After months of hype and anticipation, The Social Network was released this past weekend, already prompting some fans to call it the movie of the year. The film stars known actors Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake. In addition, it features breakout performances from Andrew Garfield and Armie Hammer. tableau was able to catch up with Hammer, who has been mentioned as a dark-horse nominee for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar because of his dual role as the twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, which represented a cinematographic breakthrough. Unlike other films where one actor plays two people, Hammer's face was digitally imposed on another body. One would think that playing one character in a major film would be hard enough, but playing two is an amazing challenge. Still, Hammer didn't see it that way. "I didn't really look at it as there was a hard way to do things. It was a double opportunity to learn from [director] David Fincher. Getting the call to play one part in a Finch movie was already a great opportunity. To get two opportunities was amazing."
Because this is Hammer's first major performance and it is already so popular, most would expect a young actor to be overwhelmed. "I try not to think about it," he told us. "I try to avoid thoughts of it on all fronts. I was done with my part four months ago." Finished with filming, perhaps, but reviews of his performance are still rolling in. But Hammer said he isn't nervous about them. "I've seen [the movie] so many times, and it's out of my hands. I'm not going out [on opening day] to see it or anything - I'm not nervous."
This shouldn't come as a surprise - Hammer has been involved in promoting The Social Network for several months now; he and his fellow castmates have been on a nationwide tour to several cities and college campuses across the country. "It's been amazing. There were two to three weeks where we were in a new city every day ... It was an amazing experience to travel around and promote something I'm so passionate about."
Hammer's passion is definitely justified - The Social Network is destined to come home with some serious hardware this awards season, and not only because it was written and directed by titans in the industry, Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher, respectively. The film's success also owes much to the standout performances from a young cast ready to establish themselves as bona fide stars. Indeed, Hammer described working with his cast members as "an incredible experience." He continued, "I expected more ego [to be] involved. We had some serious actors and one international pop star. I was expecting 'my trailer this, my trailer that' but people were so willing to work with everyone else. We were all invested in each other's performance."
Hammer, Garfield and Timberlake have all received stellar reviews, but Jesse Eisenberg, who delivered a career-defining performance as Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, is catching most of the headlines. So is the attention deserved? Definitely, Hammer said, characterizing working with the young star as "amazing." He added, "Watching that guy work was a treat. The character he portrays on screen is nothing like him. He is the sweetest guy with a wide-eyed amazement of the world, but as soon as Fincher would say, 'Action,' he would go cold and something would take over him."
Hammer also applauded director David Fincher (Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), for helping him grow as an actor. "With Fincher, it was just an awesome opportunity. He wants everything to be so casual and so conversational; he wants you to say your line like it's your phone number - like you've said it a thousand times before, because that's how we talk in reality." Hammer also emphasized the role of collaboration in the filmmaking process. "If every actor brought only what they wanted to bring to their role, it would have taken away from the final product." He explained, "[Actors] envision how it's going to be every morning before going out to shoot - every actor has their Academy Award moment in the shower. But [when we began shooting] Fincher would say, 'Do it like that,' and sometimes I would be thinking, 'I didn't really see it that way.' But you go with what he says, and in the end, we were all better for it."
Finally, when asked about his name being mentioned in the same sentence as an Oscar, Hammer responded in his signature light-hearted and humble manner: "I'm convinced it's someone playing a joke on me"
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