Stuart Townsend's 'Battle in Seattle'
THE DIRECTOR'S CRAFT
The disenchanted actor finds inspiration to write and direct in a protest that went off script.
STUART TOWNSEND has often played the pretty boy, in roles ranging from the garden-variety cad in 2007's "Chaos Theory" to supernatural heartbreakers such as the vampire Lestat in 2000's "Queen of the Damned" and the dandy Dorian Gray in 2003's "The League of Extraordinary Gentleman." But the 35-year-old Irishman is the first to say how little these roles have meant to him.
"The last acting job I had that I really loved was a theater job that I did in 2000," he says. "It was Tennessee Williams' 'Orpheus Descending' at the Donmar in the West End of London, which is a beautiful theater. And then when I came to America, there hasn't been one thing I've really loved. It's been a long time since I have enjoyed acting."
Tired of uninspiring stories, Townsend decided to write and direct his own for the first time. Based on the demonstrations that erupted in Seattle during the 1999 World Trade Organization millennium conference, his film “Battle in Seattle,” which hit L.A. theaters Friday, blends documentary footage with fictional narratives, following a handful of people who find themselves swept up in a peaceful protest turned full-scale riot.
"Here's a clear example of democracy in action by the people," says Townsend. "And as soon as their strategies and their tactics are effective at shutting down something so important as the WTO, democracy disappears on the streets, and this police state comes out in full force. It was a good illustration of the limits of democracy in this country, because I grew up in what I consider a real democracy."
Born in 1972 in Howth, a small fishing village outside Dublin, Townsend never had much interest in school until a girl he was dating urged him to enroll in an acting class. Even now, Townsend admits that writing the screenplay of "Battle in Seattle" was about as much fun for him as writing a term paper.
"I'm never going to write on my own ever again," he says. "If there is any defect in 'Battle,' it comes from the writing."
The cavalry arrives
WHEN IT was time to assemble a cast, Townsend learned how hard it is to get an agent to show a client a script when the job pays next to nothing. He was one day from shutting down the production when Woody Harrelson and Townsend's longtime partner Charlize Theron signed on to play a riot cop and his pregnant wife. Before long, Martin Henderson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jennifer Carpenter and Andre Benjamin all agreed to portray protesters, and Ray Liotta took on the role of the Seattle mayor.
