From Filmweb, 1997

"Prince of Darkness"

By Robin Eggar

One who talks too much. Given half a chance he will rant on and on. He is easily enraged, highly theatrical, but he can turn around and feign being extremely cordial and polite. This Devil has a philosophy of pure evil, but I tried to find stuff that's funny, too. I knew we had to go for that to make it palatable. There are scenes not in the picture where he gets a little more literate and speaks about how the Devil used to be something that would appear with a cloven hoof, but today he appears openly and everybody hurries to kiss his ass.

This part was offered to me a couple of years ago when it was more of an SFX monster movie. Then the script became more relevant. What made me do it was that I could hear [director] Taylor Hackford's enthusiasm for taking it into a story that parallels our life today. It stirred my interest. Together we figured a way to give it a Faustian theme. It's about temptation. This was also the opportunity to play a classical role. It is an interesting part; a blank page, an empty canvas.

When I started it felt more exotic to me than it does now; it was a little more private. When movies were released into the world they had a real meaning. Now, they've spread out, become more of a common denominator. People seem to know all about how much movies cost to make and they're concerned about it. But in the end it comes down to a darkened theatre and a light on the screen. The overpowering event of experiencing a movie never changes. In the '70s, movies were speaking more to the socio-political atmosphere of our world. Now, the media has taken up a lot of the issues, and film has either become more esoteric or more fantastical. I think personal films are still being made. Oliver Stone does it with a real power; he confronts things, and that still has a powerful impact in the world of movies.

Let's look at movies over the last 100 years and see what stayed afloat and what didn't. That's the only way I can tell. I love independent film-making, but you need money to make movies. Independent pictures need more money - because they have to be made on a lower budget, sometimes the film-makers are not able to communicate their vision with the alacrity and energy of the big-budget movies. The viewer has now become so sophisticated to the visual effects. Even in a very simple movie about a very simple thing you still need strong visual statements - but then again you always did. Now a man can't just get shot and go down on the ground. That's not acceptable. The audience want to see more blood and action. That's going to cost more.

All actors or me personally? It's a sign of the times. If people are getting what they are getting, there is a reason for it. Like athletes. On one hand, it does seem to be outrageous; on the other, there is a definite practicality to it. If a film isn't assured of a large audience then a well-known actor will take a substantial cut in salary, but if he is taking a certain role in a certain type of film which virtually assures an audience, he will demand more bucks because the film will make everyone more bucks, and, hopefully will entertain a lot of people.

To me, Men In Black was very impressive. While it isn't the kind of thing I do, sitting there watching it, I couldn't help but be impressed. Such ingenuity. The film technique is colossal and that seems to be the direction films are going in.

What I was trying to do was to engage an audience so that by the end they would want to see more Shakespeare, rather than me. It was a lot of fun for me to see if I could get anywhere close to doing it.

I have had offers to direct real films. But I have worked with many great directors and seen that it's a level of film-making I can never get to, so I don't even bother. I just enjoy engaging in film as an amateur. I am directing Chinese Coffee, which is hard, but fun, and, because I don't have the pressure of having to deliver, I am off the hook. I just get on and do it - the way I sing in the shower.

Who? Me? Yeah, I guess I have gone over the top. It's always hard to censor yourself. In one movie my character takes a couple of hits of cocaine; as those scenes were cut out of the picture, the audience doesn't have the benefit of knowing that he does cocaine periodically, which explains some of his behaviour. If you don't know that, it can look like overacting. Sometimes it's just me. We are at a stage in American cinema where naturalism seems to be the more accepted style - like when I did Donnie Brasco. But as long as you take a thing and it connects with the passion and that is what is communicated, I think the theatricality is perfectly valid.

I thought the role was impossible to do. I didn't know how I was going to go from being a total non-entity to this guy who runs the whole show. I remember staying really close to the story in my mind and heart, and feeling that somehow I would chart out this character. I spent a lot of time praying. Literally. I went and sat in churches and prayed.

I didn't spend much time socialising with Bobby because we were in different parts of the movie. When I did see him I didn't rehearse with him, so I didn't have a day-to-day relationship with him on the film. I didn't get to know him in the same way.

Winning an Oscar was a great experience. It was wonderful. It wasn't really about deserving it - it was sort of my turn. The feeling afterwards is hard to describe. Because you go around and you live and people are aware you won an Oscar. And they come up to you and congratulate you. Which keeps it all afloat. That went on for a couple of weeks. It was like winning something at the Olympics. I have never won anything at a sporting event. I've honestly never felt anything like it.

There was a period when I was out of it for a few years. Almost four years between movies. During the last few years, I've been much more interested, more active. Sometimes, you're waiting and you're not particularly excited about anything. You have to decide, "Which one do I choose?" There's something to be said for not doing anything, just waiting for some inspiration. But it doesn't seem to happen enough. Right now, I've nothing big planned.