What A Pollock

Keeping an audience on the edge of its seats has long been a defining characteristic of Ed Harris's work and one that's rewarded him with three Oscar nominations to date. The actor's most recent nomination was for his work as an actor in Pollock - which although it was first released in the States over a year ago, has still to find a UK distributor. Luckily for audiences at the London Film Festival, there was a chance to see the film tonight (11 November 2001) as well as the opportunity to meet the man in person. And, as is now customary at these occasions, Empire Online was there to find out what makes Mr Harris tick. First things first - how had he come to take on board the project of acting and directing Pollock? 'I began to read about Pollock in the mid-80s and became very interested in him as a human being. The more I probed and read about the man the more I felt some affinity towards him. Something took over me and as time went by I got rather obsessed by it.' Part of that obsession, some journalists have posited stemmed from Harris strongly empathising with Pollock's feelings of insecurity. But it seems that it's not as clear as all that, as Harris explains. 'Pollock was a misfit most of his life from the time he was a young kid