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For many actors, nabbing the part of Charles Manson even once would be the role of a lifetime.
For Australian actor Damon Herriman, it happened twice.
(He actually bookedMindhunterfirst.)
But the amount of research that I ended up doing far outweighed that.
He speaks with a certain cadence.
He has a very particular sound to his voice.
He moves in a certain way.
Hes also just way more confident in his body than I am naturally.
He slithers like a snake.
Hes almost liquid in his movement.
Hes certainly the most confident man in any room that Id ever witnessed him in on tape, anyway.
Where do you personally land with him?Its very hard to come to a conclusion onanythingabout Charles Manson.
Of anyone Ive ever played, Ive researched him the most and I probably know him the least.
Its so hard to pin down what made that guy tick.
So its really hard to answer that.
The tones of the two are quite different too.
Obviously,Mindhunteris very much a drama, whereas a Tarantino movie has a …
I dont know how you would even describe it.
Its that Tarantino tone.
Theres a lightness to things.
Youre seeing the pre-murder Manson, and hes the king of his world at that point.
Theres a cheekiness to him in 1969.
In 1980, hes just angry, you know?
The two things that did make it different were the time period and the tone differences.
Hes recording music to attempt to become a rock star.
He talks a lot in the audition.
In fact, he cant even concentrate enough to keep it together through virtually any song.
But you hear this man who sounds like a cult leader.
it’s possible for you to hear girls laughing at everything he says.
And literally, his voice is lighter.
Between those two time periods, 1969 and 1980, his voice changes.
You see him in jail in any of those famous interviews later, and theres a gruffness to him.
And I keep coming back to the wordbitter.
He was incredibly bitter about being in jail.
He didnt think there was any reason.
He hadnt killed anyone.
He would say, I didnt tell anyone to do what they did.
And even if I did …
The whole If I told you to jump off a cliff, would you?
To answer your question, its a bit of both.
It would be silly to approach them in a completely different way.
I mean, he changed my face.
Most areas of my face had some kind of prosthetic to slightly change the shape.
That was a five-hour makeup job every day before we even did anything.
InOnce Upon a Time,you shot more scenes that didnt make the final cut.
InMindhunter, youve just got that one scene.
Whether you achieve that or not is another thing, but thats what you hope for.
I need to ask you about the way you sit on the chair inMindhunter.
Where did that come from?Thats from the script.
Charles Manson used to do that.
Its a cool thing that they included that, because you cant imagine that scene without it.
Ive never looked shorter than I do in that moment!
I had fairly flat shoes on, and I was keeping my body as hunched as possible.
You shot both roles in a two-week span.
What were those two weeks like for you?It was as weird as it sounds.
But also very cool, you know?
Youre pinching yourself, going,How the hell did this happen?
I had to not let myself get overwhelmed by it.
How did you decompress?Oh, just bynotthinking about Charles Manson.
I saw you earlier this year inJudy and Punch, in which you play a drunken, abusive husband.
Then I saw you inThe Nightingale, in which you play a rapist.Do you want to hang out sometime?
Or youve got other things to do?
Now youre playing Charles Manson twice.
I could not even get an audition for any of those roles you just mentioned.
I would constantly hear, No, Damons not right, Damons not right.
I think it was based on how I presented socially.
I just dont think they got an edgy vibe off me.
Or if I was unshaven or I rubbed dirt on my face?
What do I need to do?
It [changed] only when I started working in America.
Then I was playing meth addicts inBreaking Badand rednecks inJustified.
I was the Lindbergh Baby killer inJ.
Edgar, I was the hit man inQuarry, a homeless person inFlesh and Bone.
And then it came to a climax withNightingale,Judy and Punch, and those two Mansons.
Its starting to turn back around.
How do you feel about the termcharacter actor?I dont mind it at all.
Its actually changed definition.
Thats something I definitely like to do.
If thats the term that sums that up most easily for people, then Im fine with it.
Its certainly more accurate thanleading manwhen it comes to me, thats for sure.
