “He was a yellow lab—he was 13 years old. He had a great life. I’ll tell you this story about Dirty: I was doing ‘Erin Brockovich.’ Julia Roberts was in San Francisco then, but we were shooting in Barstow (California), but my dog was with my family in San Francisco.
“I was talking to Julia and I said, ‘I don’t know how to get my dog to Barstow. I’m going to have to drive him.’ She said, ‘No, no, no. I’ll take the dog.’ So, my parents drove my dog to the airport. Julia had a private plane. She took my dog and her dogs on the plane, and flew with them to Barstow. She took care of Dirty for three days until I got there. When I got to Barstow, Julia looked at me and went, ‘Take your dog!’ So, Dirty had a very interesting life!”
Interesting life
Aaron had an interesting life, as well—even before he made it as an actor. Thanks to his father’s job with a computer company, Aaron, at age 13, and his family lived in various parts of the world—London, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Stockholm and Munich. On his own, he stayed for some time in France, Switzerland and Hawaii. “We traveled extensively—from Moscow to Morocco,” he recalled his growing-up years. “I’ve been through every cathedral and museum in Europe. Much to my chagrin, in the beginning.”
“I have always said that when my dog passes away, I would move to France,” mused Aaron, who speaks French. “Now, I’m trying not to make myself a liar. In the back of my mind, I’m thinking about moving to Paris.”
E-mail rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com, and read his blog, “The Nepales Report,” on http://blogs.inquirer.net/nepalesreport.
