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Metro 17 February 2005
What attracted you to the Manners of Dying screenplay? “It was a role I couldn’t turn down. Not because it was a film about the death penalty – yes, it’s going to spark off debate – but I accepted for the film itself. It’s not a lightweight film. In it I saw a very intelligently structured screenplay. It uses the medium of cinema very well to deal with the subject of death.” Does the structure of different versions of the last hours of a condemned man pose a particular challenge for an actor? “Certainly it’s a frightening film for an actor. It’s an exciting gift, but that can be a poisoned chalice. I could have made a fool of myself. The film rested on my shoulders in a way, even though the main character is Parlington. Everyone reacts to Kevin. He’s the catalyst. If I don’t deliver the goods, it all collapses … Has your position on the death penalty been crystallised in the course of filming? “I was already against the death penalty but I’d never really questioned it. It seemed obvious. As Canadians we don’t really have to compromise on this. Associating with real prison wardens helped me to see clearly. A society which supports the death penalty almost agrees with the criminals. You have a problem with someone, you get rid of him. It’s simple.”
Échos-Vedettes March 2005
“Having been in analysis for 7 years, I don’t think that many people are fundamentally wicked from birth.”
“The criminal kills because he chooses murder to solve a problem. A society which does the same therefore decides that eliminating a criminal is a way to solve a problem. It’s very primitive. To those people who say that it’s cheaper to use the death penalty, I ask the question: are we to establish the morality of a society on economic grounds? If so, that would be very unhealthy!”
Did this film about death make Roy reflect on his own? “Death is a little closer as I grow older. In the past, it was an opportunity to philosophise. Added to that there’s now more of a physical feeling. I think about it, I’m conscious of it, and it’s disturbing; it’s very violent. It’s the ultimate experience and at the same time in a way it’s normal ...” Radio Canada Culture
“For me, when society agrees to solve a problem they have with someone by eliminating them, it’s a bit like adopting a criminal mentality.”
On the set, the actor had the opportunity to act with – and discuss with – a retired policeman, one still in service, and a former prison warden. “That clarified my position,” he stated, more of an abolitionist than ever. “It’s proven that in the American states which have the death penalty that’s not where they have the lowest crime rates. It’s often the reverse. It generates a circle of violence.”
Le Devoir 12 February 2005 “To approach death when you have no choice goes against nature, against instinct. I’ve never pushed myself so far. When I watch the film I don’t recognise some aspects of myself.”
Sensass 12 March 2005 |
