| Turner Network Television - June 25, 2003 |
By David Martindale |
When Jeremy Sisto was a kid, he saw himself as a misfit, as someone that
other people never truly "got." "I think it's the root
of why I became an actor," he says. "I always felt rejected
in my life, and there was a side of me that wanted to be acknowledged
and accepted." Now that he has everybody's attention, however, the
star of the new TNT Original Caesar realizes that the validation he craved
comes only from within. "What drives me now is the idea of exploring
different sides of myself, and showing sides that I've previously been
unwilling to show, and being challenged in ways that I haven't been challenged
before, and 'blah blah blah,' all that other stuff."
That's what a conversation with Jeremy Sisto is like. When talking
about his craft, he can shift mid-sentence from self-indulgent to self-deprecating.
"I'm serious about what I do," he explains, "but I try
not to take MYSELF too seriously. It's not always easy to walk that
line."
Sisto—whose performances have ranged from Clueless good guy in
1995 to bad-seed brother in the acclaimed HBO drama Six Feet Under to
the title role in the TV movie Jesus (2000) —got his start in
the Chicago theater scene while just a boy. He made his feature film
debut at age 16, playing Kevin Kline's son in Grand Canyon (1991), even
though he believed he had bombed his audition. Since then, he has been
working in film, television and theater all of his adult life. "I
have trouble believing in destiny and such things," Sisto says.
"But when I got Grand Canyon, it was totally from out of the blue.
And as I get more and more distance from that time in my life, more
and more I see how much of a gift it was, how much of a blessing, and
how the timing was impeccable. I don't know the reason why I've been
given this life, but I'm trying to follow this path with as much courage
and as much integrity as I can."
Perhaps Sisto gropes to understand the nuances of his life, his career
and his essence, because that's precisely what he does when he takes
on any new role. Be it a saint, a sinner or a psycho, Sisto wants to
get inside his character's head. That can be a tall order, especially
when portraying such iconic figures as Jesus and Julius Caesar. When
he played Jesus, for example, Sisto came to the conclusion (at about
the same time that he got to meet the Pope) that, "No interpretation
I could offer would please everybody, but I could at least try to make
him a real man and make him somebody that viewers could relate to."
As for this new role, one that called for him to embody a leader of
tremendous charisma and supreme arrogance, Sisto became an amateur Caesar
scholar. "He was famous for his willpower and for doing things
that seemed impossible," Sisto says of Caesar. "You have to
tap into yourself and understand that confidence." The same way
Sisto, years ago, looked deep inside himself and found someone worthy
of attention.
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