linaewen | "That Guy"

A couple of fun articles about that guy who was in that movie, you know the one where he was bad and died in the end? Can't remember his name... ;-)

Bean Pilots 'Flightplan'
MSN Movies
Sep 4, 2005

Every now and then, an actor ends up becoming "that guy." You'll speak to a friend about a movie you've just seen and say, "Oh, yeah, that guy from such and such. Remember him?" It's usually a character actor who has appeared in a number of successful flicks, but doesn't get the notoriety or the publicity of
his counterparts. Sean Bean has been "that guy" for awhile, but it looks like he is about to move out of the shadows.

Most audiences will recognize the Brit for either his role in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, as the villain in "National Treasure" or as Odysseus in "Troy." A minority might even remember him as the head of the cloning facility in "The Island." But, chances are they won't know his name. Bean has just
finished three more movies that may end up lifting him out of the supporting arena: the videogame adaptation "Silent Hill"; the coal-mining drama "North Country"; and the Jodie Foster thriller "Flightplan." Interviewed as he traveled Europe to promote the international release of "The Island" (where it is actually a hit with $100 million to date), Bean was especially enthusiastic about the Foster "Flightplan."

"It twists and turns as it goes," he says of the mystery that features Foster searching for her missing child on a plane in the middle of a trans-Atlantic flight. "You start to think, 'It's got to be him or no, it has to be him.' It's quite a big shock when you find out the person or persons that have been
doing this. It could even be the captain."

Bean plays that captain -- a character that, at first glance, isn't that disturbed at the child's disappearance.

"This is a massive aircraft. It's got numerous stories and seven galleys," he says of the fictional plane. "So, it's not inconceivable that this could happen at the beginning. As the story goes on [Foster's character] becomes more and more desperate and we start questioning her sanity. And as much as I want to give her the benefit of the doubt, I have to make a decision because of responsibilities to the airplane and the cargo. So, it becomes more bizarre as it goes on."

"North Country" is a serious drama from director Niki Caro ("Whale Rider") that gave Bean the opportunity to act opposite Oscar-winners Charlize Theron and Frances McDormand.

"I play a great friend of [Theron's character] and Frances plays my partner who becomes quite ill," he says. "Throughout the course of the film I look after her and ... it's a very moving story. It's very poignant, very hard and very gritty. It's like a play in some respects. The characters are so fantastic. I mean they are really deep characters. It was just a joy to work on even though it was very intense."

If both films live up to their potential, Bean just might take one more step out of the shadows and into the spotlight.

"Flightplan" opens nationwide September 23; "North Country" opens nationwide October 14.

Boromir turns to videogames and more treasure hunts -- Bean on Silent Hill, Treasure 2
by Jeff Otto
IGN
09 Sep 2005

IGN FilmForce is in Toronto this week for an endless string of screenings and interviews set around the Toronto Film Festival. Earlier today we spoke with the cast of the upcoming thriller Flightplan. Sean Bean is getting to know Toronto well, having spent recent months here shooting the videogame
adaptation, Silent Hill. Today, the man best known as Boromir from the Lord of the Rings trilogy spoke to FilmForce about his work on Silent Hill and rumors of a National Treasure sequel.

IGN FilmForce spent some time on the set of Silent Hill a few months back. When asked if he's done shooting, Bean laughs. "No, no, I can't believe it. I think I've got two days left in it. I think the beginning, they are having to rethink the beginning, because of what happened in retrospect..."

Brotherhood of the Wolf helmer Christophe Gans is directing Silent Hill, which should make for a very stylized look to the film. "Christophe Gans, this wonderful director. He's a very bizarre kind, a very poetic sort of guy."

Silent Hill has been a long and intense shoot for Bean, but he wouldn't have it any other way. "They're always intense. I think everything is quite intense and that's the way it should be on things..."

When we spoke with Bean a few months ago, he admitted that he hadn't yet played the game. Given a few more months on set, I asked him if he'd played it by now. "No. (Laughs) I saw it in the shop the other day with one of my daughters and I went, 'Wow, there's that game.' She said, 'Yeah, everybody's heard of that.' I'm not very good with stuff like that, computers and games... Just something I'm not very good at. My daughters, they know all about it, which is quite good [for] our audience."

Outside of The Island, Bean has had a pretty good string of successes, including last year's Bruckheimer opus, National Treasure. Recently, talk of a sequel has started brewing. "There is some talk about that, yeah, doing a sequel... Originally, I did get killed in the end and they sort of changed it halfway through, which I was quite pleased about. And so, there is the opportunity for a return... That would be good, to work with Nic Cage again and John Turtletaub, who is a fantastic director and a great guy... A really wonderful director who you can have a laugh with on the set... It was a very pleasant experience working on that, so hopefully it will turn up again."

Thanks to The Compleat Sean Bean for these!