James Badge Dale is one of the hardest working actors out there. He’s always conscious, and very much cares about, the power of creative collaboration. Badge (as he prefers to be called) is the type of actor who disappears so effortlessly into his roles that every movie buff might think of a different project when his name pops up in conversation. He was Jack Bauer’s partner on the third season of “24,” shot Leo’s brains out in “The Departed,” and was the lead of AMC’s criminally underappreciated series, “Rubicon.”
Following his show’s cancellation, the actor found quite a stride in big-budget studio films, stealing the spotlight of movies ranging from “Iron Man 3” to “The Lone Ranger” and “Flight.” He’s been featured in phenomenal indie gems such as Steve McQueen’s “Shame,” and the recent, under-sung tension boiler, “The Standoff At Sparrow Creek,” which feels a little like what a Johnnie To flick about militant mass shootings in America might look like.
READ MORE: Camila Morrone Shines Alongside James Badge Dale In This Empathetic Family Drama [Review]
In his latest project, “Mickey and the Bear,” the feature debut of talented writer/director Annabelle Attanasio, Badge stars alongside incredibly talented newcomer Camila Morrone, as Hank, a Marine vet struggling to assimilate back into society after experiencing severe concussive injuries while serving overseas. Morrone plays his daughter Mickey, who has taken it upon herself to care for her father as his self-destructive state seems to only grow more volatile. Hank’s been shell shocked in a way that almost seems irreparable. Badge is the kind of actor who found something he could relate to in the vet’s trauma and brought it out to the best of his ability. It’s an amazing performance and powerful film that you should seek out.
We were honored to have a sit down with the electrifying actor and took a trip down memory lane alongside discussing what made “Mickey and the Bear” such a special project for Badge.
What was it about the script that drew you to “Mickey and the Bear?”
I was scared of it. Annabelle has a very unique voice as a writer and wrote something that was frightening to me —what the script was; what the story asked of us, as actors— I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I’m attracted to that; it gets me excited. I don’t like easy jobs. I’ve just never been that guy. I want to be challenged. I want to take risks and I want to get pulled in directions that might be uncomfortable. But most of all I thought it had something to say.
If you look at some of the work I’ve done over my career it’s a continuation. I’ve worked with veterans over the years and explored those issues. There was a lot to draw upon from experiences that many guys I’ve known have had. Add into the mix, getting to work with Annabelle and Camila, who are just game artists, and it felt like the right fit.
As you said the film deals with heavy subjects you’ve explored previously —military PTSD, mental health trauma— what drew you to Hank; and was there anything about him that you wanted to explore?
There are all these similar guys that I know, that have experienced certain things and have been in certain places, and everyone assimilates back into our culture differently. In a way, I can’t relate directly to those experiences because I’m an actor and I haven’t had those experiences; it’s a secondhand thing. But I grew up playing hockey, I was an amateur boxer. I know what it’s like to get hit in the head a lot. I could draw from some concussion-related issues in that sense.
I just want to preface this by saying that I’m totally fine; I’m healthy. But the way that I saw Hank, what was important to me, was to establish how he sustained his injuries, and that’s where the Second Battle of Fallujah comes in. Originally, Annabelle had him serving in Afghanistan. I went to her and said that what would help me as an actor would be to relate to his experiences. He was in close, confined spaces and taking massive concussive hits. If you fire a weapon inside there’s a very specific thing that happens to your brain, and I wanted to convey both what he’s seen and what he’s probably done.
I like the character ticks you all came up with, like when Hank almost seems to get caught with his hand in the cookie jar, he’ll make a joke or vice versa. What was the process of developing that like?
Camila is so present and alive, and she offers so much. We did a lot of preparation. You should see our scripts; they’re the same except they’re the complete opposite. Mine is a disaster of loose-leaf paper and handwritten notes that I can’t even read myself. Then she has a binder, with everything color-coded, but there’s not a word, or even a moment, that she’s thrown away. She knows your stuff, his stuff, her stuff, inside and out; she knows the stage direction, and she’s done a ton of research. Then she comes to work and says [makes tossing over shoulder gesture] “F-it. Let’s go.” We take that pile of pages and we throw it away and it’s just me and her. Annabelle is a calm and effective leader. She wants your instincts —your truth, your behavior— and she draws it out of you; she pulls you this way, and she pulls you that way. I loved when she would come up and just say, “Reverse the whole fucking thing.”
Your character dynamics or…?
Whatever we wanted to do with that. The best directors I’ve ever worked with do the bare minimum when it comes to directing; it’s all about the subtlety. It’s not “We can do this and that;” if you know what I mean. Working on “The Lone Ranger,” Gore Verbinski said to me [laughs] “Put some more sauce on it.” The guy I was working with goes, “What the f- does that mean?” But I was like, “I got it, man. I know what he means.”
You’ve worked on so many amazing films with unique visions. I recently revisited “Shame.” Is the aesthetic storytelling process also important to you?
100%. The older I get the more of a student filmmaker I become. I love going up to the grips. I’m fascinated by the process. “What rig are you attaching? Why are you putting this here?” Acting is only one piece of a larger team effort, and we all take our turn. So, when I step out into the lights, I’m there.
I was working with David Morse, I was only 22 or 23; I was young, and he was one of my favorite actors, and we were working down in Philadelphia. It was pouring rain and the camera set-ups were being done, and David was just standing in the middle of the downpour stream, holding an umbrella. The dolly grip comes over and starts laying track, and he tells me to look at David. “Do you see that man?” He points. “He’s standing out in the freezing rain right now, and he could be in his trailer, getting warm, but he’s not; he’s out here with us because we’re working for him.” I saw how the respect that he gave to every department helped create a positive creative environment. And the crew on that show let us play; they’d be excited to do another take. No one was like, “Hey, I’m dying to go home.” We were like “Let’s do the best we can do.” Because, at the end of the day, we had something that we’d built together that we were proud of.
Have you found common ground among super committed artists? Is there something that he, Martin Scorsese or Steve McQueen have in common?
You work on a Martin Scorsese movie, you work on a Verbinski movie, or with Steve McQueen, and that ain’t a 9 to 5 job, man. You have this one moment in your life when you have to opportunity to make something that 20, 30, 40 years from now you can look back and say: “I helped make that.”
For a while, it felt like you were popping up in every other studio movie. Have you gravitated towards smaller-scale projects recently because of that?
I’ve been having a great time the last few years. Big budget stuff is fun to do, but the industry is changing and the studios are making a lot less on those movies, and the independent scene is healthy; it’s alive. I like working on things that I care about. That’s the main thing. It doesn’t matter to me what the budget is. What matters is if I read something and feel like I have something to say, that I have something to offer; because if I don’t you should find another actor. I’m really not good when I don’t care. If I don’t have that passionate thing driving me… I’m just not your guy. A lot of the performances that I’ve given over the past few years I’ve really felt like I’ve had something to say.
Do you feel a major difference then when making something like “Iron Man 3,” which you’re so good in; did it feel like you were working on a Shane Black movie, or did the Marvel method intrude a little?
That movie was just so much fun. I don’t know what it’s like to work on a Marvel movie; I worked on a Shane Black/Robert Downey Jr. film. Jon Favreau was also just having a great time. I went up to Shane and I asked, “Dude, am I getting too weird?” And he was like “You can never be too weird!” We had a great time experimenting. Which might be why those movies work because the actors are having a good time.
Looking back on all the work you’ve done, is there one experience that stands out or one project that you’re most proud of?
I’m really proud of “Mickey and the Bear.” Honestly, it’s probably what I would pick right now. It’s a special one for me; it’s changed me as a person, it’s changed me as a man. The experience was intense, and we all loved shooting in Montana. I’m a better person for it. Now I’m trying to figure out where I go from here. I would hope that the most special experience is the one that you’re doing right now; it may not always be true, but one can hope.
Without getting into spoiler territory, the movie moves into some dark areas, addressing some really important issues, like sexual assault…
There’s a lot going on in this film. We knew going it was going to be a dark journey, but it’s not necessarily a dark film. There is a remedy in this movie. It wasn’t like we were only there to embrace the darkness. We chose to have fun. We were laughing and joking before Annabelle called action. Then we’d go into it, and often we go back to being jokey after. The circumstances of the words will take you on that journey which does go in a dark direction. But there’s definitely something uplifting about Mickey’s journey in this film.
Have you had a relationship reminiscent to the one in the film; that you debating cutting the chord on?
Who hasn’t had a relationship that they’ve stayed in too long? I love the film “Minding the Gap,” which I think is operating on a similar level. What is at the core of a co-dependent relationship and why do we stay involved in things that are negative for us? It’s not easy and it’s not black and white. There’s a lot of grey area sometimes. It can be 98% good and then that 2% can be devastating.
Have you found the changing tides in the industry opening up more options for that creative magic? Are there just more avenues for you to explore, more scripts to read, or…?
It’s interesting because I just entered my 40s and I’m seeing different roles and not getting offered the same kinds of things I used to. I’m just not that guy anymore, and that’s cool. That’s totally cool. I’ve always looked forward to the roles I could land as I got into my 40s and 50s. I’m just excited. I feel like I’m at the beginning of a new era in my life. We’ll see what happens.
I have to mention, I was a huge “Rubicon” fan; I tried to get everyone I knew to watch it and was beyond bummed when it got canceled, so I just want to say thanks so much for that show.
Yeah… that was a tough one to swallow. We had so much fun making that series. “Rubicon” was one of those really special experiences. It was the beginning of AMC; it was so creatively free, and they were just like “Do your thing” and they never really became too involved in it; they just kind of let us make it. For 10 years AMC never even released it; they just finally made it available for streaming recently.
Michael Slovis’ cinematography helped define the look for modern television; without his work on “Rubicon” do we still get the same “Breaking Bad?”
Exactly! Michael Slovis was their guy.
I read that you have a new TV project coming out soon?
Yeah! It’s the first TV show I’ve done since “Rubicon.” Rebecca Cutter wrote this amazing piece about the heroin trade on Cape Cod. It was another script where just reading it, I was like “Ah, shit. I got something I want to bring to it.” [Laughs] “I got something I’d like to say here.” We made it with a great, great group of people. I had a lot of fun doing it and it’ll be out next year.
So, what goes through your head as an artist when you read something. Are you thinking about specific components when looking for a project or is it all about what the material says?
That’s a really good question. I do like doing physical stuff. I don’t see them separately. I do see them as a mesh. I don’t approach it from the physical side first though. Something is happening in here [points to chest] in your heart and soul, and then it starts to become something else. Then you latch onto something there until you become someone else.
[Laughs] I was dating a woman a few years ago and she had never dated an actor before. I did 4 movies in a row, and she literally turned to me and said, “I don’t know if I can do this.” You’ve been 4 different people in the year since I’ve met you. My response was, “You’re not wrong. You’re not wrong.”
It all starts with a core emotion for you, and you bring that out and carry it into something?
It’s like music. You hear a tone, you hear a song, there’s a rhythm to it, and you relate to that; it speaks to you and you just can’t stop singing that song. The great thing about film is that the song ends; that’s what I love about film. I love endings. I love the last day of work. It’s this strange and bittersweet thing because you’re saying goodbye to all the people you’ve developed all these loving, trusting relationships with, and it’s going to come to an end. You shave your skin and you take off all this wardrobe, that you’ll never wear again, get in your truck and drive off to the horizon. Then it’s a new beginning again. I’m really blessed. I’ve gotten to tell some really cool stories over the last 20 years.
“Mickey and the Bear” is now playing in select theaters.