“I like to do an intense amount of research and then just throw it all out the window and play,” explains Harner. His spontaneity even prompted him to give Jolie an unscripted kiss during the filming of a climactic argument. “She hit me,” he says, still shocked by his own audacity, “which was perfect for the scene.”
But Harner became haunted by other scenes, like the one for which he spent a night chasing child actors through the desert with a shotgun. After filming Northcott’s hanging, “I had a mini breakdown,” he says. “Playing somebody as horrible as that—my family understands what acting is, but to see your loved one handcuffed with a bag on his head and a noose around his neck.... I just thought, My mother is going to freak out.”
Hopefully she’ll recover when her son starts collecting accolades for his performance. As for Harner, who will also be seen in the remake of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 with Denzel Washington and John Travolta, he’s just savoring his lucky break. “I couldn’t imagine acting in film until five years ago,” he says. “Now people are asking me, ‘What [other roles] are you interested in?’” And there’s another not-to-be-overlooked boon to his recent entrée into film: “It’s helped me not have to worry about money for the summer.”
