Aaron Paul Discusses His Role In Dual As Well As His Return To Jesse Pinkman - Exclusive Interview
What would you do if a perfect double of you existed? An even more terrifying question to ask is, what would you do if everyone in your life preferred the double over the original you, and you had to fight your double to the death? That's the horrifying, existential quandary Sarah (Karen Gillan) finds herself in for the latest science fiction satire, "Dual."
Sarah may have to fight her double eventually, but she has one whole year to prepare. To do that, she'll rely on the expertise of duel coach, Trend (Aaron Paul). Not only is it his job to teach her how to handle the various weapons that'll be at her disposal, but he'll also have to desensitize her to hopefully killing a human being who looks exactly like her.
Aaron Paul sat down for an exclusive interview with Looper to discuss his latest part. He also had time to chat about a highly anticipated role he has coming up that should excite his legions of "Breaking Bad" fans.
What it's like working with Karen Gillan
Do you mind [starting off] talking about some of your favorite movies of all time?
One, for sure, [is "2001: A] "Space Odyssey." "Stand by Me" is a film that made me realize I had to be an actor. "E.T." [and] "[The] Sandlot" [are both] classic ... It's endless. I don't have a favorite movie, but I have many.
What was it like working with Karen Gillan on "Dual?"
She's such a beautiful light to be around. I love her to death. I've been such a fan of hers, and she did such an incredible job with these roles in which I knew she would. It was a dream, she's incredible. I will always be rooting for her until my last breath and I hope to join forces with her again in the future ... Amazing, and to team up with [director Riley Stearns], I've been such a fan of Riley's for so long. I've been buddies with Riley for many years now. When he approached me to come play with him on a film set, I had to say yes.
On filming absurdism in Dual
Seeing as you're a duel trainer in the film, did you have to go through any special workout regimen?
No, not really. You never really saw him. You did see him do some moves, which Riley taught me on the day [of shooting them], but he lives and breathes training ... He really believes that this is his life's mission. He was born to train, and with the current society that film lives in, duels are commonplace. He's trained, I'm sure, many people for duels. Some have won, some have lost.
I don't suppose you've taken to hip-hop dancing since filming "Dual"?
I have not, but that was honestly, one of the best, one of the most fun scenes I've ever had on a film set before. After every take, Karen and I and the crew would burst out laughing. Sometimes even during takes, [it was] hard to keep it together. It was a great time.
If you, Aaron Paul, were in a duel, which weapon would you run for first?
A gun. You always have to go for the gun.
What was the most challenging or memorable scene for you to film?
The whole experience was such a whirlwind. We shot in Finland. All my stuff was shot in four days. I landed the day before we were shooting, so I was jet lagged the whole time. It was great. The slow motion fight sequence was the highlight, that and the hip-hop dance scene. It's ridiculous what we're doing. The story that we're telling is so fun. It was all great. Riley has such a unique voice and I love the story that he wants to tell. There's always a deeper meaning behind what's on the surface. I love it. I love the man, too. We've been friends for years, and I hope to work with him many, many more times in the future. He's the best.
With this film, the characters tend to have very deadpan expressions. Was that a challenge or did you adapt to that style pretty quickly?
Yeah, it was a unique take. It's just like any other job, and it's always a different world. It wasn't really a challenge for me. It was a unique take on a world. Again, I'm such a fan of Riley, so I knew what I was stepping into. I wasn't blindsided when I came to set. I felt like I had a pretty strong grasp on who Trent was and how he would be, in terms of delivery.
On his return to Albuquerque
You're set to make your return as Jesse Pinkman in the final season of "Better Call Saul," what was it like to step into those shoes once again?
I learned that the cat was out of the bag when I was going to the premiere party of the [final] season of "Better Caul Saul." Right when I arrived, some friends of mine from the PR side approached me as I was getting out of the car. They're like, "Hey, just so you know, Vince [Gilligan] and Peter [Gould] alluded to the fact that you guys were going to be in the show." I was like, "What? Okay, cool." With that said, I love not keeping secrets. I love talking about it. It's cool. It gets people excited. I could not be more excited. I'm such a huge fan of "Better Call Saul."
I feel blessed to be a big part of that universe that Vince created with "Breaking Bad," and now Vince and Peter with the rest of the writers with "Better Call Saul." I'm very excited for people to see what Bryan [Cranston] and I are doing, what we're up to.
What was it like to work with Bryan Cranston and Bob Odenkirk and just the old "Breaking Bad" crew again?
I'm not giving anything away, but it was great to get back out to Albuquerque and so much of the same crew from "Breaking Bad" is doing "Better Call Saul." It was so beautiful to play around with them again. They're truly my family and I feel so blessed to have that job [as] part of my life. It really is such a blessing. [I] couldn't be more thrilled to zip on that skin again.
Can you talk about any other projects you have coming up?
I finished the latest season of "Westworld" at the end of [2021]. That'll come out sometime this year, probably midyear. I'm taking the rest of this year off and the early part of next year, and focusing on my family. Bryan Cranston and I started a mezcal company. We've been working on it for about six years now. We started it. The idea/seed was planted [while he] and I were having dinner in New York having sushi. We were trying to come up with something to do together, and it was only three years post the finale of "Breaking Bad." I thought it was a little too early to share the screen or share the stage.
I said, "Well, what do you think about going into the booze business?" He kind of laughed at me and I go, "No, man, I'm being serious. What do you think about mezcal?" The seed was planted then, and then it started growing. It was all self-funded from the very beginning. This is such a labor of love. It's a full time job. It really is. We hire every single person ourselves and [are] extremely proud of the growth that we've had so far and the road ahead. I like to say I'm focusing on family and booze, and definitely in that order.
"Dual" is now playing in theaters. New episodes of the final season of "Better Call Saul" air Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.