411 Movies Interview: Kerr Smith
Posted by Tony Farinella on 05.24.2009
411's Tony Farinella sits down with Kerr Smith for an exclusive interview about My Bloody Valentine 3D, which is currently out on DVD!
Kerr Smith is probably best known for his role as Jack McPhee on Dawson's Creek, which aired for six seasons on the WB. He was also in the first Final Destination. Recently, he reunited with his old Dawson's Creek pal Jensen Ackles in the hit movie, My Bloody Valentine 3D, which is currently out on DVD. In my interview with Kerr Smith, we talked about what it was like working with the 3D elements of the film, Dawson's Creek, and a whole lot more. I hope you enjoy my interview with Kerr Smith.
TONY: This seems like it was one of those films where everyone just had a great time working together and hanging out on set. What was it like being a part of that environment?
Kerr Smith: You're right. It was a very fun movie to make. Everybody on the cast became good friends. It was one of those projects where everything came together. Some movies you do, not everybody gets along. But on this one, everyone did. I think you see it on screen. It wasn't an easy project to tackle by any means, especially being one of the first 3D projects.
TONY: What was it like being a part of a horror film with a complex story behind it? So many horror films are just looking to kill people and that's it.
Kerr Smith: It's essential. The character of Axel is what attracted me to the project because he has a lot of baggage. Those kinds of characters are really fun to play. There are a lot of layers and there's a lot going on and there's a lot to play. The other thing I liked is you never really know if Axel is the killer or not, and it was fun for me to keep that mystery of is he a good guy or is he a bad guy throughout the entire film. It was a really fun guy to play. I enjoyed it.
TONY: What 3D films do you remember from back in the day? I know we had Jaws 3D.
Kerr Smith: Well, the most common one is what you just said, Jaws. I saw a couple more back in the day, but I cannot remember what they are. I just remember being very excited putting on those red and blue glasses and it was just a different ordeal. It was a different experience. It's kind of like getting a movie and an amusement park in the same experience. I mean, the technology is just so different now, the difference is ridiculous. Even back then with the red and blue glasses, it was a fun thing to do.
TONY: What was it like watching this film with an audience for the first film and watching them go crazy?
Kerr Smith: It was great to watch the reaction of the audience. I mean, everybody jumped in the appropriate places. A lot of people looked away in the right places. People laughed in the right places. People screamed in the right places. I always enjoy watching an audience's reaction on any project I do. In fact, a lot of times, I'll just sit in the theater and just watch people's faces and see how they react. It kind of helps you as an actor to see if you made the right choice on the day.
TONY: Speaking of choices, when you heard that they were going to make this film in 3D, did you know it was going to work?
Kerr Smith: Yeah, actually, I did. When I first joined the cast, to my knowledge, it wasn't 3D. And then they came up with this idea to do it in 3D. My initial reaction was, ‘This could be a big deal.' I knew it was going to be, I believe, the first horror flick using this new technology and it was going to be the first one of 2009. And Lionsgate really pumped it, press-wise. So I think it was a big deal and I think it's the first of its kind and I think it's going to be a new genre, to be honest with you. I mean, it is fun to go to the movies and have that added element of things jumping in your face. I think it's really going to catch on.
TONY: You've mentioned in previous interviews that it was difficult getting used to the lighting on a 3D film. What's the best advice you can give an actor about handling a 3D film in the future?
Kerr Smith: Be prepared to wait longer than you usually do. It's a long set-up process, but that's understandable, having it being a relatively new process. Performance-wise, you don't have to worry about too much, except when they are pulling an object out of the screen. If you have your hand or your gun up and they're pulling it out of the screen, you have to hit your mark exactly. There's not a whole lot of room for error there. Other than that, performance-wise, just dealing with a lot more light. 3D loves light; it soaks it up. So it's a bright, hot experience, especially when you're confined to a cave.
TONY: What was it like working with Jensen Ackles again? You guys have worked together on Dawson's Creek and since then, he's really had a lot of success with Supernatural.
Kerr Smith: It was great. It was great to work with Jensen Ackles. It's probably been eight years. We had a great time working on Dawson's in Wilmington back in the day. He's done well with Supernatural; it's a great show. We had fun trading war stories. Between the two of us, we've probably done at least four hundred episodes of television. So it's fun to trade those war stories.
TONY: You have mostly been doing a lot of television lately, so I want to ask you, has that been by choice? Do you want to pursue more film work?
Kerr Smith: Well, to be honest, it's whatever is most interesting and whatever would be the most fun to play or something that I haven't had an opportunity to play. When I got into this, when I decided to become an actor, I wanted to make movies. That was my primary focus. I love going somewhere in a world for a couple of months, meeting a new group of people, playing a new character, and then coming back home and doing it all over again somewhere else. But then again, it's nice to have a steady paycheck on the daily grind of episodic television. TV has been really good to me. I don't think it really matters. I just take it project to project, film, TV, whatever.
TONY: I read on IMDB.com that you're a big Star Trek fan, so I have to ask you, have you seen the new film yet? If so, what did you think of it?
Kerr Smith: I have not seen the new film. I will probably go see it tonight. Last week, before it came out, I personally, for the first film, was not very excited about it. When I think of Star Trek, I think William Shatner and Patrick Stewart. That's my Star Trek era, the first one and the Next Generation. And all those movies, I absolutely loved, so I wasn't real excited about this one. However, I'm hearing this movie is really good and I'm hearing the actors did a really good job capturing the essence of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. So I'm actually very excited to see it now.
TONY: Of course I can't do this interview without asking a couple of Dawson's Creek questions. When Dawson's Creek ended, how did you feel? Were you happy to move on and try something different or were you sad to leave the character behind?
Kerr Smith: Well, I remember at the end of Dawson's Creek, we just all felt that it was time to call it quits. We were having an itch to do something different. But, at the same time, I knew it was the perfect job. We were in a great part of the country, making good money with good friends and a cast of five or six principals. You don't work every day, so that was nice too. It was a little tough to let go and it's easy to let go. It's a weird question to answer. I really felt both sides of it. It was definitely fun to jump into some new projects and play some different characters, but, at the same time, I missed it.
TONY: Over the past couple of years, we've seen a lot of shows that have tried to follow that same formula, like The O.C. and One Tree Hill. How does that make you feel?
Kerr Smith: Well, it's kind of a cool feeling that I was a part of a television show that started or was the inspiration for a lot of different shows over the years that have aired since. I don't know, it was just really cool to be a part of it. There were a lot of actors that guest starred on Dawson's Creek that went on to have their own TV shows. Jensen is one of them. He was on Dawson's Creek and shortly after, he started doing Supernatural. One Tree Hill with Chad Michael Murray, he was a guest star on our show I think in the fifth or sixth season and he went on to do his own show. So there's a lot of cool things that have happened.
TONY: What do you remember about dealing with the fans back then and the Internet? Was it as crazy as it is now?
Kerr Smith: I don't know, man, it was crazy back then. Now with the Internet as prominent as it is now, you can't get away with anything. (laughs) I mean, even in the days of Dawson's Creek, the Internet was obviously huge. I remember many, many conversations that I've had with Josh Jackson and he and I would be doing something stupid on set, something funny or making each other laugh, but we would have a private conversation, which we thought was private, and the next day, it's on the Internet. We had to do a little research and a little investigation to try to find out who is posting this stuff on the Internet. And we found out that some of our extras, their main objective obviously was to put information on their website, on their fan sites. They didn't last long.
TONY: Finally, what are your plans for the future and what are you currently working on?
Kerr Smith: Currently, I'm working on a new pilot for the CW. I'm going to find out, hopefully this week, if we're a go for next season. Hopefully I will be in New York to celebrate this show getting picked up.
TONY: Thank you so much for your time, Kerr. It was great talking to you. I appreciate it.
