Inside the Actor's Studio

Last night I went to a screening of The United States of Leland, a movie with an outstanding cast, including Kevin Spacey, Jena Malone, Chris Klein, Don Cheadle, and Ryan Gosling. The movie is the story of Ryan Gosling's character, Leland, the son of a famous author (Kevin Spacey). Leland is in juvenile hall, accused of killing a retarded kid. Don Cheadle plays Leland's teacher, who is also attempting to write a book about Leland.

After the screening, writer/director Matthew Ryan Hoge and actor Chris Klein were there for a question and answer period, which was quite interesting. More people had questions for Matthew Ryan Hoge than Chris Klein. We were able to learn a lot about how the film was written and made, and Matthew Ryan Hoge's own interpretation of his work. Chris Klein says he initially shied away from the script, because his character is so different than himself or any other character he's ever played. I really wanted someone to ask if he felt like he has evolved as an actor from Rollerball to this, but alas, no one did.