James Hetfield’s hilarious take on his recent acting role: “Next time I’m asked to do something like this, remind me to say no”
Metallica’s James Hetfield picked up an acting role in new western thriller The Thicket, and although grateful for the job, it seems he won’t be switching to a life in front of the camera anytime soon.
The film, which was released on 6 September, is based on Joe R. Lansdale’s novel of the same name. In an episode of The Metallica Report podcast, Hetfield shares some insight into what the experience of acting in the film was like, noting that he didn’t particularly enjoy the long hours of waiting in between his parts on camera.
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“[Actor] Peter Dinklage contacted me through management, just saying, ‘Hey, I got a part for you in something we’re putting together. And I just thought of you’, and that’s it.’ It’s, like, ‘Okay, cool,’” begins Hetfield (via Blabbermouth).
“I’m not into acting at all,” he continues. “I mean, I act enough on the stage, like projecting. For us on stage, projecting big, it’s almost more like Broadway. When you’re in a movie, you do just a little thing and that’s, ‘Whoa, that’s enough.’ I like big projecting.”
Similarly, Hetfield was also asked by director Joe Berlinger to pick up a part in the Ted Bundy film, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile, that was released in 2019, so the thrash metal frontman already had some acting experience under his belt. With that said, the long hours spent on set reminded him of how much he prefers the instantaneous magic of music.
“While I’m sitting in a trailer, and it’s probably minus 10 degrees out up in Canadia [sic], we’re outside of Calgary and I’m sitting there in period clothing, 1800s turn of the century,” he says. “I mean, the wool’s great, but the shoes [are] not so great. I’m sitting there with [my assistant] Ray. It’s, like, ‘Hey, you’re shooting today.’ And then the end of the day, it’s, like, ‘Ah, we didn’t get to you today.’ And I told Ray, ‘Hey, next time I’m asked to do something like this, remind me to say no,’” he laughs.
“Music is not about waiting. ‘I got an idea. Hey take this down. Let’s do this.’ Practising your line and waiting to say it five days later is, like, oh, driving me nuts.” Despite this, Hetfield is still stoked to have been part of the film: “It’s certainly not a career choice for me. I love what I do and I wanna continue to do that till my last breath. But just something fun. I love that someone just asks you. They see you, they picture you in a part and then you go and you do it. I think that was very cool of Peter,” he says.
Check out The Metallica Report podcast episode below:
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