Spotlighthas been compared favorably and justifiably to the gold standard in journalism movies, 1976s seminalAll the Presidents Men.
Schreibers acting in the film is a masterpiece of tranquility.
Baron, ultimately, is the truest hero of the movie.
Credit: Open Road
Baron does not have a lot of screen time inSpotlight.
But Schreiber, 48, still felt an enormous sense of responsibility when he accepted the part.
I was immensely proud to be playing Marty Baron, he says.
There have been a couple roles in my lifetime that I thought, This is really special.
Marty is way up on that list, right up there with Hamlet and Iago.
Hes a real hero.
Wow, says Baron via email.
Liev must have keen powers of observation.
All my friends and colleagues say he nailed me.
And we spoke in person for only two hours or less.
He certainly had an impossible challenge in portraying me: How do you play someone who does not emote?
But he did it brilliantly, giving the character an intensity that might unnerve even me.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How much were you aware of theBoston Globes reporting on the church abuse story in 2002?
How did you find out about the film?
With the idea of you playing Marty?
No, he didnt say anything about that.
He just sent me the script out of the blue.
We went to graduate school [the Yale School of Drama] together.
He and [co-screenwriter] Josh Singer did a remarkable job of telling the story in an intelligent way.
And you dont expect that in the movie business these days [laughs].
Im sure it was a total page-turner as a script.
Oh yeah, I thought it read really well as a book, actually.
It had a literary quality and an attention to detail that was very rare.
But I was worried about it as a film.
Well, knowing what I knew, I was more shocked that Marty was such a relatively small character.
By the time I read the script, I knew the story very well.
And so I was surprised that he spent so much time on the sidelines in the script.
Especially since, you know, in the story hes such a powerful element.
[laughs] Yeah, I like that moment.
I feel like thats a great metaphor for your performance.
And that allows the story to lead, and then you realize how remarkable these people are.
I think if an actor leads in a story like this, you think, What a great performance.
And how catastrophic the loss of it could be.
Had you met with Marty before filming began?
He invited me to come visit him in Washington and I went down to thePost.
Initially I had heard so many things about him.
That he was very a reserved guy, a real tough boss, totally inscrutable.
But I found him to be incredibly generous.
But did you see why people have characterized him that way?
His mind is so sophisticated and balanced and maybe that gives people a certain take-away.
And that would make anyone run for the hills.
But something about him that I noticed right away is that Marty can always see the bigger picture.
And thats very key to his part in the movie.
I could see that he had made that decision in his mind.
And that was a great insight into him.
What did you ask about?
I wanted to know something about his personal life.
I wanted to know where he hung out and who he hung out with.
Things that I didnt need to know but things that I was curious about.
And those things matter.
There is a scene in the film when people ask each other if Marty is married or not.
His Jewish identity is so interestingly woven into the plot.
I think from the beginning, Martys presence alone was a challenge to the cultural status quo in Boston.
He doesnt think that all that stuff factors into his job performance and I think hes absolutely right.
They thought he might be easy to take down.
But I dont think ever spent time worrying about that.
This is a guy who has spent so much of his time being on the right side of things.
He wasnt afraid of them either, not the slightest bit.
I also really enjoyed your performance as chess championBoris Spassky inPawn Sacrifice, from earlier this year.
Oh, thank you.
That is a performance delivered entirely in Russian, in subtitles.
What that your idea?
[laughs] Are you kidding?
Why would anyone do that to themselves?
No, it was [director] Ed Zwicks idea.
He wanted establish the dark, paranoid, Iron Curtain kind of vibe.
And speaking Russian the entire time was something that Ed thought we could use.
I kept waiting for you to switch to English.
I think people should speak their own languages in movies.
And hows it going with your ownRaging Bull your movie about Chuck Wepner?
Presumably not another quiet man role?
[laughs] No.
Its calledThe Bleeder, yeah.
Were hot and heavy; were in the thick of it.
Im just laying out the couch recovering.
Its been really intense.
Philippe Falardeau is directing.
He was nominated for an Oscar a few years ago forMonsieur Lazharand hes really wonderful.
If all goes well, well be getting that out next year.
Watch the trailer forSpotlight:
