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Few films capture comings-of-age so perfectly with an earnestness that rarely, if ever, crosses over into corniness.
movies about self-discovery and heartbreak and Elton John sing-alongs.
In turn, the rest of the movie feels believable and lived-in.
You were so young when you were cast in this movie and essentially unknown.
And he said, You got to get on your agents to send you in for it.
There was a big three-month gap before I heard anything back.
As a Salt Lake City actor, that was what I was doing at the time.
And John de Lancie fromStar Trekwas there his son was auditioning.
So I was like,Wow, theres some, like, movie stars here.
Then I ended up in the room with Cameron for probably two hours, doing stuff with him.
So it was not about William Miller, the rock journalist.
So when he asked me about music, I was like, I dont really listen to music.
I have a Green Day CD.
I have a Chumbawamba CD, thats kind of it.
And hes like, What about Led Zeppelin?
You ever listen to Led Zeppelin?
I was like, Nah, Im not too familiar with him.
And Im just going to film your response to it.
We can talk about it.
It ended up actually being in the film.
And at the time, Brad Pitt was playing Russell Hammond.
I think I met Fairuza [Balk, who plays Band Aid Sapphire] that trip.
And I screen-tested with Brad Pitt.
He could tell I was nervous.
So he started talking to me about this video gameCool Boarders, because Im from Salt Lake City.
So hes like, Do you snowboard?
I was like, Yes.
And hes like, Do you play video games?
I was like, Yeah.
And then hes like, Have you playedCool Boarders?
Do you know why he ended up leaving the film?I dont know all of the reasons.
I think he probably had to choose between doing that and doingFight Club.
At that point, Brad Pitt was like,theleading man.
So the fact that they put Billy [Crudup] in the role was just brilliant.
This is about rock music.
Its kind of about my experience, writing about rock music growing up.
You dont need to worry about that.
And youre doing the same thing as an unknown actor coming to work with all of these huge stars.
I know they had other names that were well-known young actors that would have crushed the part themselves.
But Cameron decided he wanted somebody totally green.
When I met Philip Seymour Hoffman, he was nothing like any of his characters.
Billy was so different from Russell in so many ways, though they had some similarities.
Everybody was like that: Kate, Frances McDormand, nothing like their characters.
Layers that I didnt necessarily track at that age.
Fuck, I didnt think of that during my cursory read-through and memorization of the scene.
Jason Lee [who plays band member Jeff Bebe] was fun to hang around.
Do you guys stay in touch?We do now and then.
But its one of those relationships where it’s possible for you to pick up where you left off.
Hes like, I thought he would get shorter and uglier.
What was your relationship like with Philip?Well, Philip was only there for a few days.
They both would give me shit.
Theyd ask me, like, How old are you again?
And Id be like, 16, and theyd be like, Fuck you, man.
Youre from Salt Lake City?
What have you done there to earn this part?
But Philip was also kind of like, Kid, you have a big part here.
you gotta show up to work.
see to it you do a good job while youre here.
Dont just throw this away.
Theres actors out there who scrape, and beg, and starve for this kind of a role.
I was like, I get it.
And I was like, Hold on, I just got here.
What the fuck, no!
And theyre like, Yeah, theyre going to be using digital cameras now.
You sawToy Story theyre not even going to use actors anymore.
Theyre just going to animate.
Theyll just use your voice from a bunch of different films.
They wont even have to pay you anymore.
I was like, Great.
Okay, I guess Ill go do something else.
Did he soften up toward you at all as time went on?[Laughs.
]It was always like that.
I could not look at Philip and keep my eyes open.
So I would just look at my notepad, because William was taking notes.
Philip stops the take, and hes like, Hold on.
Hey, Patrick, you cant even look at me.
You cant even act right now.
I feel like the light is too bright.
And I was like, Itisactually fairly bright.
But were talking about John Toll, one of the masters of cinematic craftsmanship.
Were also only a couple weeks into shooting; I was still very much the new kid.
But Philip started talking to John Toll about it.
I love that story.
At the time, you toldThe Guardianthat it was very much a rock-and-roll lifestyle shooting the movie.
What were you referring to exactly?Well,I was a minor.
I drink very, very rarely my family never did it.
Cameron was just recounting the experiences to us while we were on set.
He gave it out as a wrap gift, which is amazing.
Were there parties going on that you werent invited to?Absolutely.
But by the way, Iwasinvited to some of those parties.
Bijou Phillips was hell-bent on corrupting me.
Mom knew what Bijou was fucking up to.
I was like, I just finished my homework, getting my lines ready for tomorrow.
And shes like, Uh, thats boring.
A couple of us are going to go out.
Do you want to come?
I was like, Where are you guys going?
Hold on, I gotta ask my mom.
I said, Mom, Bijou and a couple people are going out.
So I said, My mom wants to know where were going.
Bijou was like, Were going out for ice cream.
My mom laughed and was like, No, tell her youll see her at set tomorrow.
Was there ever a point where they successfully got to corrupt you a little bit?
Or did your mom always lay down the hammer?Mom is like fucking Thors hammer.
Shes like, Hey, are you going to set?
I was like, Yeah.
Shes like, Hop in, Ill take you.
And I jumped in and then we didnotgo to set.
Were in traffic dressed as hippies from the 70s and Bijou is just pulling doughnuts on Sunset and Fairfax.
Bijou got in some shit for that one.
What was your relationship with Kate like?Kate was like every bit a starlet as you would think.
She took that whole production very seriously and turned out such a wonderful performance.
But also, she was 19 at the time, and I was crushing on her.
Of course you were!And she knew it.
I was not slick.
I was not good at concealing it, nor was I good at trying to capitalize on it.
I was just nervous.
So she would kind of fuck with me, knowing that I was crushing on her.
How would she fuck with you?
[Laughs]Oh man, I dont want to throw her under the bus.
The whole cast went, a bunch of the crew went, it was amazing.
It was in the middle of filming, and Kate sat down next to me.
I really hope I dont get in some shit for this.
But she said[affects flirty tone],So, how are you doing Patrick?
How are you doing on the film?
Shes like, Are you having fun?
That kind of thing.
I was like, Yeah, yeah.
Shes like, So tell me about Utah.
Like, whats Utah like?
And I started talking about it.
Shes like, Do you have a girlfriend in Utah?
I was like, No, no, I dont.
And shes like, Huh, what if I was your girlfriend?
I love it.Were teenagers, and shes fucking with me.
I was trying to decipher, to put two and two together.
But I had no experience around girls, and none around any movie-star girls.
I was like, Is she fucking with me?
Is she being sincere?
Am I being propositioned?
Is my mom watching?
I was just sitting there staring at her with my mouth open.
And then she laughed and slapped me on the shoulder.
Shes like, Patrick, Im joking.
Did you ever confess your feelings?No.
I mean, I was 16.
I was a fickle 16-year-old.
We were scene partners.
It was a big lesson for me, separating my actual feelings from whats happening in the story.
It can be confusing for a lot of actors, but especially a hormonal 16-year-old boy.
So it was really the golden age of 35-mm.
We had a big budget.
There was some serious money just spent on trailers.
As the lead in the film, I had my own trailer, which is also something SAG requires.
So I was pretty stoked on that.
So they had this big trailer for her and she refused to go in it.
Shes like, No, Ill stay in a honey wagon.
Its enough room to kind of sit down, and it has a toilet in it.
Its usually where the communal bathrooms are.
She was like, No, I dont care.
They were like, Well, the trailers here, Frances, nobodys going to be using it.
We can clear out a honey-wagon space for you.
And shes like, Good, do it.
And they towed away her trailer.
Thats incredible.Man, she was amazing.
When she came on set, the weight of the set changed.
The weight of the set got heavier, in that there was some serious fucking skill on set now.
Everybody better step up their game.
Theres a scene where were meant to be rocking out to Stairway to Heaven.
In this scene, Cameron lets the entirety of Stairway to Heaven play.
We were filming the scene for two days, and Frances was dying at the end of every take.
So at the end of the take, she would go bananas.
Shed be like, No, keep it playing, start it over.
And shes air drumming, air guitaring, just loving it.
There are so many iconic scenes in this movie that I want to talk to you about.
Theres the airplane scene, theres the Im a Golden God scene, theres the deflowering scene.
Which sticks out to you as the most memorable to film?The deflowering one was a big day.
I was, like I said, inexperienced with girls.
So I was used to being around very athletic, beautiful women but not talking to them.
That was a hell of a day.
I obviously was a teenager, so I was worried about certain physical responses to the stimulation.
I was worried that I wasnt going to be kissing right.
I was worried that I wasnt going to look good in my underwear.
But ultimately, it was great.
It was this sort of playful, easy, flirtatious but also kind of bittersweet moment.
And try as I might during that scene, I wasnt really getting it.
You got to be true to the craft.
And they have that great conversation about beingnot cool.
And Cameron basically said to me, How do you feel about the end of the shoot?
I was like, Yeah, its crazy.
I mean, wed been working on this for six months or something.
And hes like, Yep, yep.
And I was floored.
And hes like, I know its sad, isnt it?
I was like, Yeah.
And hes like, Think just about that during this next [take].
I got on the phone and enough rawness released from me …
I just started crying.
And the scene came extremely easily after that.
We cut and Cameron came out and hes like, Thats exactly it, brother.
What is it like to have a career-defining role so early on?
What kind of pressure did that put on you?
But I dont necessarily see it that way.
[To make] indie movies that were kind of weird that I cared about.
I loved that time in my life.
