March 2008
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Actor
Being in India was a moving and spiritual journey for me. The people there are so open and generous. We filmed half of The Darjeeling Limited on a train in India and it was the experience of a lifetime. It is definitely true what they say about the magic of the railways there. We also shot on the mountaintop at Shravanbelagola, where we walked the steep 700 steps up the side of the 58ft-high statue, which is carved out of a mountain.
I bought a motorcycle so I could ride around Rajasthan. It was so liberating. I love the opportunity to do something different that will help me grow as an actor and as a human being.
Filming with Penélope Cruz and Rachel Weisz in Córdoba, Spain, was great fun. I was playing the famous bullfighter Manuel Rodríguez Sánchez for my film Manolete and found myself running through open fields with hundreds of bulls chasing after me. Spain is such a beautiful country and it was amazing to re-create that era.
I am thinking about taking the Trans-Siberian Express. I’m game for seeing that huge expanse of a country. I was talking to Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson about the idea and the three of us are up for the trip. I have lots of Russian friends there too.
I’d love to go to the Olympics in Beijing this year. I was there last October and thought it was the most amazing place. I went on my own to gain that real sense of adventure. I’m an inquisitive traveller and seeing incredible cities like Xi’an and Beijing was pure indulgence for me.
London is an astonishing place for a boy from Queens, New York. I’ve been many times, and there are so many great areas to get lost in, particularly the wonderful parks. I love to put on my trainers and run through London’s green spaces. The only place I can’t get lost in is Leicester Square, which is always full of American tourists like myself and where I’ve attended several film premieres.
The Darjeeling Limited, starring Adrien Brody and Owen Wilson and directed by Wes Anderson, is out on DVD. Interview by Andrew Threlfall.
