Amy Ryan gives an outstanding and award-winning performance in GONE BABY GONE, as a drug-addicted single mother, desperate to find her abducted four year-old daughter.
Q: How exciting was it for you getting
this role?
A: “It was very exciting! I didn’t know Ben before the audition,
but I had received the script from my agent and I loved it right from
the start; it was such a page-turner. Each character was so dynamic
and you quickly realize, this is not like a ‘who dunnit let’s
find the missing child police drama’ - it is about how this kidnapping
affects each character’s life and I think that is so rare in a
film. Usually one character is affected and we follow that person’s
journey. The role was wonderful but I kept thinking ‘oh no, this
part is too good, I’ll never get it’. I auditioned, the
old fashioned way and had practiced a Boston accent. Ben actually said
to me at the audition: ‘where are you from in Boston?’ and
I said ‘I am from New York’. He said ‘I have never
been fooled in my life before’. It was such a compliment that
he thought it worked.”
Q: Were you surprised to get the part?
A: “Those kind of roles never go to unknown actresses. There are
so many incredible actresses with big names who could bring more money
to a film. So I was greatly shocked that I got the part.”
Q: Was there a sense that this film was
special?
A: “I knew from the beginning that this was a rare, juicy, complicated
part. And then on top of that it was Ben Affleck’s directing debut,
so there was a real feeling of excitement. There was an electric feeling
in the air. It felt like something new and thrilling was happening.
Sometimes you are doing scenes in films that you know are not good and
you are privately apologizing for, thinking ‘oh this is stupid
I can’t believe I had to do that’. But in this film I would
finish a scene and want to do it again because it was so much fun. There
were so many layers. I loved the interrogation scene with Ed Harris.
The whole film has a great quality.”
Q: What kind of woman is Helene McCready?
A: “I think from my perspective, Helene is a drug addicted single
mother who is trying to survive by very unsavory means, who is really
a product of her environment. She is doing the best she can and the
best is just awful. She does love her child very much – she also
loves drugs.”
Q: How did you portray her?
A: “I do not think she is all bad. Maybe there are a couple of
characters in history who are purely evil, the ones who twirl their
moustaches! But I think most people are doing the best they can, but
sometimes their best is just atrocious and that’s why it was so
interesting to play a character like this. You have to put aside your
own beliefs, your own life experience and stand behind the character
without any judgment. As an audience member I can imagine watching and
thinking ‘oh this woman is terrible’ and then when you are
in the character you say: ‘this woman is very crafty but she knows
how to survive in a community that is really rough, with no help from
police or education or health authorities and look how well she has
survived so far in her life.’ I am sure there was a point in time
when Helene was the four-year old daughter (like Amanda,) herself, having
a tough time and you have to look at the big picture. The film focuses
on the question: How do you break the cycle of bad parenting and how
will that end? That is what the movie offers up, because this is happening
everywhere of course, not just in that area of Boston.”
Q: Did you do any specific research for
the character?
A: “No I did not do any research on addiction or anything like
that. I just used what I know about the subject and have read about
in books. And I took a lot from people I know or have encountered along
the way in life, who have gone through that. But I haven’t known
anyone that extreme. The research was on the job training while we were
filming in Dorchester in Boston. Being on location in Boston helped
a lot. It is very different having that reality rather than filming
in Toronto or somewhere that is supposed to be Boston. The bar is raised
much higher, but in one sense it makes it easier because all you have
to do is be open to the environment you are in. You get the attitude
of the place and people, the way they carry themselves physically. You
observe everything they do: are they friendly to the cops? Are they
friendly to the new person who walks down the block? It was such a luxury
being on set there, the atmosphere starts to seep in.”
Q: What was it like working with Ben?
A: “Ben was so supportive. He made such an incredible first impression
at our initial meeting, he was so smart and he is also kind. His confidence
and intelligence are great; he is very open to collaboration. He was
wonderful to work with – I really believe this part was played
by both me and Ben Affleck. He loves acting of course, which meant he
could help a lot and he was very impressive. He has great enthusiasm
and tireless energy; he kept on going and going. Ben is so many things,
all good. I have had a lot of champions along the way, people who believed
in me but Ben Affleck and Sidney Lumet have been amazing.”
Q: When did Sydney Lumet become a champion?
A: “He saw me in a play and invited me to audition for a television
show he made with Alan Arkin called 100 CENTRE ST. I played three different
parts over the two years of the series. And then this year I joined
him in BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD. I have had a lot of
people along the way who have said ‘you are so great you are so
great, but I am not going to hire you. I am not going to take a chance’,
and then there are people like Ben and Sidney who stood up to that and
did take a risk and said ‘you are so great and I am going to prove
it’. They really believed in me.”
Q: What about Casey Affleck - what was
it like working with him?
A: “He is incredibly talented and playful and relaxed and in a
way that made everything much more loose and I loved working with him,
he is funny and light, which helped because we were working with such
dark subject matter.”
Q: What does the film say do you think?
A: “I think the film works so well because it does not answer
questions. You sit there eating your popcorn and go on a journey and
watch the story unfold but it does not sum it all up for you. So you
go away from the theater talking with friends, discussing it all and
it spurs on conversation. I believe that is great because this is a
real problem and ultimately it is all about ‘how do we take better
care of our children?’ How do we take better care of our neighborhood?
There are incredible success stories of people who have done well and
shine though against the odds and there are inspirational stories from
all walks of life, but there are many kids growing up in harsh circumstances
and we have to find out how to break the cycle.”
Q: How has GONE BABY GONE changed your
life?
A: “It has changed my life and I would say the turning point was
when I met Ben Affleck. Everything changed after I made this film in
terms of better access to scripts, it is fantastic. I feel like I have
been hanging out at the punch bowl and just got called out onto the
dance floor. It’s been a whirlwind, but a very welcome whirlwind.
The Golden Globe nomination and the awards I’ve received, it is
all just incredible, it feels great and if it brings more attention
to the film that is fantastic. It is good all around. I have been so
busy; I have not really had time to celebrate. A lot of it has been
reading the news on emails. I welcome it all with open arms. I think
the beauty of waiting for this kind of success for a long time is that
I have a lot of gratitude and patience. I think I appreciate it far
more than if I was young and just out of high school, because I can
step back.”
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