Our discussion with Scissors' Augusten Burroughs.
This is a big week for Joseph Cross. The fresh-faced young actor has two major releases opening in theaters, both of which are surrounded by awards buzz: Flags of Our Fathers and Running with Scissors. Cross’ performance in the latter film has many predicting that he could emerge as a dark horse contender for an Oscar nomination.
Based on Augusten Burroughs' bestselling memoir, Running with Scissors is an account of the author’s turbulent – and often hilarious – childhood. Augusten (played by Cross) spends most of his formative years surrounded by dysfunction; his two main authority figures are his delusional, valium-addled mother Deirdre (Annette Bening) and her highly eccentric psychiatrist, Dr. Finch (Brian Cox). Augusten finds himself in one surreal situation after another as he attempts to rise above his often nightmarish upbringing and forge his own identity.
Joseph Cross recently sat down for an exclusive interview with ReelzChannel.com. Barely twenty years old, Cross is already a veteran of the acting game, having worked in the business for almost a decade. Nevertheless, he still displays the sort of wide-eyed enthusiasm that can’t be faked, even by an actor of his caliber.
Director Ryan Murphy searched exhaustively for the right person to play Augusten, auditioning over 400 actors. Cross knew he’d made an impact at his audition when Murphy started crying in the middle of his performance. “I tried not to react,” he says. “I tried to just keep going with the scene. It’s the ultimate compliment, I guess.”
Though he met briefly with the real-life Augusten Burroughs, Cross felt it was important to craft his own version of the character. “We met face-to-face a week before we started shooting and we spoke a lot the evening that we met,” says Cross. “All I needed from him was a couple little anecdotes about certain things. I didn’t want anything past 17 (years old). I made a conscious decision to not read any book of his other than Running with Scissors while we were filming. I didn’t want anything else to seep in.”
“My Augusten is not an imitation,” adds Cross. “I’m not mimicking. I’m playing a character that I would imagine is him from the ages of 12 to 17, based on the information that I gathered.”
It seems as if each person in Augusten’s life suffers from a psychiatric malady of some sort, ranging from alcoholism to severe schizophrenia. The film takes great pains, however, not to paint any single character as a villain. Even Deirdre and Dr. Finch, both of whom are often grossly manipulative, come across as sympathetic. “I think that’s the most brilliant aspect of the film, that every character is human,” says Cross. “That has a lot to do with Ryan Murphy and it also says a lot for the talent of all those people that are playing these parts, because they made them so human.”
The story is a volatile mix of moments both comic and tragic, and often ventures into some very dark places. The film’s core message, however, is a positive one. “It’s a really disturbing ride,” says Cross. “It’s a very emotional coaster that you’re taken on throughout the film, with very high highs and very, very low lows. And it’s painful. But the audience knows from the beginning that they’re gonna be let out at a good place…I think that the ending is hopeful and uplifting.”
Ryan Murphy’s meticulous approach to filmmaking contrasted sharply with that of his director on Flags of Our Fathers, Clint Eastwood. “Their styles are tremendously different,” notes Cross. “Ryan’s very particular. Clint is very…almost blasé about the whole process, in terms of what his actors are doing. He wants everything to seem very natural and Ryan wants things to be more specific. So it was really great for me to be able to do two things that are so different, back-to-back.”
With two huge films out, it seems that his greatest challenge now is to find a new project of similar quality. “It’s really hard,” says Cross. “That’s why I haven’t worked since Flags. It would really devastate me to do something just to do something, (a project) that wasn’t on par with these two films.”
“It’s very rare that someone my age gets to play a part like this,” he adds. “You usually have to wait until you’re in your thirties to play a really meaty role, like I got to. And I feel very thankful, very grateful.”
Cross doesn’t mind waiting for the next great opportunity to come along. “If that means not working for the next two years, that’s ok to me,” he says. “It’s not about working as much as you can. It’s not about money or anything like that. It’s about doing things that you can be proud of.”
Check out ReelzChannel.com's Running with Scissors page for exclusive clips from the film and more!
Running With Scissors opens in select theaters on October 20th and goes nationwide on October 27th.