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| Hirsch makes the grade in `Emperor's Club' By DAN LYBARGER Special to The Star Even though Emile Hirsch's acting career is just starting, he may already be typecast. In his two movies (last summer's "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys" and "The Emperor's Club," which opens today) he plays a student in private high school during the 1970s. That may not be a problem for long because Hirsch is only 17 years old and the roles are exact opposites. In "Altar Boys" he was Francis Doyle, a sensitive, likable teen who expresses his frustrations (often caused by the overbearing nun sister Assumpta, played by Jodie Foster) through elaborate comic-book fantasies. "The Emperor's Club," however, stars Hirsch as Sedgewick Bell, the spoiled son of a U.S. senator and a constant threat to order in a class on Roman history taught by Mr. Hundert (Kevin Kline). "With Sedgewick, I thought of a kind, charismatic, well-meaning person, and I took away the kind and well-meaning part," Hirsch said by telephone from Dallas. "I definitely think people identify with Sedgewick and like him. Sedgewick would certainly want to justify everything he does in his mind, you know, when it comes to school or people. "Francis is kind of like an unconditionally loving person. He sticks by people, and he really doesn't desert them. Francis is a lot more sensitive than Sedgewick in a lot of ways, (but) not as charismatic and not as manipulating." Neither character has much in common with Hirsch. "It's night and day," he said. "I go to...a public school in Los Angeles, near...the inner city. So it's a completely different environment. I go to a school with about 3,000 kids. It's huge." Even so, adapting to a period roughly 10 years before the actor was born was relatively easy. "My hair was already a little longer than most kids in both films," he said. "I listened to a lot of music from the '70s. I really like '70s rock, funk or whatever." The final segment of "The Emperor's Club" jumps forward and shows Hundert's students as adults played by 30-something actors. Hirsch said the cast and crew went to considerable lengths to make the transition aesthetically smooth. "We shot the younger stuff first, and the other guys watched the tapes," he said. "The challenge was up to them. They did a great job. Joel Gretsch (who plays Sedgewick as an adult) did an awesome job. He did a lot of little (mannerisms) I did in the film. There's a scene where I'm at the chalkboard, and I wink to a student when I'm yelled at. And (later) Joel winks to his wife...I was like, `He did it!' I was so happy. It was pretty sly." Hirsch is likely to continue landing divergent roles. He's had guest spots on "ER" and "NYPD Blue" and has even played the young Harry Houdini in a television movie. His next film, "The Mudge Boy," makes its debut at the Sundance Film Festival next year. Source: Kansas City Star |
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