He’s best known for his role as a daredevil wanderer in Into the Wild, but Emile Hirsch has an exciting new project coming out which is sure to earn him a second
spotlight. The California-born actor talks to FAULT about playing a Navy SEAL in the upcoming film Lone Survivor, his penchant for telling people off and why he loves to tackle such diverse and challenging roles.

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FAULT: How do you select your roles, because they have certainly been quite diverse?

Emile: They just send me scripts, and I go for roles that I think I can pull off. I don’t necessarily have a ‘type’—I kind of like switching it up. As a person, I’ll go from being serious to being goofy; I have a varying personality of my own that lends itself to a greater range of roles. Some guys I know are straight-up, serious dudes who would never be seen in a comedy. I like to joke around, but I also really like to be straightforward [and] dramatic.

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From what we’ve read, you seem quite outdoors-y—you even climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise awareness for clean water. Did that have anything to do with your role in Into the Wild?

I was always physical; I was a skateboarder when I was younger. But Into the Wild took exercise to a whole new level, and ever since then, I’ve definitely been more conscious about physical fitness. I go to the gym all the time now, and I like to run. I would have been much more sluggish had I not done that movie.

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What has been your most challenging role to date?

The preparation for Lone Survivor was particularly difficult; it felt like boot camp. The programme was designed to push you to your limits until I wanted to quit. They put
you in a mentality where surrender is not an option—it was really challenging.

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What is your FAULT?

I think sometimes my FAULT is that I’m a bit lazy and I need structure. When I’m working, I’m really focused, but so often as an actor you’re not working and have months off with endless time go to do whatever. My biggest FAULT is not being a master of organising my free time.

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