Interview: Tom Noonan
An exclusive chat with the distinctive Manhunter and House Of The Devil star at this weekend's LFCC.
One of the highlights of another fantastically fun London Film and Comic Con was the chance to have a chat with the extraordinary Tom Noonan.
With Silence Of The Lambs precursor Manhunter one of the most chilling films ever, in my humble opinion, the presence of the Tooth Fairy Killer, aka Francis Dolarhyde, was too good to miss. After this unforgettable performance in Michael Mann's stylish 1986 horror, he went on to appear in Heat, Robocop 2, Seraphim Falls, The Pledge and Synecdoche, New York. Earlier this year his looming physical presence and quietly devastating voice graced the superb retro horror The House Of The Devil.
After meeting Noonan as a fan to get my Manhunter DVD proudly signed (mine was an old one, prompting Tom to laugh about the fact that William Peterson was gradually introduced as the cover star), I went back for a chat.
When I first ask about whether he knew House Of The Devil was a homage to old Eighties horror, he makes the revelation that he doesn't care too much for scripts and characters:
"It was probably in the script which I didn't really read, I don't really care about any of that stuff. I know people like that, and it is a good movie."
However, because he hadn't read the story, Noonan got the same delicious fear we had when Jocelin Donahue was babysitting alone for Noonan's Mr Ulman. "The anticipation of what's going to happen - you just want to get it over with," he reveals, admitting to being scared. "She's got the headphones on... I had not really read that part of the script, so I went to a screening of it, which I rarely do, and I was really not happy sitting there after a while, as it scared me! I thought it could've gone even farther. When they put out a version for the first film festival they cut some out of it, but then they put it back in, which made it even better. They cut about seven minutes of the part when she's alone, and they added that back in."
I ask him about modern horror, and how he feels about 'torture porn'. "I've not seen a lot of the stuff that's out, but the little I do doesn't seem that scary," said Noonan. "I like Japanese, like The Grudge and The Ring, but things like Saw and Hostel. I dunno, I don't find people getting cut up very interesting."
After we both admit to having never seen the Manhunter remake Red Dragon (another version of Thomas Harris' novel, in which Ralph Fiennes played Dolarhyde), we revisit his role as a surprisingly vulnerable serial killer. I ask whether he brought anything to Francis that wasn't in the script. "I sort of am who I am, and I don't really think about the character much when I act," he says in that exact same voice. "I mean I did the audition, and Michael [Mann] liked the audition, and he would basically say to me before each take, 'just remember the audition'. When you play someone like that you don't want to be thinking about how to be scary, you want to think about how to be a human being. It makes it even scarier. So I was trying to make him a person I could understand and love. He's just trying to do his best, just a sad fucking guy, sort of really in trouble. He's not a monster, and you can't look at him like that."
What was the audition? "What happened is, Michael wanted to use a lot of members of this group called the Steppenwolf Acting Company in Chicago. It's John Malkovich, Gary Sinise and all these people. And I think they ended up not doing it. But the day I went they decided to come back in, and they kept pushing my audition back. So by the time I went in, it was very late. So I walked in, and I said 'I'm here to read, don't talk to me, I'm just going to read and leave'. Which I think excited him, that I was very kowtowing or friendly. And the woman I was reading with, I think that scared her a little. And I was very quiet. It was the scene where I had the guy tied to the chair. She got really scared, and I thought it was really funny, and the funnier I thought it was, the scarier she thought it was."
The Connecticut-born 59-year-old doesn't limit himself to work in front of the camera, producing, directing, editing and scoring his own projects. I ask which aspect of filmmaking inspires him the most. "Acting is the easiest thing to do, so it's the most fun." He continues, surprising me with the news he finds the challenge of having his hands full on a project easier. "It's sort of nice to make your own movie, because I can make a part to fit me in a way other people wouldn't. Also it's nice to edit, and I love to do all that stuff. And it's actually easier to direct something you're in, and it's easier to act in something you're directing. To me it's very simple."
Of all the casts he's worked with, which was his favourite experience? "Synecdoche, New York, a Philip Kaufman movie. The cast is amazing, and I really like what I do, and it's a really nice movie."
Having featured in the last season of Damages as Detective Victor Huntley, he once again references his lack of interest in character knowledge when working on a part. "Again, I don't really believe in character, but those guys, they like me, and they write lines they think will be funny for me to say. I really enjoy that show a lot."
Continuing, he hopes Damages gets renewed for another season, and that creators Glenn and Todd Kessler are developing a show with him in mind: "They're developing a separate show for me, that we may do, or may not, I don't know. Not a spin-off, but based on what we did." Noonan also reveals that he may be involved in a TV pilot from his Seraphim Falls director, and friend, David Von Ancken. Hell On Wheels will tell the story of the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, and if he does board that train, filming begins in August.
Many thanks to the amazing Showmasters team for another great year. They return to London for Collectormania London 2010 this November, and their Massive Events team will be holding a host of conventions this year, including True Blood event Bitten in August, Roadhouse for Supernatural fans in September, and many more. Head over to www.massiveevents.co.uk for all the shows, and keep up with the latest guests at all events at the forum.
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