Kitsch on 'The Grand Seduction' and his busy career

Taylor Kitsch has gone from a drunken fullback in the great "Friday Night Lights" to a full-fledged movie star, with projects lining up like planes on a runway during a thunderstorm.

Kitsch, 33, stars in "The Grand Seduction," which opens Friday, June 20. It's a comedy, something of a departure for an actor who has acted in such big-budget dramas and action films as "John Carter" and "Battleship," and smaller movies like "Lone Survivor" and "The Bang Bang Club."

Kitsch talked recently about his experience bouncing from TV to blockbuster to indie film.

Question: You've been busy lately, with "The Grand Seduction" and HBO's "The Normal Heart" coming out at almost the same time.

Answer: Yeah, you know, obviously I have no power over release dates, but these two things came out pretty identical to each other, so we're just doing a bit more press than usual.

Q: Doing a comedy like "The Grand Seduction" is a bit of a departure for you. Did you like doing comedy?

A: I loved it, man. I really did. We're always looking out for something different to do, and that's been my whole career, hopefully, that we can do these huge departures, and escape. If it's a comedy, or an intense drama like "Normal Heart," or whatever it is. But I had a blast.

Q: Some actors say comedy is harder than drama. Do you agree?

A: No, I disagree. I think it all depends who you're acting off of, and the material, obviously. I was really lucky to be working with one of the best. You're not going to meet another actor who cares as much as Brendan Gleeson (his co-star in "The Grand Seduction") does. And he's so good and he's grounded, and god knows how many times I tried to break him and make him crack, but he would just keep flying with me. It was a blast to work off of and with him.

Q: He seems genuine.

A: He's very real. That care really does show under the surface when he's on-camera. That's an infectious thing when you're on set. It's all about potential and reaching the full potential we can. It makes it a great experience.

Q: You were, of course, on the TV version of "Friday Night Lights," so you get a free pass for life.

A: (Laughs) Yeah.

Q: You guys were kids then. It's interesting to see so many of you do so well.

A: No doubt. We even knew it. I think (Kyle) Chandler and Connie (Britton) knew it a bit more than us, because we were obviously a lot more raw and green. But we knew it was a special experience, from the improv to our process to just being in our own little bubble and not worrying about anything else. That's a rare thing, as well. It felt like we were very protected, and we could just do our thing.

Q: Do you just assume all jobs will be that way?

A: I went from, I think, from Season 2 to ("X-Men Origins: Wolverine"). We don't use marks (on "Friday Night Lights"), we don't rehearse, it's 90 percent natural lighting. And then I go to this huge superhero movie, and I'm like, there's marks, don't get out, you can only move an inch or two one way or the other. There's definitely some growing pains. There's no doubt we were incredibly spoiled.

Q: You've done big-budget movies and smaller films. Is one more rewarding than the other?

A: Everything has its own challenges, positives and negatives. I think the most rewarding, personally, have been the things like breathing life into a Mike Murphy (in "Lone Survivor") or "Normal Heart" or Kevin Carter in "The Bang Bang Club." Those, to me, are on a different level, and they're hard to compare to other things. You know what you're getting if you sign on to something huge. You're telling a different story, and it's a different kind of escape. But for me personally, those are the ones that have probably affected me the most.

Q: Is doing such different work part of a plan?

A: Yeah. I mean, it really is. You just want to be scared, and challenge yourself and tell these stories. It's that simple. You want to grow from these experiences. I think with anything in life, on- or off-camera, when you're scared you're going to get the best out of yourself, and that's what I love. Through that experience, you're empowered by it, win or lose. That's the beauty of it. I'm really kind of proud of the track I'm on, and hopefully we can continue this.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: twitter.com/goodyk.