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I didn’t realize how much input you had on the script for “Thelma & Louise” and how Ridley Scott was game for it. Was there any pushback to the suggestions you had on set?
The script was kind of vague. [Ridley] doesn’t care about the words that much. At one point I was like, “Can’t we just get out of this car for some little grace note of something? There’s so much dialogue at the end by the time they should be just ready.”
There was that kind of give and take. It wasn’t that I just didn’t like something. It’s more like, “How can I do this? Explain to me this particular thing. How would that work?” Or “Answer this question.” I come with a lot of questions, not criticisms. I’m trying to figure out, how long are they on the road that they think going off a cliff’s a good idea? How long isn’t she sleeping for? What is her responsibility? Those kind of questions.
The only thing I said was I’m not interested in making a revenge film. I don’t want to be Arnold Schwarzenegger or Mel Gibson. I think she’s trying to figure out why men think this is a good idea to say these things and do these things. Men who have mothers, men who have sisters, why? That, as opposed to just trying to kill people and blow up trucks, for me, was what motivated my character.
It’s not that I come in ready to criticize, I was just confused about what was going on: “Do we really need this at that point?”
I think that’s what you do with every project you go through, to just try to understand the whole.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
“The Fabulous Four” is now in theaters.