Patrick Wilson on Sarah Palin: ‘I Can’t Go There’

Patrick Wilson is living in a pre-Watchmen world. The Florida-born actor has been gamely employed since playing a pedophile in the indie thriller Hard Candy opposite Ellen Page. But on March 6 (assuming a current legal battle between Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox doesn't delay its release), an adaptation of the most celebrated graphic novel of all time will hit theaters featuring Wilson in a plum role as the superhero Nite Owl. But until Watchmen hits, Wilson's got some promotin' to do, namely for Lakeview Terrace, in theaters today.

In the paranoid thriller directed by Neil LaBute (a specialist in twisted human rapport), Wilson plays a new homeowner who encounters neighborly wrath when the police officer living next door (a sinister Samuel L. Jackson) disapproves of his interracial marriage to an African-American woman played by Kerry Washington. As the hostility escalates, Wilson’s character is forced to go beyond the duties of your average white-collar gent, descending into a game of deadly one-upmanship. I sat down with Wilson to talk about the beauty of suburbia, the future of Watchmen, and some broad named Palin. 

So your character in the movie hides smoking from his wife. Do you hide anything from your wife?
Nice try, next question.

Who would you want to live next door to if you could live next door to anyone?
I’d want to live next door to a police officer, because that’s what this movie is.

Have you ever had a neighbor that has caused you any trouble?
No. I’ve had to answer that question all day, not to take anything away from it. I don’t have anything fun to say other than that my neighbor helped me into my apartment the other night because I locked myself out.

Do you live in a suburban environment?
No, I live here. I live in Brooklyn.

Is suburbia something that you want to try and avoid for the rest of your life, or do you see yourself gravitating back towards it?
I mean, I grew up pretty suburban. I grew up in Florida and I enjoy that lifestyle, I do. But it’s funny. I think there’s an idea in some ways of it being relaxed and, you know, you have block parties and go to great lengths for each other. I think what’s interesting is that your next door neighbors can seem to have this idyllic scene from the outside, and you have no idea what goes on inside that home, like here’s my neighbor for 20 years, who’s been killing people this whole time. That’s an extreme case, but you have your own standard, you have your own moral code, your own ethics, your own ideas. And you could have someone on the other side of that wall that’s completely different. In the suburbs, it’s like, “This is my plot, I bought this, and this is how I want to do it. Don’t cut down my trees!” There’s always that fight. “If there’s a tree hanging over, I’m cutting it down.” It’s really like your own world, your own domain.

Wilson with Samuel L. Jackson in Lakeview Terrace.

Would you want your kids to be raised in the city or the suburbs?
I see the benefits of both. My wife was raised in the city, and she turned out great. And I was not raised in the city, and I turned out okay. I personally like a yard, and driving, and all that kind of stuff. That idea appeals to me from a social level. In the city, I think it’s great that kids grow up around other classes, and ethnicities. I think that kind of social awareness is important.

Your character isn’t afraid of confrontation, and he stands up for himself, his wife, and his home, no matter how extreme the situation. Can you relate to that?
Every now and again. To be honest with you, I think when you’re fighting for what you believe in, and when it’s your family, it’s amazing what lengths you will go to. And certainly when you become a father, it’s astounding.

Can we talk about Watchmen?
Sure.

There’s this legal battle between Fox and Warner Bros. How do you feel about people saying it might not get released?
It’s just annoying. It’s frustrating, but just like anybody else, I know what you know, I only know what I read in the Times. I know that with the money that was spent on the movie, of course it’s going to be released, like what are you talking about? It’s so huge a movie that they’re going to fight over it. Trust me, this kind of lawsuit happens a lot, but you don’t hear about it because there’s not usually this much hype around the movie.

Have you seen it?
Not the whole thing.

Kevin Smith saw it and called it “fucking astounding.”
Yeah well, I have a hard time thinking it’s going to be any less than awesome. It’s going to be a vision of its own.

How’d you put on weight for the role?
A lot of really high-calorie shakes mixed with peanut butter. And ate as much as I wanted to and, then I didn’t really run.

If you could only watch one movie for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Star Wars, yeah, without a doubt. We watched it at a bachelor party two weeks ago.

If you had the ability to travel through time, would you want to do it as a silent observer, or would you want to interact with your surroundings, knowing you would have the responsibility of altering the future or the past?
Well, that’s interesting. I haven’t thought about that. I like the way that things have turned out. No, I don’t think I’d want interact. I think I’d just sort of hang out and see my relatives. I want to see my family and see how that all went down.

Do you know what part of the world they were from?
Virginia, for many, many, many generations.

So what do you think about Sarah Palin?
I can’t go there. I’m just being honest.

Wilson as Nite Owl in Watchmen.