Interview with Ross Thomas

Photo by Josh Madson

Ross Thomas is not only an actor in the upcoming film Soul Surfer, but he is a philanthropist who advocates indigenous rights and rainforest preservation. In Soul Surfer, a film based on the true story of shark attack survivor Bethany Hamilton, Ross stars as Bethany’s older brother and support beam, Noah. The actor, who has been in the comedy American Pie: The Naked Mile and appeared on the popular series General Hospital, spent part of last summer behind the camera filming a documentary in the Southern Peruvian Amazon.

TheCelebrityCafe.com: I hear you’re in a new Sony film called Soul Surfer. Can you tell me a little bit about your character Noah Hamilton?

Ross Thomas: This is a pretty incredible story, the story of Bethany Hamilton and her family. I play Noah, [Bethany’s] older brother, and when I first went out to Hawaii to meet the Hamilton’s and to get a sense of who this guy Noah was I was immediately welcomed with open arms by this incredible family that has been through so much and has this giant sense of love. When I talked to Noah I saw a lot of myself in this character. Noah comes from a big family, is an older brother with multiple siblings and has a strong sense of family values and morals…They all grew up as a surfing family in Hawaii, spending all of their time at the ocean. It was really clear to Noah and his younger brother Timmy that their sister Bethany was going to be a professional surfer one day. Her heart and her passion for the sport at such a young age were undeniable. So the two brothers were rooting their sister’s career on the whole way and that really speaks a lot about their family values and their connection to each other. When Bethany lost her arm that was, as I can imagine, horrific for a family to go through. But their response to it came through in the end and Bethany’s passion, heart, will and hope provides so much inspiration to so many people…I was thrilled with the opportunity to be a part of this film. I was really touched by all of the Hamilton’s.

TCC: What was Noah’s relationship like with Bethany after the incident?

RT: [Noah] was a really strong support beam during Bethany’s incident. He really stepped up to the plate and acted as an older brother figure. The family dealt with a huge media frenzy after the incident. They grew up on a small island and they aren’t used to that level of attention. And for him, he immediately fell into that protective older brother role. There were a few issues at the beginning of how aggressive the press was being toward his sister, but Bethany is so bright and has such a wonderful heart that she had a ripple effect on everyone. She diffused any negatively.

TCC: It seems like the cast members did a thorough job of preparing for his or her roles. How much of the film is based on the true story?

RT: That’s always an interesting territory to cross when making a film that’s based on a true story. You get into the territory of making a feature film that has to be entertaining and then you’re telling a true story. It’s a fine line of making sure you’re accurate with what happened…I would say overall they did a really good job portraying the story the way it was. The family dynamic was captured perfectly. What was really interesting was that I have never been a part of a film where the actual people we were portraying were on set. The Hamilton’s were pretty adamant about being there throughout the whole shoot. I mean they’ve been with this story since before the filmmakers first started looking into making this a feature film…They’ve just been very actively involved and have gone out of their way to make the film and make all of the people feel a part of the family. I think that’s really something they really pushed for. Although that accident [with the shark attack] happened, that isn’t what the entire film is about. It’s really about the story of using hope, faith, courage and bravery to overcome this one thing that Bethany dealt with. Overall I would say the movie is a really accurate representation.

TCC: I noticed that you and the real Noah Hamilton were born in the same year and you mentioned that you also like to surf. What other similarities do you share? And how did those similarities help you develop your role?

RT: Like I said earlier it was really great because Noah and I as our real selves have so much in common. We were in Hawaii a few days before shooting so I got to spend some time with him on the North Shore. That was something I really wanted to do, to have some time alone with him because there was so much going on that we needed to get away from so we could connect on that level. The way we did that was by breaking out a couple of surfboards and paddling out. That was a really neat bonding experience because it’s a great icebreaker to get to know someone. We both share that passion for the ocean the water and have a deep respect for what that world is all about. And then Noah is a photographer and has traveled all over the world. He documents his sister surfing and aside from Bethany he shoots everything from editorial features to action sport photography. So I share his adventurous spirit.

I myself travel all over the world. Mostly to South America and the Amazon, where I was filming a documentary on the affects of an oil company on a tribe. We had a lot to talk about as far as filmmaking and photography go. [While in Hawaii] I turned the camera around on him (I carry a video camera wherever I go especially if I’m traveling) and I asked him about what happened with Bethany and how he was raised and what their family life and dynamic was like. It really opened him up and I think it was sort of liberating being that it was just myself there. I got quite a bit of great stuff on camera and then I spent a couple of days on my own going through the footage and watching him, his mannerism and what makes him tick. And that’s how I developed him as a person.

TCC: Tell me more about your documentary.

RT: For me it was very experimental and very much a gorilla style film in a sense that I was a one-man band on it. I had been interested in an issue that was happening in the Amazon and I had been working with indigenous tribes for a long time. I’ve been passionate about helping tribal people’s lives, land and rights [ever since I’ve] been studying the effects of globalization on the rainforest and on the people. It’s something that was happening in the Southern Peruvian Amazon with a tribe called the Harakmbu. This tribe had relied on this reserve called the Amarakaeri Reserve for thousands of years, but in 2006 the government gave a majority of the reserve to a Texas based oil company. The oil company came in and exploited the land to extract oil, which was having a catastrophic affect on the flora and fauna and the people themselves who depend on that rainforest for sustenance. I connected with a German anthropologist by the name Jessica Bertrand and I went down there [to the Amazon] and spent the first part of my journey educating myself on all the facts because I wanted to show a neutral representation of what was going on there. My main goal was to get to the people…to get testimonials on their thoughts and feelings about what it’s like when people come to take their land from them…Ultimately I was able to get out and live with the tribe, gain their trust and show them that I wasn’t there to exploit them as a filmmaker. I genuinely wanted to spread their word and their message to as wide and vast an audience as I could….The story is not over. It’s continuing on now and I’m still monitoring what’s going on with the people and the reserve.

TCC: How is shooting and producing film different from acting?

RT: That thirteen-minute documentary [called “Extraction: The Plundering of the Amarakaeri Reserve”] took so much time, energy, blood, sweat and tears that you can really give your strong appreciation for filmmaking and for documentary filmmaking when you’re going through that much footage without a script. [It’s different] when you have a script to follow. But [in a documentary] when people are talking, you leave the camera running. And these people were talking for a long time, so there was a lot of footage. That was definitely a challenge for sure.

TCC: Do you see yourself in the acting and filming business ten years from now?

RT: I definitely see myself involved in some aspect of this industry. It’s really been a powerful part of my life and I’ve learned so much from the journey I’ve been on. It has given me some free time to go out in the world and do these other things and be a part of these charities and humanitarian causes that I feel so strongly about. But yeah, as far as acting is concerned I feel like I’ve merely scratched the surface of what my potential is and what I can do. There are so many amazing stories out there that need to be told and so many characters and I just want to continue to work on things that I’m passionate about and inspired by. The farther and more extreme the character is from myself the more I am attracted to it. So I need to look for those challenging roles. And when I have the time and resources to do it I’d like to continue directing documentaries. And directing fiction as well somewhere down the line.

TCC: Do you have any exciting plans for this summer?

RT: That just depends. It’s funny being an actor because we’re kind of on-call all of the time. We’re in the midst of pilot season right now. It’s such an interesting life when everything can change in a matter of 48 hours. It always changes but I will say that if between now and June nothing career wise happens then I would like to take the summer to do some charity work. I’m looking potentially at India and Africa. I’ve really wanted to go to both places for a long time. So that might be on the horizon for my next big adventure.