The Big Picture

Collider’s Steve Weintraub speaks with Joseph Gordon-Levitt for Prime Video’s
Killer Heat
.
Philippe Lacôte’s
Killer Heat
is a murder mystery set on Crete with twin brothers in a love triangle.
Gordon-Levitt discusses his love for
Street Fighter II
, future directing projects, and more.

Some of us have grown up with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, flapping our arms for the Angels in the Outfield and laughing our asses off at 3rd Rock From The Sun. Now, from blockbusters to indies, Gordon-Levitt has become a household name. The actor’s latest role in Prime Videos’ Killer Heat lands him in contemporary noir as a detective in over his head.

From director Philippe Lacôte and adapted from bestselling author and producer Jo Nesbø’s short story, Killer Heat is a murder mystery set on the Greek island of Crete. Twin brothers (Richard Madden) are caught in a dangerous love triangle. A broken detective, Nick Bali, also known as “The Jealousy Man” (Gordon-Levitt), is brought in to investigate the case. The film also stars Shailene Woodley.

During this interview, Gordon-Levitt sits down with Collider’s Steve Weintraub to discuss the tradition of filming murder mysteries, whether he has a directorial follow-up to Don Jon and Mr. Corman, and who his Street Fighter II character is.

Joseph Gorden-Levitt Learns About 1:6 Scale Arcade Games’
Image via Prime Video

COLLIDER: How are you doing today, sir?

JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT: Good, man. Wait a minute, that’s not a green screen background. What is all that stuff behind you?

It’s a lot of 1:6 scale video games.

GORDON-LEVITT: They look like arcade games, but they’re small, right? Unless they’re like a mile behind you. What are they?

No, there’s a company that makes these.

GORDON-LEVITT: [Pans camera to arcade game]

Oh, snap! That’s all the games for me to select. That’s funny!

GORDON-LEVITT: [Laughs] I got that thing when I was 11 years old.

That’s amazing. The ones I have actually all work.

GORDON-LEVITT: You want me to turn that thing on? Because I can. [Laughs] Alright, we’re doing this?

Let’s go!

GORDON-LEVITT: We’re gonna do this. Here we go! Oh, shit, wait. I hid the key so that my little kids couldn’t come in and play it whenever they want. We’re not talking about Killer Heat at all. We’re talking about Street Fighter II, but fuck it!

[Steve turns on his 1:6 scale Arcade Game]

GORDON-LEVITT: Look at that. That’s crazy, dude.

I love these things. I would have all those life-size games, but I don’t have the space, and it’s a lot of money. But I can play these.

GORDON-LEVITT: But it feels expensive to make them even at that scale. How do you make one of those?

I hate saying this, but if you buy them when they’re on pre-sale, they’re $160, but anywhere between $160 and $250, depending on what it is. These things are amazing. Also, what’s funny is every single person watching this is like, “You’re not talking about the movie.” But here we go. [Arcade game animates]

GORDON-LEVITT: No way. Wow. So then, do you play it like this? You can operate that joystick?

Yeah, they all work. They’re incredible.

GORDON-LEVITT: Amazing!

Joseph Gorden-Levitt On The Important Subjects: ‘Street Fighter II’
”If someone’s actually good at Zangief, it’s very hard to beat them.”
Image via Prime Video YouTube

Who’s your character on Street Fighter II ?

GORDON-LEVITT: Oh, I could play with anybody. If I really need to beat you, I’m gonna probably play with Ryu or Guile. The most recent one I played was with Dhalsim. I like Dhalsim a lot.

He’s tough. The thing I love about Street Fighter II the most is that if you are an expert at any of the characters, you can beat anybody. But I like Ken and Ryu, and I really do like Zangief a lot.

GORDON-LEVITT: That’s hard. That’s hard to be good at him. If someone’s actually good at Zangief, it’s very hard to beat them.

Well, the secret to Zangief is you have to be able to get close. If someone is good with Ken and throwing things to keep you away, you’re gonna lose.

GORDON-LEVITT: I would play Dhalsim. If you were gonna play Zangief, I would play Dhalsim. I’d keep you away with my stretchy-ass arms and legs.

I played this far, far too many times.

Why Wouldn’t Joseph Gordon-Levitt Film A Movie In Greece?

Your team is like, “Steve, shut the f up.”

GORDON-LEVITT: We’ll talk about the movie, too! Watch Killer Heat, streaming on Amazon Prime! There, now they’re happy.

True or false: you took this role because you wanted to get a vacation on Crete.

GORDON-LEVITT: True.

What was it about the project and the script that actually made you say, “I really want to do this?”

GORDON-LEVITT: This is a classic murder mystery. We’ve been making murder mysteries here in Hollywood since the dawn of the industry. People were writing those murder mysteries before that. There’s a reason this genre continues to live. It’s fun to watch. It’s adapted from a great short story by Jon Nesbø. Look, I was telling the truth. When Brad Weston, the brilliant producer, came to me and said, “We’re making this movie; it’s an adaptation of this short story, and it’s in Greece. Do you wanna come?” What was I gonna say? Like, “Yeah. That sounds good.”

‘Killer Heat’ Director Philippe Lacôte Is A Rare Voice From The Ivory Coast
“The mixture of genres, the way he tells the story, it’s really a unique movie.”
Image via Prime Video

One of the things I really appreciated is I watch a lot of movies just like you, and I really didn’t know how this was gonna end. When you’re getting a script like this, does anyone tell you anything? Or are they like, “Read it,” and you’re figuring it out as you’re actually reading it?

GORDON-LEVITT: No, no, they’re not gonna send me the spoilers. I wanna be able to read it fresh. This was a pretty collaborative process. Matt Charman is a great screenwriter, and Philippe Lacôte is a really interesting filmmaker. I know you’re a cinephile. I really recommend to anybody out there — and I know the folks who watch you have an open mind about movies — watch Philippe’s first movie. It’s called Night of the Kings. It was nominated for Best Foreign film. This is a director from the Ivory Coast, and he made a movie set there. It’s really unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Not just because you haven’t probably seen very many movies from the Ivory Coast but also the way he made this movie. The mixture of genres, the way he tells the story, it’s really a unique movie. So that was another big part of it. It was like, “Wow, getting a chance to take this great filmmaker, who’s made this movie, and be a part of his first Hollywood, English-language movie? Sign me up!”

What do you think soon-to-be fans of the film would be surprised to learn about the actual making of the film?

GORDON-LEVITT: It was actually written very quickly. The script was. The short story was what it was. But the script is a bit of a departure from the short story. For one thing, the protagonist of the short story is a 60-something-year-old Greek man. I am getting older, but I am not in my 60s [laughs], nor am I Greek! But the script came together real quick, and we wanted to make the movie. We got the script done just before the writers’ strike happened. We got the movie done just before the actors’ strike happened. It all went pretty fast, and the screenwriter, Matt Charman, had a few all-nighters in there. Down to the wire, getting the script done.

Will Joseph Gordon-Levitt Direct Another Film Soon?

It’s been a little over ten years since you directed, starred, produced, and wrote Don Jon . What is the status of Wingmen ? Are you directing something else?

GORDON-LEVITT: I directed a show called Mr. Corman, which I’m really proud of. It’s not a movie, it’s a show, but I pretty much treated it like a movie. That’s one I’m proud of. I’ve written some stuff we’ll hopefully get to make and direct again soon. Thank you for bringing it up. I’m very flattered you’d ask.

What are you actually filming this year? Do you have plans for stuff that’s coming up?

GORDON-LEVITT: Not right now. No, not at the moment. Nothing to talk about yet.

Yeah, it’s one of these things where you’re doing something, but you’re not allowed to talk about it. I get it, I do. Is there another game that you’re as obsessive with besides Street Fighter II ?

GORDON-LEVITT: No. No, this is my game. That’s the one for me. I fell off video games, to be honest. I wish I had been paying more attention over the last 20 years to video games. There are only so many hours in the day, but this one I’m still fairly competitive at.

I’m in the same boat as you. I love video games, but the ones that are out now require, like, 100 hours, and I don’t have 100 hours.

GORDON-LEVITT: [Laughs] I’m a dad, guys. Sorry, I’m changing diapers. I don’t have time to play!

What’s funny is I didn’t know you had kids. Congratulations! I’m so out of the loop on people’s personal lives.

GORDON-LEVITT: I try not to be too public with my personal life. I’m just as happy that you didn’t know!

Killer Heat is available to watch on Prime Video.

Watch On Prime