Roundtable Interview With Jessica Biel On Total Recall

We Got This Covered: Did you have to play Melina as someone who knew it was a fantasy, reality or both ways?

Jessica Biel: What Len and I talked about was this woman we agreed that she genuinely believes in what she’s doing. She trusts this person that she doesn’t quite know anymore. We had to just believe. For me, this woman is completely real. She’s an authentic person. Even if she was a figment of someone’s imagination or if she was a fantasy, I would’ve prepared for her and played her the same way. It wouldn’t have changed anything, because then the performance is really surface. So, even if you are just a dream, you’re an authentic dream.

We Got This Covered: Was there anything in particular that you wanted to do differently or you wish they would’ve done, in regards to the original Total Recall?

Jessica Biel: I look at Total Recall as a classic piece of film. Those special effects were amazing. It was a different time politically, socially, economically, whatever. I feel like it’s hard to make comments to judge and compare it to now and what they should’ve done. I don’t really look at film like that. I look at it for what it was and appreciate it for it being quite global thinking for 1990.

We Got This Covered: Has Arnold [Schwarzenegger] seen the film yet?

Jessica Biel: I don’t know. I don’t think we’ve screened it for him. I’d think we’d be happy to. We hope he likes it.

We Got This Covered: Going back to being inspired for roles, do you have limitations on what you’ll do?

Jessica Biel: That, I think, is a case-by-case basis. There was a time in my career that I was like “I will never do this. I will never do nudity.” Now, I feel a little different about it, so that’s one example of something you think about what you’ll do on screen, how much would I expose myself and be vulnerable. It depends on who it’s for. It depends on who is the captain of that ship and what’s the vision and who’s that character. Does she jump off of this page? Do I finish this script and go “I have to do this and I don’t care what it takes?”

It depends on if maybe that character explodes off the page or maybe it’s the director that I just can’t say no to. Depending on what it is we’re talking about, what I would or wouldn’t do on screen just depends on that particular project that it is we’re talking about.

We Got This Covered: You have quite a few projects coming down the line. Is there one you’re particularly excited about?

Jessica Biel: Yes, there’s a couple of things. I’m really excited about The Tall Man. I think that’s coming out close to Halloween. It’s a psychological thriller with a really intense character study for me, so really a creative experience.

Also, Hitchcock I’m looking forward to, the film will hopefully come out by the end of the year. I’m not sure what’s going on with that one. That was a real pleasure to be part of though.

And then there’s this real tiny movie I did called Emanuel and the Truth about Fishes, which is about a woman who is dealing with such immense grief that she is almost hallucinogenic. She’s dealing with some serious pathos. I haven’t talked about this yet, so I’m trying to figure out how much I can say without giving it away. It’s another real small, dark, interesting character study of a woman with major mental issues. I’m really excited about it. Haven’t seen it, don’t know what it’s going to be like, but I had a really interesting time filming it.

We Got This Covered: In regards to The Tall Man, did you see Martyrs and how was it working with director Pascal Laugier?

Jessica Biel: I did see Martyrs. I loved that film. It was incredibly, brilliantly done, I thought. The violence is almost unwatchable, but that was the point, I think. He was a master with that film. He did bring that same sort of intensity to The Tall Man. It was such a hard film to shoot. He was ruthless and relentless with his desire for me to go further and further emotionally into this character. It was why I wanted to do this movie though.

It’s hard to talk about this one, too, without giving away all these twists and turns. This woman is living in a small town where children are being kidnapped. It’s a terrible thing and her child gets taken. She ends up seeing it happen and she follows this being or whoever it may be after this kid and then this story takes these crazy twists and turns. You don’t quite know who you’re rooting for at the end.

She’s also another twisted, mental case in a sense, but also someone that I empathized with. I finished that script and I didn’t agree with what she did. I don’t agree with what happened, but I empathized with her. And I was interested in making that into a performance that would work, because it seems like “How would he do this?”

It seems like a terrifying experience to even try, so that’s what was interesting about that one. Pascal, I think, in his directing style which will just push you to your limit, where you say “I can’t go anymore. I can’t do any more.” And he pushes you and he kicks you off the edge and you explode into some kind of transcendence of…I don’t know what it is. You just black out and you don’t know what happened and give a performance that is unlike anything you ever even knew existed within you. I’m pretty proud of it. I don’t know if people will love it or not. It’s an interesting film and I give an interesting performance, so I hope people like it.

That concludes our interview but we’d like to thank Jessica for taking the time to talk with us. Be sure to check out Total Recall, in theatres this week!