FOR BETTER OR FOR WIRTH
Copyright 1989 by Krishan Williams
Billy Wirth doesn't give a damn about critics, doesn't think about his name in lights or in magazines, and he hasn't prepared an Academy Award speech. Perhaps his least obvious, and most important asset is his spirit. It's the single characteristic that sets him apart from the myriad of other hungry up-and-coming actors in Hollywood.
Billy Wirth grew up in a nice neighborhood on the upper east side of Manhattan, a couple of blocks away from Spanish Harlem. He now resides in Los Angeles where he spends much of his time writing songs, playing pool and hanging out with friends.
Press hype claims that Wirth is part Huron Indian, though he will not verify it. "I can't say it's for sure, but my family has a genealogist working on it. When I was growing up, my aunt used to tell me that my great, great grandmother was Indian and she married a fur trader." Whether Wirth is part Indian or not is quite irrelevant. he still has the free-spirit of an eagle, in a land of broken dreams.
Q: Let's talk about your latest movie, War Party.
A: The theme of the movie deals with how racial tensions and racism exist on our planet. A lack of communication and understanding between different races and people leads to an inevitable conflict resulting in violence and destruction.
Q: How do you expect Indians to feel or react to the film?
A: I think this film is a very hard movie for anybody to watch. It's action-packed, which is every exciting, yet it's a tragedy. The ending is very heavy. Indians will react differently than most people after they see it. In the history of film, the Indian has always come out the loser or the bad guy. In this film, the Indian is not the bad guy but he does come out on the short end because of the tragic ending when the two heroes die. So Indians will initially react emotionally. They'll say, "You know, that's unfair. Why did they have to die?" But then if they look deeper into the meaning and the character and the spirituality of the movie they might understand that the movie is very important for the Indian cause.
Q: In terms of their exploitation?
A: For example, the symbolism in the movie--- the war axe that belongs to Sonny's (Billy Wirth) grandfather. Sonny had it and at the end of the movie it comes back in the white man's hand after Sonny gets killed. So what happens is you see the whites in power--- the army or the national guard--- the white man in power domination the people who don't have the power. In this case, it's the Indians. The non-Indian population will realize that the Indians are still being dominated.
Q: When you were making the film, did you observe any exploitation?
A: I saw that the Indians lived in a family poor environment in terms of money and housing. They didn't have great health care. The doctors would come in the hospital, work there for a couple months or a year and then use that as a stepping stone to work in a bigger hospital. There were definite problems, but the people were very loving, very kind, very accepting, and they were happy to have a movie being filmed there as long as we worked together.
Q: How strange, Hollywood descending on a reservation! Did they accept you instantly or was there a period of adapting to one another, ingratiation?
A: Actually, certain families accepted us. We stayed in this hotel run by an Indian family. Most of the Indians accepted us initially, although we had to earn the respect of many of them. They're tough people. They live with the redneck white people in neighboring towns and there's lots of fighting going on, lost of brawling in the bars. They go out, they drink and the rednecks drink and they have fights. That's their excitement. Maybe I was accepted because I look Indian and I could ride really well. We were working with 300 Indian extras all the time and they could see that I did all my own stunts and they respected that.
Q: Describe some of the most difficult stunts that you performed.
A: I did a stunt where I stood up on my horse and dove off the horse onto another stunt man's horse who was riding by, and I tackled the stunt man off in a scene where there were about 300 other horses running around and I almost got stepped on. But I didn't actually do the stunt perfectly because when I tackled the guy off the horse, I locked my arms around him, which I didn't know I wasn't supposed to do. I didn't realize he needed his hands to brace himself for the fall, and I had locked them in my arms. He could have hit his head, but nothing happened. He didn't get hurt or anything. I just learned how to do the stunt after I did it. He didn't tell me that I was supposed to hit him with my chest and then brace the fall with my arms. I could have hurt my arms by landing on them, but it worked out fine. I also did a stunt where I mounted the horse from the back, the rear of the horse, and popped up into the saddle. I did a Pony Express mount where you grab the horn of the saddle and the horse is running and you're on the side and you plant your foot and you flew up into the saddle. I did all my own stunts except for that fall down the hill which I really wanted to do. I like stunts a lot. If I wasn't an actor, I would be a stuntman. I like the adrenaline rush.
Q: Did the director encourage you to do your own stunts, or did you insist on it?
A: The director, Franc Roddam, was really cool. When he saw that I could do them and that I was very athletic, he let me do my own stunts.
Q: Did your agent want you to do them?
A: No, my agent didn't know.
Q: What technique did you rely on to develop your character?
A: In War Party I just went on basic instinct. I'm not really that studied. My acting in college was just an introduction to it. I didn't really get into the whole craft of it and I've basically been relying on instinct. For instance, I had this experience in an emotional scene where my friend, Warren ( Tim Sampson), in War Party dies. I substituted my best friend who died and I actually let my emotions come out and I felt his death and sadness and everything. And then when they came in to do it again, it was really draining because I couldn't get back to that same point. Learning in the field or on location or doing a movie or whatever kind of work, I'm aware of what works and what doesn't work for me. I'm developing my own technique or method, which is I learn as much as I can about my character, I write history about where he came from, what goes on in his mind-- I write it all out.
Q: When did you know you wanted to be an actor?
A: I didn't know until after War Party, although I had a great time making Lost Boys. Basically my role was on that I just had to be there on the set in character looking tough, you know like a runaway kid vampire. But then I did War Party and I connected in some dramatic scenes. I had the lead and I was really involved in the movie, in the creative process. Kevin (Dillon) and I would work on scenes the night before and really got into it. It was then that I realized this was what I wanted to do. Basically up until then I had just been going along with the whole audition process.
Q: Are you pleased with the outcome of the film?
A: Yeah, I'm happy with the film. I could go back over every scene and do it better again if I had another chance. But I did the best I could. I was moved by it.
Q: Considering this was your first lead role, where you at all worried about the level of responsibility to the project?
A: I was very scared, but the timing was right. If I had gotten the lead in Lost Boys at the time -- the timing wasn't right and that's why I didn't get it. I believe things happen at the level that you're ready for them.
Q: What do you mean you didn't get it?
A: I mean, I auditioned for the part that Kiefer Sutherland read for and I didn't get the part. But I was happy to get a part in that movie because I liked the movie. I liked the story.
Q: Do you ever get "stage fright" at this point in your career?
A: Yeah, but I'm getting to know myself a little better. I'm getting more confident. I don't like getting overly nervous, which comes from fear or lack of preparation. I like being excited rather than nervous. In acting, it's important for me to be relaxed. Preparation has a lot to do with that, even physical preparation -- stretching out and getting your muscles relaxed, vocal exercises to loosen up your vocal chords, breathing -- this is my technique in acting. It also helps to know your lines and to have a sense of humor about the whole thing.
Q: When will you feel like you've "made it?"
A: I don't think I'll ever feel like I've made it. To me, it's never been my goal to "make it." I'm making it when I can laugh and have a good time and enjoy what I'm doing right now. It's the journey, the process, that's important. People have these ideas ..."Oh, I'll get my big car, my big house, this this," and then everything will be fine. From my experience, my understanding of the way things work, it just doesn't happen.
Q: What personal characteristics have contributed to your success so far?
A: My mental attitude, I think, has helped a lot. When I set out to do something I try to give it my all.
Q: Your acting career has progressed at an astonishing rate.
A: In terms of where I'm at today in my career, it's all come in stride. It all happened gradually. Acting as a craft didn't come easily for me in the sense that I had a fear of talking in front of people. I was shy, I believe that if you work at anything, no matter what it is, if you have a passion for it and you put the time in, you'll get better. I have a long way to go with being the actor that I can be or want to be. It's exciting to know that I can lean a lot more and work with a lot of people and learn from them.
Q: When you're deciding which project to work on, what's your most important criteria? Is it the size of the role, the money?
A: I don't think the size of the role has anything to do with it. I think it's whether I think the role has some positive quality that I can relate to. I wouldn't want to do something that would bring out negativity or violence for the sake of violence.
Q: How has your life changed since your last couple of big roles. Besides being wealthier?
A: My life's gotten more busy and I like keeping busy.
Q: Will you resent losing your privacy as a result of fame?
A: I haven't lost my privacy, I still walk out and if people recognize me and they say, "Oh, I liked Lost Boy's," or "I like Wise Guys, " and then we have something to talk about. I love meeting people.
I do publicity just to publicize a project that I've done, so people don't recognize me just for being in a magazine or hearing about my personal life. I like the way my career is going and the fact that I'm not just doing publicity for the sake of publicizing me. I really don't have any desire to be famous or a big star. The reason I'm acting is because I like the "high" you get from doing it and connecting with other actors.
Q: Do you think fame carries any obligations toward a particular cause, or have a lifestyle that people would want to emulate -- do drugs, for example?
A: I think basically everybody's got to learn for themselves what's right for them. Being in the public eye, you can put out messages or ideas because people will listen to you. It's a great opportunity to affect people, young kids, by putting out a positive message. In that sense there is a responsibility. If I have something that I think maybe right for me, but not right for other people, I'm not going to put out that message. I'm not going to say something's good when I might feel it's good for me but someone else could take it the wrong way. I try to be careful about what I choose to say or what I let people know about myself.
Q: How do you measure your own success in a role?
A: To me, if I enjoy the movie process, the making of the movie, that's what counts. The film night bomb and people will criticize you saying it wasn't your best work or whatever, that's too bad. I did the best I could and I had a blast. And then I'm on to the next project. I try to live in the present rather than the past. If people liked the movie and it had some value to their lives and they enjoyed it, that's icing on the cake.
Q: When will you feel like you've made it?
A: I don't think I'll ever feel like I've make it. To me, it's never been my goal to make it. I'm making it when I can laugh and have a good time and enjoy what I'm doing right now. It's the journey, the process, that's important. People have these ideas... "Oh, I'll get my big car, my big house, this, this, this, and then everything will be fine. from my experience, my understanding of the way things work, it just doesn't happen.
Q: You have a great attitude. I'm sure a lot of that comes from your family. Were they always encouraging of your ambitions?
A: I have a great family. We're very close. I've got two brothers and my parents have been married for thirty-four years. My dad has always told me that I could do anything that I want to do. They believed in me. We have good communication and a lot of love. They're very supportive of all the thing I do.
Q: How do you feel about Hollywood and the fast lane life you're getting involved in?
A: I've taken my time adjusting to it. I grew up in NYC and I thing New York is a little bit faster paced. I think it's a little bit easier to live in Hollywood. Now that I'm more disciplined, I choose to stay home a lot to work on music, writing songs. I write a lot.
Right now I have a script that I wrote the story for and I hired a friend to write the screenplay. It's called Street Urchins, where I play a runaway kid who's taken in by this old black man. This old man finds me in a shooting gallery up in Harlem and he takes me in off the street. His name is Moses McGee and he takes in all these kids off the street, gives them a home to live in and he teaches them how to survive on the streets. He also teaches them about family and love. There's a real family there, but we're conartist. It's like The Sting or Oliver Twist with a touch of Robin Hood because we do good things with money. We help some of the poor people in the neighborhood. So that's the next film that I've been working on or trying to get produced.
CAA is representing me as a producer. New Line Cinema is very interested in doing it. Lou Gossett read it and he's very interested in doing it. I'd like to produce. I'd like to make films and be a part of the whole process, creating, producing, acting. I want to do it all.
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