Did that reverence for 1970s films like The French Connection provide an enjoyable aspect to playing the character?
I enjoyed being in that tradition, in a way, and I thought of Popeye Doyle of course, but I also thought of the character that I did in Insomnia, which was also a kind of tormented policeman, like a pressure-boiler with a lot of stuff going on and not showing it. It’s really interesting to play those characters that are not allowed to ‘show’. You’ve often talked about the Hollywood films you do because they’re fun and well-paid, and the smaller films that are more challenging for you. Where does Waz fit into those categories? Was it a commercial project for you? No! It doesn’t pay my bills [laughs]. This was because it was an interesting role. It was an interesting subject also, because the subject is love, and there’s actually an interesting discussion about empathy and about love in it. It was Shankland that made me do it. He’s a first-time director, and I’ve done quite a few of them. I meet them and I talk to them and I feel ‘Is there something going on there?’ and Shankland turned
