Jack Huston, acclaimed for his unforgettable performances in projects like Boardwalk Empire, takes on a new role behind the camera with his directorial debut, Day of the Fight.
From writing the script in just ten days to working with an incredible cast that includes Michael Pitt, Joe Pesci, Steve Buscemi and Ron Perlman, Huston gives us a look at the challenges and rewards of directing a character-driven, black-and-white period piece.
He also shares his philosophy on directing, the inspiration behind the film and why he chose to stay behind the camera for this project. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. For the full interview, watch the video above or check out our YouTube page.
Have you always wanted to direct?
Jack Huston: I have always thought I’d like to do it one day, but I didn’t feel like I was in any rush to do it. I’ve written for myself more than anybody. Not stuff that’s necessarily got out there, but I think I was waiting for the moment where I could truly stand behind a story and say, “This is something I have to do.” I actually felt compelled that if I didn’t do it, it would kill me. And this was the first time I’d really felt in my bones that this was a story I needed to tell.
How did you come up with the story?
Jack Huston: Well, as stories do, I guess they come to you from so many places. I think the seed was planted back when I was doing Boardwalk Empire with Michael. And I remember him punching sandbags in between takes and going off to the boxing gym. So, I guess I had this image of him. He was such a beautiful actor to work with, and we developed a really close friendship, brotherhood of sorts. It’s been a decade since we’d worked together on that, and it’d been a bit of a bumpy ride for Michael, he’s the first to say it.
And then I watched a documentary short that [Stanley] Kubrick did, a 15-minute documentary called “Day of the Fight,” which was just a boxer on the day of a prize fight.
Some of the great films that I grew up loving; the older films, the films from the past, I love sometimes just the simplicity of the story, but sometimes there was one element that just gave it that gravitas that added that single element that turned the screw, if you will. And that was, in this, “well, what if, not only is it a day of a prize fight, but what if this is potentially his last day?” And what would you do? Who would you see? What would you say?
And from that rather organically, I remember imagining Michael as this boxer, in the character, in the part. So, I went and wrote it, and I wrote it as a conscious stream of thought over 10 days, hearing Michael’s voice in my head. So, it really was written for him.
The film also stars Steve Buscemi, Joe Pesci, Michael Pitt, Ron Perlman… I mean, what a terrible cast.
Jack Huston: I know! Geez.
Going back to a sentence my grandfather always said, “90% is casting.” Specifically, a film like this, “90% is casting” because that’s what the entire film hinges on, those actors and their relationships and the honesty that’s brought to it.
And I think it’s anchored by one of the most beautiful performances by Michael Pitt. I knew he would run with this, but to what extent, I didn’t know. And it just elevated, man, it was a really beautiful thing. And to get him in the ring, so to speak, with so many heavyweights, so many just titans, actors that I’ve had the privilege of working with or revered for my entire life, it’s so beautiful because you watch that joust and it’s just this amazing moment of magic where you point a camera and let them go to work, which is like letting the thoroughbreds out of the starting gate. It’s like, “Watch them run, man. Don’t get in the way. We’ve got this story, but now you get to actually put the flesh on the bones.” And boy, did they f*cking put the flesh on the bones.
Did you actually direct them or was it more like, “Do your thing.”
Jack Huston: I find direction very interesting. It’s as much to do with what you don’t say as to what you do say. You have to understand the right moments to say something and a lot of that comes to being a guide. I’m not there to say, “This, this, this, this, this. Yes, yes, yes. No, no, no.” I like that beautiful collaboration of, “I’ve given you this character. Own it. It’s yours. Let it sing. Run with it.”
I think performances can be killed before they’ve even started by over-analyzing them. I think instincts of a great actor are a beautiful and rare thing and to witness these actors… their first reaction, their first interpretation of who that character was.
What I would do is I’d have long conversations before we started, just talking about the backstory and the history, so that by the time one does say “Action,” it’s so embedded upon them who they are.
It’s a bit like music. You can hear the false notes and what rings true, so to speak. And that’s what was beautiful about being able to stand back and really concentrate on everything surrounding them, to make them feel comfortable. The trust element is hugely important. And that goes both ways.
Since this was your first time directing, did you ever feel nervous?
Jack Huston: Absolutely. I’d be an idiot not to. I felt it like, “Oh, my God…” But that was excitement as much as anything. It’s the butterflies. It is the nerves, but it’s the nerves that we’re about to embark on something which hasn’t revealed itself fully to me yet.
And also, that confidence of knowing that we’ve made the right decision in all of these aspects: Be it black-and-white, be it period, be it Michael, be it Joe, be it Ron. The coming together of all these incredible people and having a common thread, a common goal, which was the movie, we all saw it in that same way with love and tenderness.
You didn’t you want to be in it?
Jack Huston: No, I didn’t. I find acting rather all-encompassing. I wouldn’t be able to shake it. If I knew I had a day, even if I had an hour on screen, I’d be thinking about it the whole time. And I didn’t want to be thinking about that. I wanted to be so available to everybody, ready to be there as support. And I would find it harder if I was putting myself in that place. I find myself less accessible.
And I think as it was my first foray into the director’s chair, that took up every waking moment of my concentration, just like, I guess, helping to paint the overall picture, work hand-in-hand with so many great people, that I was so happy not to be an actor on this one.
I know if it were me, I would be like, “Oh, yeah, you were good, but I want to do another one for me.” And by take 50, I’d be like, “Okay, I think I got it.”
Jack Huston: Yes, right. And I’m a bit like that. I think over time I realized that I trust in my director a lot now, that if you’re happy, then I’m happy. Even if I have questions, because I’ll always have questions.
That’s the lovely thing about being guided by a great director, is that I have confidence in them and their vision; that I am an element in the greater movie as a whole; I’m a single element. And there was a lot of trust in this one. A lot of people, they realized we didn’t have much money. We had very little time. There weren’t many takes unless they really wanted another take, which I’d always fight for if they ever wanted something more. But I usually felt like when we got it, we got it. We were pretty good about that.
You’ve probably watched it a million times, but have you thought, “Oh, man, I should have done this,” or, “I should have had them do that in this scene.”
Jack Huston: You know what? It’s funny, it’s a really good question, because I do that when I’m watching myself act, I think that the whole time. Funny enough on this, I really feel good about the movie. I actually love what we made. I think that was due to also having so many wonderful people come on board and help make it, such as our brilliant editor, Joe Klotz; our brilliant sound designer, Lou Goldstein; like having the DP, Peter Simonite. It’s like, all these elements came together. I love the film.
Yeah, there’s certain things which I would have done more if I could have, but for what we did and the time we had and the movie we made, I’m inordinately proud, inordinately.
So, the film is done and your baby is out there in the world, do you have the itch to do it again?
Jack Huston: I’d love to do it again. I’d love to do it again. I pray to God that it won’t be a fraction as hard as it was this time because it was many, many years of my life, and time spent away from loved ones, and just hours just hustling and hustling and on your knees and groveling and begging and every possible thing you could do. But the bit of making the movie, when I was actually able to make the film, those creative moments were some of the greatest moments I’ve ever had working. I just adored every second of it. So, yeah, I would do it again in two beats.
