Child of God’s Scott Haze said he spent three months living in Tennessee caves to prepare for his role.
The actor, who plays killer Lester Ballard, lived off one piece of fish and an apple a day in addition to sleeping in caves, Boston Herald reports.
“I knew that this was a role that I had to go to crazy extreme lengths.”
No Country For Old Men’s writer Cormac McCarthy said the basis for the character was Ed Gein. Gein was also famously the inspiration for Norman Bates and Leatherface. In Child of God, the character of Lester Ballard goes nuts after he loses both his parents and their land.
Haze said in an interview, “I slept in caves many nights with bats all around. It was crazy.” He added, “I let everything go, just hung out with the hillbillies and stayed as isolated as possible.”
Initial reviews coming out of the Venice film festival have been fairly positive. The James Franco directed movie, according to The Guardian is a pretty faithful adaptation from the McCarthy novel.
The site questions some of Franco’s directorial choices, as does The Hollywood Reporter, as Franco left the film very stripped down in ways. The acting is also hit or miss.
Check out the teaser:
image: Wikimedia Commons
