Tell us about Chas, your character in the film.

I always saw him as a very human character. In fact, the most human in the entire script. He's the only one who really doesn't have any kind of special power or connection with the outside world. He's really like the eye of the audience. Not the narrator. That's John Constantine. But he makes it very real. He makes the movie very real because he's very real. And it's a very real, human thing to want something you can't have. I think he doesn't understand that John has a gift that you can't get through study but he does, he studies, he's trying to find out as much as he can so that he can be a part of that. So that's where I think the eagerness comes from.

Did the visual look impact how you played the character?

I mean, it is very dark but that doesn't affect my character at all. It definitely added a lot for Keanu's character because he's a very dark, introverted person in the script and in the film. He deals a lot with different locations. I made the cab my own little sanctuary. Like a little tree house or something. That was the only real location spot that I made my own. My character was very pleasant so I never really took any of that in. It would have turned me into a depressed type of character. I didn't want my character to be that way. So, as dark as it was, this is Los Angeles and this is where I live and I'm very used to the surroundings here. We had a lot of fun with the crew and so you never really took in any of this dark stuff at all.

So you made the cab your own world?

You make it your own, definitely. I had books that I thought Chas would read. Like a Satanic Bible on the dashboard or there was tons of books that I would be reading in my off time. But I didn't bring in personal books. There wasn't Catcher in the Rye or something I would have read in there at all. I became more of Chas surrounded by things that Chas would have liked. It was a learning experience and a lot of fun being Chas.

Were you aware of the "Hellblazer" graphic novels before you started this film?

I knew of Vertigo Comics. I knew of Neil Gamin and a couple of graphic novels. Not necessarily Constantine. I knew of it, I had never read it. I didn't choose to read it while we were making the film. I just found it confusing in a way. I don't think "Constantine" is a comic book film. A graphic novel is more like a book. The supporting characters surrounding Constantine all have their own back story and it's more of an ensemble. In this, you have characters who actually have a purpose, a reason for being in this world rather than just moving Constantine along in his mission. Also, the graphic novel is different only because it takes place in a very real world. The movie's fantastical, but it feels real. There's a sense of reality in this movie which a lot of other films don't have. This is completely different. You really don't know if this stuff exists or not. I mean, yes, it's easy to say, "Oh, come on, really, there's demons?" Who knows? I mean, this could be real, this could not be real. Of course, it's fantastical and, you know, we take liberties with that. But nobody really knows if it's a real story or not.

How do you stay an average guy in this part?

I was a sidekick to Keanu so I felt every human needs something to lean on. I didn't feel like Chas had anything to lean on so just in small stuff, like the wardrobe, I would wear a fanny pack because I felt like that was my security blanket. If I ever needed anything I would have it in my fanny pack. So I wore one. Not that it had anything to do with my character and it looked stupid as hell but it gave me something. I just felt more secure with it. I felt more like I could take these ridiculous risks with John. Something to go home to because you never really meet Chas' family or friends, so. Just small things like that. I just felt like in my fanny pack, I had everything I would ever need. If I had an asthma attack, I had my inhaler. It just felt like my own personal sidekick. And that kept me very human. I think also the fact that I was joking around on set constantly and not taking everything so serious and literal and remaining human on set, in and out of the takes, being myself and then jumping into a scene with Keanu and, and being Chas, it wasn't that far removed, you know? I like to think of myself as a very human person. I definitely don't have any power or connections so it wasn't that hard.

How does joking around serve?

I think it keeps things pleasant on-set. I like to think, usually, that it's either the main actor or the director that keeps the vibe on-set, you know, that creates the atmosphere that you're working in. And Keanu is very involved in his character and very locked away in his world and Francis was very focused on his job so, me and the producers and the writers, we would all joke around. It was a pleasant atmosphere. Also, you're dealing with a subject matter that's extremely dark. You don't want to get that locked into it. When you're sitting in a mausoleum, what else are you going to do but joke around, you know? Get depressed? That's not fun to show up at work. We made it fun. I think it just keeps things light and it doesn't make it feel like work. It makes you feel like you're thoroughly enjoying what you're doing. Plus, everyone is doing what they want to do. This is an industry where it's very artistic and people are doing what they want to do and truly love. So, it's a very pleasant atmosphere if you make it that. And that's why I think the joking around happens.

Is it a different process to play a real guy?

Completely. Because you have the ability to tap into your imagination and just go off and create your own character and wear a silly hat or be an idiot and have nothing that's holding you back. Whereas in a movie where you're playing someone else, you have to research who that person is and how that person talks and what qualities they had, rather than Chas, where you're just open to your own personal opinion of what that person is. I think Keanu helped me a lot because he really taught me the meaning of preparation. I had never seen anybody prepare quite like Keanu in my life. I showed up at rehearsals like, "Oh, I'm just going to go sit with Keanu Reeves." As soon as I sat down with him, in the first 10 minutes, you see how serious he takes it. He is so involved and so passionate and so unjaded, working on the film like it's his first film, even though he's a veteran and his resume is ridiculous. This is his best role ever.

Did you gain a lot of confidence from doing roles in big movies?

No, you don't have that confidence. You step on a movie set and you feel extremely small. Especially when you sit on a movie set with people like Keanu Reeves in the back of your car, you don't really wanna talk that much. You just kind of wanna get your job done and go home because you're scared the first couple of days. But if you care about what you're doing, I mean, it's like anything, you would fight for what you care about. I think for actors, it's you on the screen at the end of the day, and you wanna be honest to the reason you took the role. I try to stay true to what I believe in. Especially on a movie set, because that's gonna be me at the end of the day.

How long have you been driving in real life?

(laughs) Since "The Battle of Shaker Heights." 16. Driving was no big deal.

Were they scouting you for Yale?

They scouted me. I might go to Yale, I might go to Santa Monica City College. I'm not really a Yale guy. I mean, I'm into education but the only reason I was thinking about going to Yale is because their drama school is immersed in technique, they're all about technique. I think I need to learn a little bit of that. You know, like a John Turturro type of technique or a Meryl Streep, they're very technical actors. And they know what they need to do in order to differentiate their character from the last. I need to learn a little bit of that, but that was the only reason I was every interested in Yale. Who knows? Maybe in the future I'll go. They were just scouting me, I didn't get accepted. So I don't know, I have to figure a couple of things out.

Technique is very important.

Technique is a different form of acting. I'm usually instinctual with my stuff. Very in the moment and ad lib a lot and make it very real. If it feels real to me, then it's gonna feel real on-screen. Whereas technique is a reality that you create. You know, if your character can't move his neck, but you gotta make that very real, that's all technique. I don't really have a lot of that yet, I'm learning it. You could also get lost in that and become so technical that you're not realistic. There's a lot of actors like that also. So it's finding a balance, it's knowing enough about both of those techniques in order to become a natural actor who can do outlandish roles.


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