On Monday, Armie Hammer was interviewed at the SCAD Museum of Art about the ups and downs of his work so far. Hammer spoke openly and candidly about the roles that have made him who is he is. He was animated, charming, and unapologetically himself. He more than highlighted his career; he told us his story.
Hammer spent most of his formative childhood in the Cayman Islands. The island was paradise, he said, but also completely boring. He quickly ran out of things to do and his escape became movies.
“Movies are magic,” he explained. “I haven’t lost that childlike appreciation. I remember thinking, ‘I want to do that.’ I wanted to be involved in movies [somehow].”
When he told his parents, they initially laughed at him, expecting him to do island community theater. The joke was lost on him at the time, but he was completely serious. For Hammer, he wanted his dream to become a reality. His first acting credit listed on IMDb was ‘Student #2’ on “Arrested Development.” It was a learning experience, taking skills he learned from school and applying them to the unique style of “Arrested Development.” Jason Bateman actually gave him advice.
“I had one line,” Hammer laughed. “He really coached me through it, he was very gracious. I haven’t seen him since, so I’ve never been able to say thank you.”
But “Arrested Development” started something. Soon after, despite the project eventually falling through, Hammer was slated to star in a Justice League film through Warner Brothers. This loss, though initially a massive blow, ended up providing Hammer with a connection to Warner Brothers that would prove to be a useful foothold. The connection provided him with a 4-episode arc on the CW’s “Gossip Girl.” Filming on a show that successful meant eyes were everywhere and fans were always chanting. It was his “first introduction to the bizarre aspect of this business,” he said. “It was insane.”
After a show that momentous, Hammer soon snatched up his breakthrough role: the Winklevoss twins on “The Social Network.” Hammer had been a longtime fan of David Fincher and working with him was a dream come true. Filming could be difficult. Fincher’s style was perfection, even if it took 70 or 100 takes. It was a close call with whether or not his part would be cut. Originally, the part of the Winklevoss twins was going to be split between Hammer and Josh Pence. However, eventually Fincher sat down both Hammer and Pence and told them that it would be just Hammer taking over the role. Pence would still shoot as a body double for Hammer for the scenes where the twins would interact, but overall, Pence’s face would not be featured in the film.
It was a bittersweet moment for Hammer, and a pivotal one nonetheless. Had he have been cut, his measure of success would be nowhere near the heights that it is at now. But for Pence, that became the reality. Hammer said he took it like a champ. According to Hammer, Pence said he would do whatever he needed to do to finish the film and finish it well. It was grace that Hammer has admired greatly. The experience was followed by perhaps one of his more peculiar work experiences; playing Clyde Tolson in “J. Edgar” under the direction of Clint Eastwood.
Eastwood filmed very differently than Fincher. There were no hundreds of takes, rather, Hammer said that at times if Eastwood “liked the rehearsal, that was it.” Hammer was hired without meeting him in person. There were no rehearsals he had to work through, instead, he was told where to be and when. He said the experience required him to hype himself up at times, remembering he could do this and he had to stop telling himself that he couldn’t. It proved successful. For his role, Hammer was nominated for a SAG Award. From here, he would soon head on to the “Lone Ranger.” The audience erupted with applause when it was announced.
“I think this is the first time someone has clapped for the Lone Ranger,” Hammer laughed
We laughed along with him. It was a grueling filming experience, requiring filming in Western heat where the cast would frequently camp overnight on location and ride on horseback to where they were filming. Despite all of this, and maybe because of it, Hammer said anytime he sees anyone that worked on that film they always embrace like old friends. “[It was] one of the greatest filming experiences I’ve ever had,” he said.
His career has since cannonballed into what we know him for now. He was renowned for playing Oliver in “Call Me by Your Name”, a heavily accoladed film, one with a sequel already in the works. A dreamy filming experience complete with riding bikes through the Italian countryside and building a lifelong friendship with co-star Timothée Chalamet. This film, in all its Oscar-buzzed glory, has brought Armie Hammer further into the limelight. In 2018 he’s starred in three films: “Sorry to Bother You,” “Hotel Mumbai” and “On the Basis of Sex.”
For the future, Hammer wants to direct. In every movie he’s been in he’s collected skills and lessons from the directors he’s worked with and the roles he’s taken. He’s always asking questions, always challenging himself, always pushing himself with the work he does. There is no box you can put him in. His childlike joy and admiration for
Olivia Greubel is a Copy Editor for District. She’s a senior writing major who will graduate in 2019.
