Why We Do

And HERE’s… DANE!!!! Meet Dane DeHaan. Actor and wood chopping enthusiast.

We shot Dane on the last weekend of winter at his private kingdom outside of New York, hence these VERY gorgeous, very unseasonal shots of the neverending winter that could. A fitting segue into summer, in remembrance of things past. Dane is charming, surprising, kind, thoughtful, and most importantly, genuine. He genuinely gives a shit about what he chooses to give a shit about. We spoke with him about what moves him, WHY WE DO, and what’s in the work.

BY ERIN WALSH

Erin Walsh Joseph Conrad writes “I don’t like work–no man does–but I like what is in the work–the chance to find yourself. Your own reality–for yourself not for others–what no other man can ever know. They can only see the mere show, and never can tell what it really means.”
Let’s talk about work. We shot you at your own private Idaho. What does it
mean to you to have a home away from home, to find a different kind of work?

Dane DeHaan It’s become very important to me. I travel so much for work. Just knowing I have somewhere private to call my own keeps me grounded wherever I am around the world. And I do lead a very different kind of life there. I have found great pleasure in a slower pace of life and just doing simple tasks, whether it be gardening, laying stone, chopping wood. They are very meditative in the doing of them, and the results are immediate and tangible. Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have thought I’d ever leave the city if I didn’t have to… but I’ve found that having somewhere in and out of the city has brought a certain kind of balance to my life.

EW What is it in the work of acting that moves you?

DD It’s something I’ve always loved to do. So there is a large part of it that I feel like is just in me. When I’m acting, I feel fulfilled. I feel focussed. It is my passion. I also have a fascination with human nature. I like to think about why a person has become who they are today. What motivates them? What drives them forward? How does what they do inform who they are? These are questions I feel like are always on my mind whether I’m acting or not. But acting helps me to dig deeper and understand humanity on a deeper level, and that is incredibly moving to me.

EW You have spent many of the past several years filming back to back projects- always on film sets. What was it like to finally have some time off?

DD It was a very special “time off” because I became a father. Which completely turned my world upside down and inside out and expanded my mind and heart in a way that has been incredibly, incredibly, incredible. And it also made my work have more purpose. It has never been more important for me to balance professional time with personal time. If I’m going to work, especially if I’m traveling, it has to be for something I truly feel compelled to be a part of.

EW Do you find “alone” time to be rewarding or just plain scary?

DD Rewarding. Well…It’s rewarding to do things that scare you. And I definitely value “me” time and think it is incredibly important to carve out time for myself even if that means sleeping a little less. I value my individuality and that is easy to lose track of if I don’t listen to and take care of myself too.

EW Tell us about your childhood. When did you know you wanted to be an actor?

DD I had a very comfortable, if not stereotypical, suburban upper-middle class childhood. One thing that was great about that was all of the opportunity I had to explore the things I loved. Since I can remember, acting was the thing that I’ve always loved doing most. My parents were very supportive and allowed me to follow my passion.

EW I have to ask you- one of the reasons why we started SBJCT was that I have had a real issue over the years with various talent that I get to work with, how their point of view is always twisted in a different direction when they are interviewed or featured in a press outlet. When has this happened to you? And is there anything that you, Dane DeHaan, would like to clarify, that you feel has been mis-stated in past articles?

DD Ya know, I haven’t had much of a problem with most of the articles I’ve read. I think in part that has to do with having really caring publicists that find great writers to do the interviews. I find journalists are often trying to qualify me as a certain thing. Label me. But I suppose that’s there job. A lot of times in interviews I find myself just rewording their leading questions in an effort to make them realize what I am is a human being. And human beings aren’t as quantifiable as perhaps they want us to be. But I really don’t sweat it too much. Nor do I spend much time reading articles about myself for that matter.

EW Last year was interesting- you had two enormous films with enormous expectations that somehow weren’t received as perhaps they should have been. I have always thought, that it must be pretty confounding to have to let go of a project once you are done filming. I.e., you put in the work, you do the work, and then after that, you kind of let it go— are there ways that you can, as an actor, have more control over the final product?

DD Probably, but I don’t think I would want that control. I very much enjoy doing what I do and I’m happy there are other people to edit, to direct, to sound mix, to produce, whatever. The films I made last year were made with great filmmakers. And they were both an attempt to break the mold and to challenge the world to embrace the weirdness. I was just happy to act in them.

Jacket Vintage courtesy of What Goes Around Comes Around Shirt Raleigh Denim Track Pants Prada Shoes Salvatore Ferragamo Beanie The Elder Statesman

EW Who advises you most in choosing a project?

DD Probably my manager Courtney, my wife, and my agent Chris.

EW Why is it important to be an actor? A running joke ( that I am sure you know) is that acting is the oldest profession alongside prostitution. I believe in the power of performance and moving people, but why are YOU an actor?

DD I’m an actor because that’s what I’m passionate about. That’s what gets my goat. That’s what I love to do more than anything. I can’t imagine doing anything else. It’s my way of expressing myself and hopefully making a difference to others. It’s my voice.

EW Favorite performances of all time? Films? Theater?

DD Pacino in The Godfather is maybe my favorite film performance of all time… also I saw Fiona Shaw in a production of Medea on Broadway that I am fairly certain healed me of a flu. Carey Mulligan in The Seagull was also an incredible stage performance. Also anything Philip Seymour Hoffman, always and forever.

EW Favorite way to unwind?

DD Probably goes back to the first questions… Going to my “own private Idaho” and garden, chop wood, lay stone, spend time with my family, golf, etc.

EW Best joke that you know?

DD I don’t know but I just watched this John Mulaney special on Netflix and I keep thinking about the part where he mentions his wife always says it’s like he’s running for mayor when they go out and it is still making me chuckle because that is exactly the dynamic I have with Anna. She is the most outgoing and kind person who just walks around Brooklyn saying hello to everyone and spreading sunshine and it really is like she is running for Mayor of literally nothing.

EW What is the most important thing you want your daughter to learn?

DD Wow. That’s a big question. Maybe that love is the most powerful thing in the world.

EW Has becoming a parent helped or hindered your creative process?

DD Helped. Definitely helped. I have become much more efficient and consequently focused on my work. And I have a well of emotions and understanding of humanity that I didn’t even know existed before.

EW What do you hope your legacy will be?

DD I just want to do good work, and I guess, to be known as a person that did a bunch of good work.

EW Beverage of choice?

DD Mostly water. Although yesterday I had a Shirley Temple with Mezcal in it and it is now my drink of the summer.

EW Can you please tell our readers what makes your wife so wonderful? LEADING QUESTION 🙂

DD Really just so many things. She is the most empathetic, loyal, and loving person I know. And lately I have just been so proud of her. She is such an amazing and intuitive mother and it’s been so inspiring watching her with Bowie this past year or so. And then to see her enter back into the professional world like the boss that she is has been so awesome. She’s going to star in a new show on CBS called ‘The Code,’ and the fact that she accomplished that a year after having a baby is just so badass.

EW Car drive music (or podcast) of choice?

DD When I’m driving alone I like to listen to Pod Save America. When it’s a family road trip, we usually listen to the local radio station of wherever we may be.

EW Dane, are you an easy person to get to know?

DD I do not believe I am.

EW Current book you are reading?

DD I’m reading this book called ‘The Test.’ It’s a real life account of a person trying to decide whether or not to take the test which shows if you will one day have Huntington’s Disease. The character I’m currently playing has Huntington’s Disease. It’s a degenerative disease kind of like ALS that you can only get if one of your parents has or had it. If one of your parents has/had it you have a 50% chance of having it yourself and when you turn 18 you have the option of testing to see if you have the gene, and will one day have Huntington’s.

EW Go-to web sites?

DD NYtimes, Yahoo, and I definitely look at Instagram a lot, as well as, CNN. I also enjoy going from NYtimes to CNN to FoxNews and reading just the headline. I find it gives an interesting perspective on the world and isn’t too much of a time suck.

EW What is your favorite line you have ever had to say in a film?

DD Hmmm. I dunno. I improvised a line in ‘Place Beyond the Pines’ when Emory and I are smoking a menthol cigarette and I say “It’s like a breath of fresh air” and for some reason I am still very proud of myself to this day for that one. I also have some monologues in “Two Lovers and a Bear” that I find to be very beautiful. Also I just like to plug that film in general because it’s one of my favorite films I’ve made but probably the least seen.

Cardigan Vince Hoodie and Sweatpants Jason Scott Boots Alexander Wang

EW What is your favorite working experience thus far?

DD Gosh I’ve had so many great working experiences. I think I learned the most from ‘Place Beyond the Pines.’ I had the most fun with ‘Valerian’. ‘Two Lovers and a Bear’ was the greatest adventure. I would also like to add, especially because you are my stylist, that I have had the most loving and longstanding working experience with my PRADA family. I’ve had the opportunity to really get to know the people, and the brand, and work with such amazing photographers. They are all just the most wonderful people and I love them.

EW What else creatively can we expect from you in the coming year(s)?

DD Well I finished this film “The Kid” in which I play Billy the Kid. Ethan Hawke, who is the coolest by the way, plays Pat Garrett and it is directed by Vincent D’Onofrio. I’m actually on an airplane now on my way to Mexico to do my second block of shooting for this limited series called ‘ZERO ZERO ZERO.’ It’s about international drug trafficking and it will be on Amazon in the USA.

EW Dane DeHaan, what’s your SBJCT? What do you want our readers to leave this interview knowing more about?

DD My SBJCT is the power of doing. When I really do something it is an incredibly rewarding experience. Whether that is acting or chopping wood or parenting or loving or whatever… If I am really focused on the task at hand, singularly focused, and REALLY do it, then it is incredibly rewarding. And I hope that’s true of others too.
It’s why I have “i do.” tattooed on my forearm. Ultimately, we are what we do.