"Justin Chatwin Interview"
"The Invisible"
by Chad Michaels
April 24, 2007
Justin Chatwin (born October 31, 1982 in Nanaimo, British Columbia) is a Canadian actor who appeared in the Steven Spielberg movie War of the Worlds and in the independent film The Chumscrubber. His other film roles include SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2, Taking Lives, and The Invisible. In addition, Chatwin has had several television roles, including Lost and the miniseries Taken. He also played the gay son of Kevin Nealon's character on the Showtime comedy series Weeds. Chatwin studied commerce at the University of British Columbia. He is currently producing and starring in The Pornographer's Poem.
Wild About Movies recently caught up with the actor for the second time, (see original Justin Chatwin interview), and talked to him about his most current movie, "The Invisible."
WATCH "The Invisible" TRAILER
Go Behind The Scenes of "The Invisible"
Wild About Movies: How did this project come to you? Did you see the original film?
"Justin Chatwin": How this film came about to me was I was a fan of Spyglass from Sixth Sense and Neil Edelstein and Mike Macari from The Ring. I sat down and had a meeting with them and they gave me the script and I read it and I said, 'this is interesting.' It's definitely an unusual film. Then I watched the Swedish version and I said, 'This is a really cool film they've set up and I'd love to be in on this.'
Wild About Movies: When you were growing up, did you ever feel like you were invisible, like these kids feel?
"Justin Chatwin": My feeling of being invisible came after high school, when I had to move from the small town that I lived in to the big city, which was Vancouver, and I had to, all of a sudden, decide what I was going to do with the rest of my life.
Wild About Movies: What's it like playing a character who has to react to everything happening around him without being able to play off of the other actors? Was that difficult?
"Justin Chatwin": It was definitely challenging 'cause it's not that often that you get to play a character where other actors can't communicate with you for 80 minutes of the movie. Definitely one of the more challenging things in this film was also one of the most exciting things which was being a fly on the wall and seeing what people are like when no one is around. It was very challenging.
Wild About Movies: How long did it take to shoot that opening scene with the one camera take?
"Justin Chatwin": We had such a great crew on the set. They were rehearsing that all morning and then I came on and I think David banged it off in three takes.
Wild About Movies: Did you need a new cake every time?
"Justin Chatwin": I think we only had three cakes. We didn't have much choice.
Wild About Movies: Did you get hurt doing any of the stunts for this? Did anyone accidentally hit you during the shoot?
"Justin Chatwin": I was in more pain, by the end of this film, than anything else I've done. I lost my voice, I could barely move, I had so many bruises by the time this film was finished, but it was completely worth it. There was a lot of running. The great thing about working with David was that he really encouraged us to do our own stunts -- to really be physical and not use a stuntman. He actually used the actors. That was a great experience. I loved that.
Wild About Movies: What would you do if you were invisible?
"Justin Chatwin": The girl's changing room.
Wild About Movies: How would you describe this film to somebody without giving too much away?
"Justin Chatwin": It's definitely an unusual film. It's a supernatural thriller about a boy that finds himself trapped in between the world of the living and the world of the dead, and it becomes a race against time to solve the mystery of his disappearance before his body perishes.
Wild About Movies: What other projects do you have coming up next?
"Justin Chatwin": I'm producing a film in Canada with a Canadian cast and a Canadian director. It's based on a book by Michael Turner whose other book was Hard Core Logo with the sheriff in The Invisible, Callum Keith Rennie. That's a phenomenal movie.
Wild About Movies: How did you get into producing?
"Justin Chatwin": A friend of mine told me to read this book and I read it and I said, 'That would make a phenomenal film' and he said, 'There's no way you can make this into a film. I'll bet you a hundred bucks.' And I bet him a hundred bucks and I found the guy that had the book and was making it into a film, and I was fortunate enough that he let me come on board with him.
Wild About Movies: What do you look for in a script when you're evaluating a project that you're interested in, either as an actor or producer?
"Justin Chatwin": For me, it always begins with the story and it ends with the story.
Wild About Movies: Were there scenes in The Invisible that were cut out? Was there a different cut?
"Justin Chatwin": I think at one point it was getting pretty gory.
Wild About Movies: What was the gory part?
"Justin Chatwin": I remember when I saw the Swedish version, that in the opening scene you actually see the kid's brains splattered on the wall, but that's Sweden.
Wild About Movies: What was it like going back to Canada to shoot this?
"Justin Chatwin": It was so great. I grew up not far from where we shot it and it was great. I got to go 4 by 4'ing on the weekends and fishing in between takes.
Wild About Movies: What are you looking forward to doing next after you produce this film?
"Justin Chatwin": Depending on my schedule. I'm racing in the 40th annual bathtub race in my hometown.
Wild About Movies: What does that entail?
"Justin Chatwin": We've got a hull of a boat, right? Maybe as long as this table here, and in the boat we've got a bathtub, an actual bathtub. The majority of it is made out of fiberglass, and on the back you have a regulation 9.9 horse motor. The race is a two-hour race that used to be from Nanaimo to Vancouver. There's some really big waves. The original race was 40 years ago and there were 300 boats and 20 of them made it out of the harbor and one man lost his leg. So I'm going to race this year.
