Zone 414 is a sci-fi thriller set in a dangerous, dark colony of humanoids known as "the city of robots." Guy Pearce plays a private investigator, David Carmichael, who is hired to track down its creator's missing daughter, and it's then he teams up with Jane, a highly advanced A.I. who has all the emotions, feelings and dreams of a human being. As the story progresses, they travel through the city uncovering clues and a crime that calls into question the origins and purpose behind the city of artificial humans.
We were recently fortunate enough to sit down for a chat with Guy to discuss this compelling, thought-provoking sci-fi thriller, and what led to him deciding to help tell this story with director Andrew Baird. It's clearly a project he's passionate about, and a world the actor seems keen to return to.
As well as touching on his roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Alien franchise, we take a deep dive into the character of David Carmichael and the importance of an original sci-fi movie like Zone 414. Guy also touches on whether he found any similarities working with Baird on his feature film debut after teaming with Christopher Nolan at a similarly early point in his career on Memento.
There are tonnes of fascinating insights to be found here. Zone 414 is now playing in theaters and is available on Digital and On Demand (starting September 3). We highly recommend this one!
Check out our full interview with Guy Pearce below:
I had a great time checking out this movie last night; it’s so much fun to see an original sci-fi film as I feel like we just don’t see enough of them in Hollywood these days.
I agree. I think there’s something really very unique about this. I know there are a lot of really interesting films that get made, but I watched it again recently and I feel that it’s incredibly moving and touching. Obviously, with a lot of sci-fi films, the challenge is always to make them feel human enough for us to relate to them. I think Andrew has done a wonderful job with this. It’s a really special film, I reckon.
Absolutely. Is it important to you as an actor to be able to come on to a project like this and be able to lend that star power to it that helps get it made so studios don’t overlook a project like this one?
Well, it’s hard for me to be objective about that because I don’t necessarily see myself in the star power category [Laughs] so I just get offered things, read them and think, ‘This is great, I really want to do it.’ You hear about the wheels in motion and then they’re happening, and I’m certainly aware that there are some films that require actors to sign on in order for them to finalise their financing, but it’s not something I really focus on. I’m focused on what the film actually is and I’m always looking for things that are unique and unusual. The reality is, I haven’t seen every film in the world so I can’t always know if I’m doing something completely original. I’ve done films in the past where people have then accused them of being ripoffs of such and such and I’m thinking, ‘Oh wow, I didn’t see the such and such, so I didn’t know this was a ripoff!’
At the same time, if I feel like I’m moved by what the characters are going through and what their journey is, that’s all I need. That’s my job. That’s what I tend to focus on and this was something that was really compelling in a way. This idea of an actual human and someone who wants to be human along with this question about feelings and avoiding feelings and needing to feel something...of course, that’s the reality for those characters in the story, but I think it raises all sorts of questions about us in the modern world with all of our devices and all of the things we do to avoid feeling all the time. As an actor, my feelings are my bread and butter, so I’m very aware of them, but I’m also aware that even if I inadvertently try to avoid something, afterwards I’ll think, ‘Wow, I wasn’t very honest there. I was trying to be cooler than I really was or smarter or braver when really I wanted to actually suggest I was scared and be vulnerable.’ In this day and age, and maybe people have done it for generations, but with modern technology, the opportunity to constantly avoid our feelings is really possible and problematic. That’s why this film is such an interesting topic for us to do.
David as a character I thought was so interesting and he does have a black and white view of the world, so as an actor, do you find that a character it’s hard to tap into or do you embrace finding how and why he looks at the world in that way?
The interesting thing about being an actor, I suppose, is what’s really going on for the character and what the character presents to other people. You have that wonderful experience within a film where you get to do scenes with other characters and so you get to show them something, and then you also get to have private moments and our audience gets to see those. Then, they go, ‘Oh, that’s what’s really going on for him. How come when he was with this other character, he was acting like this and like this and like this?’ It’s great. It’s wonderful making a film because we, in real life, have our own private moments, but people don’t get to see and tap into what those are. They’re private, which is good on one level, but at the same time, that’s why we go to therapy to talk about those private moments [Laughs]. The great thing about a character like David is that it doesn’t take much. You can have one close up where a character says something and he might be just in his own moment and element, and you’ve only got to do one thing and it’s a real tell for an audience to go, ‘Ah, he’s vulnerable! We saw it!’ Particularly in light of a character like David who comes across as somebody who is quite steely, has a resolve, and armour up because of his past. It’s always great to play any character whose armour is slowly breaking down and we finally get to get into the heart of a character. I think generally even though we as human beings, as I said, are doing everything we can to avoid feeling things, when we watch a film, we relate to characters who show their feelings, so that’s what’s wonderful about getting to play that kind of a dichotomy because you know it’s having an effect on an audience because they will tear up when they see that vulnerability or that true strength or whatever it happens to be.
Of course, you worked with Christopher Nolan early on in his career with Memento, which is one of my favourite films, but I feel like there’s a parallel here with Andrew [Baird] as this is his feature film debut and he’s just now entering this sci-fi genre. What were your experiences like working with Andrew and did you see any parallels between him and Christopher?
Their personality types are so different, so I suppose on some levels I didn’t see a connection. Chris is...they’re very different sorts of personalities, so I’m sure if I really thought about it I could see some things that connected them, but Chris is wonderfully intellectual. He’s also engaging and you can have a good conversation with him, but he’s the smartest guy in the room. On some level, he’s intimidating, whereas Andrew is a very smart guy as well, but a real warm, cuddly kind of guy! The difference as well is that I made Memento in 1999, 20-odd years ago, so I’m a different person now than I was then as well. I was probably a lot more fearful while I was making Memento than when I was making Zone 414 and a lot less experienced back then. I was really in the hands of Chris Nolan whereas working with someone like Andrew, I brought a lot more to the table I think as an experienced actor. The whole experience was very, very different and Chris Nolan is one of those people who I’m sure even when he was 15 he would have seemed like a very experienced filmmaker. There was no feeling he was an amateur or early in his career; he was just born that way and so he was a force to be reckoned with. Andrew is much more of a normal human being [Laughs].
Of course, I have to ask being a Marvel fan: I know earlier this year you said you would be interested in going back to the Marvel Universe, but with Shang-Chi coming out, they’re revisiting that concept of The Mandarin but were you ever contacted about a cameo to flesh out some of Aldrich’s background?
No, I wasn’t. It’s such a fascinating universe, really. The amazing thing about it is that it’s not as clear cut as going, ‘Well, a character dies so that’s the end of them.’ Also, obviously in films these days there are prequels, so people are going back to earlier stories or there are tangents going across. The idea of someone like Aldrich Killian coming back in some other shape or form is totally feasible in that world [Laughs]. I’ll wait for the call, you know!
At this point in your career, are those comic book and superhero films something you’re looking out for? I know in the past you’ve said you missed out on Batman Begins and passed on Daredevil, but are these something you’re looking at now?
I guess I just sort of look at everything. I never specifically look for...I never kind of know what I want to do next or have any sort of desire to aim for anything in particular. A big part for me of how I choose what I choose and why I do what I do is about the spontaneity and surprise of it. It’s getting a script, reading it, and saying, ‘Wow, what is this? This is nothing I’ve read before. I’m excited about this. Let’s go and do it.’ That, to me, is a really big driving force. I don’t ever think to myself, ‘Yeah, I’d love to play such and such now.’ I’ve certainly had reactions to things in the past based on what I’ve been doing. In 2007, I did four really heavy films in a row. I did a film called How To Change In 9 Weeks which was about a girl who murdered another girl. Then, I did winged creatures which was about a mass shooting in a cafe. I did The Hurt Locker which we know is about the bomb disposal unit in the Middle East. Them I did Traitor which was a terrorism and FBI investigative story. They were all very heavy topics and great drama. All wonderful drama and wonderful things to be part of, but at the end of 2007, I got a call from Adam Shankman to say, ‘I’m doing this really daft, silly comedy with Adam Sandler called Bedtime Stories.’ I was like, ‘I’m in! Yes! Absolutely!’ [Laughs] Whereas a year or two or three before I might have said, ‘No, I don’t feel like doing that.’ It was such a relief to go and do something really daft at the beginning of 2008. It was just the perfect sort of thing to come my way, but I wouldn't have looked for it. It just happened.
Talking of sci-fi franchises, another one you were a big part of was the Alien franchise with Prometheus and Alien: Covenant...
Yeah, amazing.
...but were you ever contacted about potentially coming back? I know those films have stalled since Disney took Fox over, but did you hear about continuing Peter Weyland’s story or did that end with your cameo in Covenant?
Well, I don’t know, to be honest. Again, I think with any of these...I wouldn’t have necessarily thought I’d get to do Covenant either! Who knows. I’m not in regular contact with Ridley, but we do have semi-regular contact occasionally. I’m sure if there is something, he would certainly let me know. He was very generous to even put me in the films in the first place, and we’ve always talked about how pleased he was with what we came up with. I’m sure if there was the opportunity there, he’d go for it. There may come a point where I’m actually old enough to play Peter Weyland as the version as I am in real life as opposed to this 100-year-old, five-hour prosthetic makeup version of him. Obviously, when we did Covenant, I played the younger version of him, but of course, I would. It’d be a real honour because we know Alien from back in 1979 has left an incredible and indelible mark on people’s psyches as far as the sci-fi world. I mean, what a film. Just to be plugged into that to the degree I have has been a real honour. It was a really amazing experience.
One final question for you: I very much got a Blade Runner feel from Zone 414 and I love how that franchise ended up getting a sequel and a cartoon spinoff, but with everything getting sequels these days, is this a property you’d like to return to do you think or did you very much view it as a standalone story?
I viewed it as a standalone story when I did it, but I would certainly be very interested in exploring it. No question. Andrew was delightful to work with. Matilda was wonderful. Of course, the story is left with an open-ended idea and I think that, as a character, there could be more to be explored. I wouldn’t rule it out. As we know, the idea of sequels really only comes about once the first has been released and people gauge how popular something is and whether viewers want to see more of it. We’ll see. I’d be willing to go back to Mr. David Carmichael!
Awesome. Well, thank you so much for your time, Guy. I’m a longtime fan of your work, and it’s been such a pleasure speaking to you. I hope to see you back in that Marvel Universe soon!
Yeah, hopefully!