Ed Harrisis a living legend. Nominated for four Oscars for his work inApollo 13,The Truman Show,Pollock, andThe Hours, he’s tackled just about every genre imaginable. While he’s shined in all of them,My Dead Friend Zoeallows him to show off his comedic and dramatic chops alike, proving he’s made for dramedy. The feature debut of directorKyle Hausmann-Stokes, the film follows a young army veteran named Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green), who’s struggling with PTSD from losing her battle buddy, Zoe (Natalie Morales). The guilt and grief manifest itself in a snarky, hilarious apparition of Zoe that follows Merit everywhere — even at the most inconvenient of times.
Harris takes on the role of Merit’s grandfather, Dale, a fellow military veteranwho inspired Merit to join the army. The two butt heads — especially after he isdiagnosed with Alzheimer’s, with his pain and fear causing him to lash out — but there’s a clear sense of love at the core of their dynamic. Their scenes are some of the most moving and important of the film, subtly exploring complex themes of PTSD, community, and mourning.
Collider got a chance to talk to Harris about what made him want to work with Hausmann-Stokes on his first feature, how working on a Robert De Niro movie helped him prepare for this role, working with Sonequa Martin-Green, and more.
COLLIDER: You’ve worked with so many directors in your career, and obviously, this is Kyle Hausmann-Stokes’ feature directorial debut. What was it about him and his voice that attracted you to this project?
ED HARRIS: I had been sent the script, and I think Kyle had written me a letter. I met him down at Patrick’s Roadhouse Restaurant in Santa Monica, which unfortunately is no longer there, and right off the bat, I like this guy. He was very honest, he was very intense, he was very passionate about this project. He told me about his own experiences and why he wanted to make this film and why it was so important to him, and it didn’t take me long to go, “I want to do this with you.” There was no question.His passion and his vision for it and his honest desire to have me be a part of it, I appreciate it.
Absolutely. You’re also a producer on this film, and looking at your IMDb, it seems you’ve been pretty selective about the projects that you choose to produce. I’m curious why you wanted to be involved in this project in the executive producer capacity in addition to acting.
HARRIS: Well, I think the executive producer capacity was something that was offered. I thinkKyle felt that my involvement — as well as Natalie and Sonequa’s — was such a crucial part of the filmthat he wanted us to have that credit. It didn’t involve anything other than doing the best job I could as an actor.
I imagine, as an actor, you’re always looking for new experiences and new challenges. What did this movie and role allow you to do that maybe you haven’t gotten the opportunity to do before in your career?
HARRIS: All of a sudden, I’m asking to be playing grandparents — granddads. [Laughs] So it wasn’t entirely new being offeredthatrole. It was just another human being to investigate. There are so many. There’s an infinite variety of humans out there, andwhen I work, I like to — whoever I’m playing — feel like this is a human being. This is not just a character in a film. This is a human being that we’re experiencing and learning about him and seeing how he is in the world. And so you just try to zip yourself open and be available to investigate that person and try to bring some truth to the matter.
This character does feel so authentic to me and so lived in. He reminded me a lot of my own grandpa in a lot of ways. I’m curious if there’s anyone in your own life that you sort of took little characteristics from when you were building him.
HARRIS: None that I can think of in particular.I did a film,Jacknife, years ago and got to know a lot of guys from a VFW post in Naugatuck, Connecticut, and spent some really long nights drinking, hanging out with those guys, and just experiencing their experience and how they were dealing with it in a variety of ways.I also lived with a guy who had just come back from the Vietnam Wara couple of years ago. He left his family, and I was working with him in a gas station. He had lost his right arm and his left leg — he had a hook on his right arm. We lived together for a while, and he was suffering, man. It’s that kind of thing you know? It’s having known these guys and what they’ve gone through and how they were feeling about it and the different ways in which they were dealing with their own pain and PTSD. It’s in there, so it comes out.
Yeah, 100%. I really appreciated Dale because I feel like the “grumpy grandpa” character is a trope by now, and he sort of plays into that for the comedy of it, but he also subverts it and brings a lot of depth to it. How did you find that balance of humor and drama? Because I feel like this film seamlessly balances that.
HARRIS: I think one of the things that’s nice about the film is that it has a certain buoyancy to it. There’s a life to it. Natalie’s character is very funny, and offers a lot of comic relief in a way. There were those opportunities when you’re playing this old guy who’s starting to lose his mind, and boy,if there’s not some humor there, it’s just gonna be kind of sad and pitiful. You just try to keep it alive. That’s hard to talk about. It’s innate, you know? It’s what I do. It’s what I’ve been doing for years.
I definitely think it shines through. Natalie’s characterishilarious, and when I interviewed her, she said that she was always sort of trying to break the people in the scene around her. Was there a moment that you found especially difficult to keep a straight face during?
HARRIS: Not so much because I didn’t really work with her hardly at all. She wasn’t around very much when I was doing it. But in watching the film, it cracks me up a lot. I don’t remember a moment where I almost lost it or anything in particular.One of my favorite moments — I don’t remember if it was scripted or it was an ad-lib — was when she says, “You were at the neighbor’s, Quan.”And I said, “Well, yeah, but you’re not pronouncing the name right.” “How doyoupronounce it?” There’s a little thing in the car there that kind of cracked me up. I don’t know if it cracked anybody else up, but it made me laugh.
No, it definitely made me laugh, too. And you’re right, you do have most of your scenes with Merit, and there is such a beautiful dynamic between the two of them. I feel like there are a lot of parallels between those two characters. How did you two build your chemistry together? Because you play off each other so beautifully.
HARRIS: First of all, Sonequa’s got such a beautiful heart, and she’s so open, sowhen you’re working with another actor who’s giving as much as she’s giving and who listens, it makes a world of difference. There’s nothing in the way of being truthful with one another and trying to mine the script as deeply as possible and get every nuance out of it that you can. When you’re working with somebody who’s that available and that eager to do a wonderful job, it’s just fun.
100%. I feel like that shines through, and I feel like the nuance in the script also really shines through. Obviously, there are these generational differences between Merit and Dale, and I feel like one of the most enlightening moments is when Dale talks about how their wars were not the same and how the reception when they both got back from the war was very different. Can you talk about how that detail sort of informed this character? Because I found it very illuminating for him and their dynamic.
HARRIS:Yeah, Dale’s one of these guys who scoffs at the idea of PTSD. In other words, “Get over it. You were in a war — things happen.” There’s a bit of denial going on. But every soldier who’s ever been in battle or in a war zone is an individual human being who has dealt with it in their own way. Just like this recent catastrophe here in LA — everybody who’s lost their home or whatever, even if you have a partner, you’re dealing with it in your own way. You have to or not. It’s just human nature. [Beat] I don’t know if I’m answering your question or what I’m talking about exactly.
No, I think you definitely are. It’s a very individual experience, but there is this sense of community that I feel really shines through in this movie.
HARRIS: Yeah, and one of the things that’s so important to Kyle is that he’s trying to help people talk about it. You don’t have to deal with it by yourself. Yes, your experience is an individual one, but it doesn’t mean you can’t talk about it.It doesn’t mean you can’t share that experience or try to articulate it to other people and not just keep it inside of you, which is just gonna kill you.
I feel like one of the most beautiful moments in this movie — and I’ve watched it a couple of times now and it brings tears to my eyes every single time — is one where they’re not really talking about it. They’re kind of just being in each other’s presence at the picnic where they stand up when the song plays. I’m curious if you may talk about filming that because it just felt so powerful on screen.
HARRIS: Kyle’s granddad was this fellow. My character’s really based on him, and he would talk about these things where his granddad would stand up when he was a little kid, and he’d look up, and you just think the guy is the biggest, strongest, greatest guy, and he’s so proud of him. That moment,you’re trying to play it in a way that hopefully touches Kyleand brings back those memories for him as real as possible.
There’s definitely that authenticity there, and it does deal with a lot of themes with the military but also with Alzheimer’s that I feel is going to hit home for a lot of people. I’m curious if you can talk about approaching that aspect of the film as well.
HARRIS:My mom died not too long ago, and she suffered from dementia— not where she didn’t know who people were and that kind of thing, but her mind…she was a different human being. It’s just that awareness and how things start changing in your mind. Your whole reality starts shifting a little bit, and things get a little surreal at times. The script offered opportunities for that to come through a little bit, so you’re just trying to tell the truth.
Ed Harris Offers an Update on His Next Directing Project, ‘The Ploughmen’
I feel like Dale is very truthful at times. He’s also a bit rough around the edges, but he is ultimately this good guy that you can root for.
HARRIS: He’s pretty cranky. [Laughs]
He’s a little cranky, but we love him still. I feel like that’s part of his charm. He’s a different sort of character than you’ve gotten to play a lot — there are quite a lot of iconic villains that you’ve taken on. I’m curious if there’s a character of yours who stands out to you as the biggest scumbag.
HARRIS: [Laughs] Oh, boy. I’m going back and trying to think…I’m not coming up with anybody. You got someone in mind?
I did recently watchLove Lies Bleeding, and I feel like he was…
HARRIS: Oh yeah, there you go. Yeah, he ranks up there for sure.
I’m also a really bigPollockfan.
HARRIS: [Pumps fist]
So I was very excited to learn that you have another directing project in the works withThe Ploughmen.
HARRIS: Yeah, I don’t know, man. I’ve been trying to get that movie made for going on 15 years now, and I don’t know if it’s gonna happen or not. I keep going through different casts because people I want to work with get too old to do it anymore, andI don’t know if that’s ever going to happen, to tell you the truth.I love directing, and I haven’t directed sinceAppaloosa, which was like 18 years ago, which is awful. It’s just hard to get something going. I haven’t been able to get the financing together. It’s an indie film that probably costs more than it should, and I’ve been trying to slash the budget down, but I don’t want to make it on a shoestring because it deserves certain production values, so I don’t know.I hope, before I leave the planet, I get a chance to direct something again. We’ll see.
Absolutely. Me too. I’m manifesting that and putting it into the universe because I would absolutely love to see it.
My Dead Friend Zoeis now playing in theaters.
My Dead Friend Zoe
Engaged in a mysterious relationship with her dead best friend from the Army, a female Afghanistan veteran comes head to head with her Vietnam vet grandfather at the family’s ancestral lake house.
