Interview: Giamatti shoots from the lip

Paul Giamatti has worked for such acclaimed directors as Steven Spielberg ("Saving Private Ryan") Ron Howard, Tim Burton ("Planet of the Apes") and Alexander Payne ("Sideways"). But for his latest film he signed on with journeyman filmmaker Michael Davis for the plum part of an assassin in "Shoot 'Em Up." In a recent phone interview, he explained the irresistible appeal of appearing in a whacked-out action movie as a sadistic killer who is continually hassled by phone calls from his wife.

Q The character you play is not only a mad sadist, he's a necrophiliac and a henpecked husband. So I have to ask: Is it autobiographical?

A I would say the henpecked part is not true.

Q Tell me why you took this role. What interested you?

A I enjoy action movies, I'm a fan of them and I've always wanted to do one. It was a very odd script, kind of unapologetically trashy, which I liked. And they said "Clive Owen's going to do this," which made me look at it a little bit more closely. I thought Clive would be fun to work with.

Q How did you determine that this crazy movie wouldn't turn out to be schlock?

A I don't think I'd be all that annoyed if it turned out to be schlock. I have a certain appreciation for schlock. I've never been too worried about whether I'm going to be taken terribly seriously or not. That said, when I met the guy, I thought, "This guy is going to make a good movie."

Q Your work in some films is so subtle and in this, you're so pyrotechnical and show-offy. What style of acting is the most satisfying?

A Either thing. Whatever it demands is what's going to be making me happy in the moment. I will tailor what I do, I guess, to the demands of whatever genre it's in. It felt like I wasn't supposed to be all that subtle in this. There wasn't supposed to be a whole lot of shades of gray in this guy.

Q Michael Davis said that you patterned your mad killer after a famous political character on the current scene.

A Indeed. That would be Karl Rove. I remember thinking what would be interesting was to make him the most unimpressive-looking guy who happens to be incredibly powerful and that was who came to my mind. But I wasn't trying to do an imitation of him.

Q The confrontation scenes are so preposterously intense. Did you and Owen have a tough time not cracking up?

A We cracked up through the whole thing. The scene where I was breaking his fingers, we couldn't stop laughing. Because there's these ridiculous prosthetic hands that I was breaking.

Q When you make a film that is unapologetically violent, is there any kind of ethical consideration to that decision?

A Unfortunately for me, no. I happen to have an appreciation for things like this. I would probably sing a different tune if somebody goes out and kills a bunch of people because of this movie, but I would hope that doesn't happen. Perhaps I should be more ethically minded, but unfortunately I like this sort of thing.

Colin Covert • 612-673-7186

Colin Covert • ccovert@startribune.com