Quick Chat With The Cast Of The Judge

15th February 2015

film reviews | movies | features | BRWC The Judge Trailer

They were ROBERT DOWNEY JR. (Hank Palmer), ROBERT DUVALL (Joseph Palmer), VERA FARMIGA (Samantha Powell), BILLY BOB THORNTON (Dwight Dickham), JEREMY STRONG (Dale Palmer) & DAX SHEPARD (C.P. Kennedy).

WOW.

QUESTION: For Robert Downey Jr., did you feel nervous to work with someone like Mr. Duvall?

ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: I knew this movie was going to be challenging and really rewarding. On the first day, Bobby and I were sitting there, and Dax’s character, C.P., has a three-page monologue. We just have to look like I don’t like him and the Judge does. I remember doing my covers, and my heart was just pounding.

QUESTION: Once you were making the film, did anything about him surprise you?

ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: I can overcomplicate things. It’s exhausting, and there’s an efficiency with which he gets to these extremely difficult places. He doesn’t make it look easy or use tricks. And that’s something that I hope to take with me as I move forward.

BILLY BOB THORNTON: It’s always great working with Bobby. If you know the other actor very well, you have to forget who that person is. I knew that I was going to have to get in his face in this role. It was a real challenge just to forget who was sitting there. He’s been my friend and mentor for many, many years, but this is the first time I’ve had to prosecute him.

QUESTION: Mr. Duvall, how was it for you?

ROBERT DUVALL: Robert is a terrific guy, a wonderful actor. He and his wife are wonderful producers. And Billy’s terrific. I call him the Hillbilly Orson Wells.

QUESTION: There’s a real emotional complexity to Hank Palmer. Robert, can you talk about finding all those highs and lows? Did you find that lawyers have a bit of the actor in them?

ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: Bobby was telling me about some lawyers he knows. They’re either showmen or really dynamic, powerful women who command respect wherever they go. But they also know how important the jury is. When we were developing this, I just kept thinking about the characters.

We had to have a guy that the judge wants instead of Hank. We got Dax. There has to be this gal that was his first love, and who’s still his conscience. She represents the heart of the movie. She has to be able to read his beads. There also has to be a struggle, and a kind of funny, heartbreaking twist. Our director, David Dobkin, always said that the Judge has to be a mountain that Hank can’t and doesn’t want to climb. Hank’s whole journey has to do with the people that he has to contend with, who help and challenge him. But if he doesn’t climb this mountain his soul is at stake. Bobby Duvall is a mountain and his character Joseph Palmer is also a mountain.

In a super hero movie, you’re only as good as your bad guy. I thought: who’s a person I’d really not want to go up against, if he was prosecuting a case? That’s Billy Bob. If there’s someone in the film who’s really taking the emotional hits for all the conflict, then we have to find a gifted actor that can do next to nothing and communicate everything that’s unsaid in the film. That’s Jeremy Strong.

QUESTION: Jeremy, how do you feel working with this cast?

JEREMY STRONG: It’s an honor. I have such reverence for all these people, and it was such a tremendous joy to get in the ring with everybody. Everyone here approaches the work so differently. It was a master class for me. We became like a family.

QUESTION: Your portrayal of Dale Palmer is so heartfelt and complicated. I’m just wondering how you approached your character?

JEREMY STRONG: I did a lot of research. I spent a lot of time with different kids. I went to a lot of schools. With David Dobkin’s help, the story became about unearthing innocence in me. Dale’s the innocent in the film. He’s kind of pure and so I tried to show up at work every day with an open heart, and serve the story in an authentic way.

QUESTION: Vera, Robert called your character, Sam, the heart and conscience of the movie. Do you see your role like that?

VERA FARMIGA: I found Sam’s spiritual frequency really alluring. In this kind of sweaty Turkish bath of really unsettled and frenetic males, Sam is the ballast. She has serenity. Her heart is elastic. She’s like a rubber band, until this guy comes and snaps it too hard. This story is a wonderful, romantic investigation of first love. But I really see Sam as a spiritual guide who ushers this prodigal son on his journey of reconciliation. She gives him food, encouragement, analysis, friendship and romance, if he is up for it.

ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: Yeah, it was great. I love how the audience thinks they know something that Sam doesn’t know.

QUESTION: Dax, did playing a small town lawyer require a lot of research?

DAX SHEPARD: I’m made for this role, because I’m a terrible lawyer. I tried a few cases in southern Indiana, and they did not turn out well. I just want to point out that Jeremy is the bravest role in the movie. I’m in awe of his performance. As he said, 99% of the approaches to the character would have been wrong, and Jeremy found the right one.

QUESTION: Would you describe The Judge as a father/son movie or a courtroom drama?

ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: The Judge is a courtroom drama, and it’s a father/son story. The audience, to me, is a part of the cast. When the studio was reading the script, people kept called us and saying, ‘We think this is really special. We want to make it.’ As we’ve been having these screenings, people are saying, ‘‘Look, I know this movie is called The Judge, but that’s my mom or my older brother.’ The dialogue that’s been going on with people who have seen the movie is the biggest reward.

QUESTION: Can you talk about the approach you took to the bathroom scene between Hank and the Judge?

ROBERT DUVALL: We didn’t talk about it. We just did it. Like any good scene, you just do it and let it find its own rhythm, and its own identity. And we always try to find a bit of humor. Humor is very important in movies to offset serious scenes.

ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: You never want to be part of movie that’s really maudlin, graphic, or indulgent and cheesy. If you look at the central scenes in The Judge, whether it’s with the brothers or Dwight or Sam, or Hank and C.P., they start with incontinence and end with a knock-knock joke. We wanted it to be entertaining, but we don’t want it to try to switch gears too often. We want the movie to mirror how life is.

QUESTION: Robert, you’re made Iron Man a household name all over the world. Did this character study feel like a departure?

ROBERT DOWNEY JR: I feel like no matter what I do it’s a character study. It’s just that sometimes I’m working with robots.

The Judge will be available on Blu-ray™ and DVD, both include a digital version of the movie with UltraViolet Digital Copy from 2^nd March.

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