Nick Stahl stars as a guy just struggling to make it to work each day and keep his head above water in Sleepwalking, directed by William Maher. Charlize Theron co-stars as his sister, Joleen, a single mother who does a lousy job of raising her only child, Tara (played by AnnaSophia Robb). When Joleen's kicked out of the house she shares with her boyfriend, she drags Tara to her brother's place and dumps her there.
Most actors claim characters with an edge, a troubled background, or serious demons to battle are the most interesting to play, and while Stahl’s character, James, is a real decent guy, he definitely had a traumatic family life that’s affected his ability to function as an adult.
Stahl claims his character’s troubled home life was something he found intriguing.
“You read the script, and it can read a certain way, and he can come off even as kind of slow or something like that,” explained Stahl. “I never saw him as mentally deficient in any way. He was emotionally deficient. When I first went up to Canada, I even had the costume designer tell me that it reminded her of Lenny from Mice and Men, and I was like, ‘Don’t tell me that,’ because that’s not at all what it was. He was a damaged [man] who was the victim of abuse and had learned to settle for a simple role in his life, not ask for anything, to just settle for something. And that’s the way he’s lived for a long time, and I think until Tara comes into his life does that start to change a little bit for him.”
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