Edward Furlong - Brief Article - Interview

Interview, June, 2000 by Joseph Steuer

JOSEPH STEUER: You're shooting Knights of the Quest in Italy now?

EDWARD FURLONG: Yes. It's a movie directed by Pupi Avati, who is a huge Italian director. This is kind of his breakthrough film in the United States [ldots] maybe. I play a knight. I'm a crusader who is not necessarily strong but is able to survive because of his faith in God. It's about God and Satan, and I like that stuff even though I'm not religious.

JS: Is this your first action film since Terminator 2 [1991)?

EF: Yes.

JS: Do you like action?

EF: I do. This is a lot different than Terminator, though. It takes place in 1271 A.D. I thought it would be really fun to play a knight--use a sword and have fights and jousts. It's a blast.

JS: Are you riding horses?

EF: Yes, except I don't like riding horses. They scare the fuck out of me.

JS: You do love dogs, though. Tell me about Smoke.

EF: He's a Neapolitan mastiff, and I got him at a pet store. My girlfriend [Natasha Lyonne] and I saw him and had to have him. We didn't realize how big he was gonna get. He's huge. He's like one of those creatures you see in Star Wars. My friend is bringing him over here to be on the set. I'm going to try to keep him with me throughout the movie--in Italy, France, and Tunisia.

JS: Is this your biggest role?

EF: You know what? Yes. I hope the movie translates well in America.

IS: Will it make you a bigger star than ever?

EF: I don't want to be a bigger star than ever. I don't want my life to be surrounded by that. Being a star takes too much of my time.

JS: You enjoy acting, though?

EF: I'd love to act forever, till the day I die. But I try to keep calm.

JS: What about your [upcoming] movie, Animal Factory?

EF: It was a great script; it was a great experience. Steve Buscemi is a great director to work with. I play a drug dealer, who gets caught and sent to prison for two years. And my character is someone who really doesn't want to be in prison, because I'm, like, a pretty little guy, and I might easily be turned into a "punk," which is a prison term for someone they use to just[ldots]you know [ldots] fuck. But in the picture Willem Dafoe takes me under his wing.

JS: Did Dafoe teach you anything about acting?

EF: People always ask me that. He is a great actor. But I pick up things subtly, so I can never exactly say what they taught me.

JS: People must always ask you about Terminator 3, so here I go: Will there be one?

EF: It's sounding like there might be.

JS: Would you be up for it?

EF: Oh, yeah.

IS: What would you like to do next?

EF: I don't know. The movie I'm on is like a four-month shoot, so I'm kind of focused on this.

Joseph Steuer is Interview's executive editor. Edward Furlong, photographed with his dog, Smoke.