'Wild' gives Hirsch a new perspective

Emile Hirsch may have been best known for his roles in "Lords of Dogtown" and "The Girl Next Door." But "Into the Wild" could change all that.

Hirsch, 22, plays Christopher McCandless, a 23-year-old who left modern life behind to live in the wilderness. He'll go for a completely different role next as the lead in "Speed Racer."

We recently talked to the young actor about white-water rafting, looking authentic, working with director Sean Penn and his new perspective on life.

Q. More than your other films, this role has a chance to change a person. What perspective did you gain from "Into the Wild"?

A. That is a hard question. You're not messing around here. You're right. More than any role I've had, this role did change me as a person for the better. I hadn't worked for probably a year. I'd been eating and drinking more than I should have, and it really just was this amazing adventure that came along and woke me up. Director Sean (Penn) was knocking on my door recruiting me for this. Telling me, "You're going to start running every day, you're going to start reading Emerson, Thoreau and John Muir. You're going to think about what this young man's life meant to him and other people and what he wanted and didn't get." It really changed my perspective of family. It really made me appreciate my family and everything I've been given. The whole time we were filming, I talked to my sister and parents all the time on the phone. I thought it was really important to do … to learn from Chris.

Q. How was braving the rapids on the Colorado River? Were you scared?

A. Yeah, I'm not a professional kayaker … I was very scared.

Q. Did you fake that you had experience when they asked?

A. No, I had no experience and they didn't want me to have any. (Penn) goes, "You're just going in there. It's not about being good or bad, it's just about doing it." I did it even though I was scared. And someone told me, that's what courage is; it's doing something even when you are afraid, but still doing it.

Q. During the filming, how often did you shower?

A. There were certain aspects I kept the same and some I had to change just due to the fact that I had to wear makeup. There are certain glues you have to take off every day. There's a certain level you have to work with otherwise you aren't going to achieve the results you want.

Q. During the film, you were pretty isolated. Did you feel isolated?

A. I did and I didn't. I did feel isolated because I wasn't going out and having beers with everyone. But inevitably, you're going to be around people when you film a movie, so there was that sense. There's going to be people around, you accept that, and you work from that.

Q. When Christian Bale was in town, he kept saying everyone told him to do a Western. Any genre out there that you want to do?

A. I don't know. I'm not really sure. "Into the Wild" is an adventure film I guess, and if you would have asked me before what I wanted to do, I would have said an adventure. That was what I wanted, and that's what kind of came about.

Q. Do you map out where you want to be in five or 10 years?

A. No, not really. Because then it becomes a job to get there. And as soon as it becomes a job, it's like my job. It's always a debate, is acting a job? It's a job in the technical sense, but I feel pretty lucky to be doing what I'm doing.

Q. Do you like the idea of being nominated for something besides a Teen Choice Award or MTV Movie Award?

A. I don't know. That's for other people to decide. That's something that is healthier not to think about too much. Let other people decide that and put it into perspective.

Q. In the book and film, when Chris takes on the persona of Alexander Supertramp, you can feel the excitement. Did you feel anything?

A. Yeah, it's such a weird, liberating idea. Sean gave me so much freedom as an actor. There were a lot of times when I would determine what the character would do. There's a whole scene in the bus, where I'm talking to myself, none of that was scripted, none of it was preplanned, it's just something that became.