Interviews with the cast of The Mighty
Elden Henson and Kieran Culkin goof off
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"Mighty" Good Pals
: interview with Elden Henson and Kieran Culkin, by Susan King, Los Angeles Times
Elden Henson: "There are not a whole lot of roles out there for young adults or even kids where you are allowed to play something other than a one-dimensional character or a jock or a bully or the nerd or the stoner."
Kieran Culkin: "I didn't recognize [Sharon Stone] at first. I envisioned her with this long blond hair and a sexy dress. She was wearing jeans, a sweater and sneakers."
Elden Henson: "Our movie was made way before [Simon Birch]. I was really honestly kind of bitter about the whole thing just because our film was completed a year and a half ago. It was frustrating for me because we really worked hard."
The Young And "The Mighty"
: interview with Elden Henson and Kieran Culkin, by Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
Kieran Culkin: "The divorce was rough on all of us. I don't blame Hollywood for my family's problems. But having all of it reported in the press made it more of an ordeal."
Elden Henson: "My mom never put any pressure on me [to act]. I grew up playing baseball and football. I went to public high school, and if it came down to an audition or baseball practice, I went to baseball practice."
Kieran Culkin: "A week before shooting, Peter [Chelsom] told me, 'You don't have the part, yet. We're still trying to find a handicapped kid who can act. Either that or we break your legs.'"
About getting into the physical roles:
Elden Henson: "I wear a fat pad. I'm big, but not that big."
Kieran Culkin: "They put me in a whole body suit, from my neck to my ankles. It was so bad, I couldn't straighten my legs, and my foot was turned in."
Film Scouts on the Riviera
: video interviews with Elden Henson and Kieran Culkin at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, in RealVideo and QuickTime formats
Sharon Stone at the premiere of The Mighty
Mighty Hard Work
: interview with Sharon Stone, by Edvins Beitiks, San Francisco Examiner
Sharon Stone: "When Miramax told me I could play a mom, after many people told me that was a complete impossibility, I jumped at the chance."
"Elden Henson is a wonderful actor, very developed as an artist. He was very helpful to me in the hospital scene, which was much more of an improvisational scene. It's hard for a young actor in an improvisational scene with the other actors going crazy."
"The film is much better than I imagined it could be. It doesn't condescend to teenagers. It inspires them."
On Location With The Mighty
: a journal from the set of The Mighty, by Rodman Philbrick, author of the novel Freak the Mighty
Rodman Philbrick: "Outside in the hall is Elden Henson, the last minute casting choice to play Max. Elden is big and burly, a shy but friendly and totally unaffected kid who studies film-making at Emerson College when he's not starring in movies. Over the next 24 hours I would be amazed by his uncannily natural performances, and by the way the cameras pick up every flicker of emotion from his round, expressive face. Moments later a skinny little boy in a wheelchair is waving at me. Kieran Culkin. Over the next two days I will learn that Kieran's performances are equally astonishing. He's able to hit his marks, deliver his lines as if he just thought of them that very moment— and do it again and again as the director works for the perfect take."
A new interview with Rodman Philbrick
: including his thoughts on the release The Mighty and even a mention of this website!
Go to the Elden Henson page.
Go to the Kieran Culkin page.
Return to "The Mighty" fan page.