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WE'RE HANGIN' WITH.....A.I.'s Artificial Boy HALEY
JOEL OSMENT You play an incredibly complex character and you have to draw a fine line between the robotic and human elements. How did you create the role? Haley: Most of it was just from my own imagination and things that were in the script. Before we shot we had developed the physicality and mentality of the character's reactions; how he thought and moved. I had a lot of meetings with Steven getting all that down. When David first comes into the film, he's just a clean slate and he develops with all the things that happen to him. What was the most challenging thing about playing David? Haley: He has to become more and more human and he never makes it to being a complete human but he gets pretty close. That development is hard. You are carrying this film. You're in almost every scene. How did you deal with that? Haley: It wasn't pressure or anything. I guess I sort of knew about it but I didn't think about it too much. I just tried to do the best job possible with my character. Did Steven Spielberg work differently than usual because this film started with (director) Stanley Kubrick and he wanted to honor that? Haley: There was always a little bit of Stanley on the set; his style was always there. Steven would say sometimes, 'Oh, this is a shot Stanley would have done'. He was so aware of that. There is a fantastic "super toy" in the film called Teddy, a toy robotic bear that almost seems alive. When asked his favorite robotic character in the film, Haley responded: "A lot of robots during the 'Flesh Fair' were pretty interesting. Stan Winston's guys were cool but Teddy would probably top my list. (Note: Winston is the special effects wizard who designed and built the robots in the film) Was Teddy a puppet or computer generated? Haley: He was there (on set) most of the time. There were a few shots where he was CGI but (on the set) he was just like an actor because he would have to hit his mark and have a good expressions. There would be Teddy acting notes for the people controlling him and sometimes he would miss his mark and stumble forward and Steven would go 'The bear is not on his mark'. (Haley laughs)They'd have to come and adjust him. Steven would get frustrated with Teddy just like a real actor on the set. In one scene in the film, Haley's character comes upon a room full of duplicates of himself. It's eerie. "Seeing that was weird. Both myself and the character had a reaction to all these copies. It was one of the creepier scenes in the film when David realizes he was not unique. I didn't keep any of them. Don't think I'd like that too much". Was it hard to do the emotional scenes with Frances (O'Connor who plays his mom) like when she drops you in the woods? Haley: Those scenes were tough. It was good that we shot in semi-continuity because we'd already shot all the scenes at home with Frances and developed the relationship between the two characters so I could draw on that. This scene was the first time the character has his emotions thrown open and he doesn't react like a normal person or a robot. He's sort of in the middle. So that was one of the most challenging parts. Haley's home and family life is very important to him. His dad is always by his side. We wanted to know how hard it was for him to be working on incredible movies and still be a regular teenager. "It's easier than you would expect. I just go home and go to school and everything. I do my chores at home. Everything is just like a normal kid so it's almost like two different worlds. I like living the best of both worlds. It's good to have home to go back to after the film is over". Haley admitted that he has aspirations to "venture into writing and directing some time". He was incredibly "adult" during the whole interview until we asked him if he was working on a project of his own. Then, the 13-year-old emerged, his face brightened and we learned that he is already following in Spielberg's footsteps. "Some of my friends at school, this summer were gonna try and just shoot a small video among ourselves. I think it's gonna be fun because there's some pretty good talent. My friend's good with the camera. Nothing too serious yet but I'm writing. I love to write." What do you like to read? Haley: "Lord of the Rings" is probably my favorite series of books. I'm interested in the Harry Potter books but I think it's gonna be hard to make that into a good movie. It'll take away from the magic you feel every time you read the book. "Lord of the Rings" could make a good movie. I'm excited about seeing that one. How was working with Jude Law (who plays Joe, an adult robot)? Haley: Jude's just a great person. Always has a smile on his face. He's got a great attitude on the set, never really unhappy with what's going on, annoyed or frustrated. Always a pleasure to work with him. Haley's roles have been so serious. Would he do a comedy? "I have a comedy coming out next year called The Bears" which is a parody of the music industry". This is a voice-over role. Haley's the lead bear "Beary". We asked a few parting questions and learned that Haley's favorite candy is Snickers and he still dresses up and goes trick-or-treating. "Who can pass up all that candy"? What's the best gift you've ever gotten? Haley: It probably
wouldn't be a material gift. Probably just being able to do stuff like
this. I mean, the gift of being able to act in films. I stared out at
a young age, being able to be exposed to this business which I've come
to love so much.. It's so much fun for me!" Spoken like a true
"13-going-on-35" teenager.
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Hey,
the cute kid who sees dead people is a teenager! That's right, Haley Joel
Osment, The Sixth Sense's haunted munchkin recently turned 13.
The number is far from unlucky for this incredibly bright and talented
young man who has been working constantly since his feature film debut
as the son of Forrest Gump. When Steven Spielberg decided to direct A.I.,
from famed director Stanley Kubrick's storyboards and notes and his own
screenplay, Haley was the only young actor he wanted to play David, the
first robotic boy capable of love. Entertainment reporter Lynn.b spoke
with Haley recently in L.A. and found him to be a delightful combination
of "13 going on 35" and young teen excitement.