Garrett Talks About OTR and its Fans

How long were you attached to On the Road before it began shooting?

I got cast in September of '07.

Was there any thought, when you won the Tron part, "Okay, this will help me get my other film made?"

No, I mean ... When I was cast then, I wasn't really going to do anything until we did On the Road, and then after two years of not working, it was just fortunate that I was lucky enough to get a part in Tron. I was basically taking all my coins to Coinstar to be able to eat! But it was hard for me to detach myself from On the Road for a little time because I'd put a lot of work into researching that part, and you've gotta tie that kite to a post and hope that when you come back to it, it's still flying at the same height you left it at. So that was the worry in the back of my mind.

Was there any benefit to having gone off to do Tron, then coming back to the role?

Yeah, now I can't imagine what it would have been like had I not had these experiences. It was a lot of hard work and determination to put into Tron, in terms of the training and research for it and the long hours and focus, but you realize that your body and mind are able to put that into things. And then on Country Strong, to put six months of work into guitar training and go into the studio to sing and fail in front of people, then to get back up and know that you've had a little bit of progress and someone says that you're actually good for once ... moving to Nashville and living that life and actually getting to experience that lifestyle was a huge help to my work ethic. So when it came to On the Road, I realized that my body has a lot of coals in there that I can burn if I find the fire for it.

Which property has the more intimidating fans, Tron or On the Road?

Ha-ha! Goood question. I would say On the Road, but probably because I'm doing that now. There's a lot of people who say that the book changed their lives — then again, with Tron, there are a lot of people who say that they're in film today because of Tron! I guess the scale kind of balances a bit in terms of intimidation.

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