Exclusive Interview with The Sacrament’s AJ Bowen

This week, Magnet Releasing is bringing Ti West’s The Sacrament to limited theaters and Daily Dead had the opportunity to chat with one of the film’s stars, AJ Bowen, about his experience working on the project.

Bowen also discussed why West is a guy he’ll always trust, the magic that happened during the pivotal scene he shares with Gene Jones, who portrays the enigmatic cult leader known only as “Father”, and how shooting documentary-style forced him to change up his performance approach.

Congrats on a great movie, AJ. It’s really stuck with me the last few weeks and I think it might be my favorite movie that you’ve done with these guys. I know there’s a friendship and professional admiration between you and Ti, but what was it specifically about The Sacrament that appealed to you as a performer?

AJ Bowen: You know, it’s definitely my favorite movie that I’ve worked on, but that’s really a personal matter of taste. I think the biggest thing for me was that Ti was telling a complex story and raising some really intriguing issues. But really, though, any time Ti calls me up and tells me that he’s working on a project that he wants me involved, that’s all I need  to hear for me to be on board. Ti’s a good guy and he’s super talented, so whenever someone like that calls and says that have a movie for me, I don’t need to ask to read the script or anything. You just say yes.

When I did finally read the script, what was interesting and challenging to me was that this was a different dynamic than I am used to as an actor. I know it may sound weird to say this, but I prefer having the responsibility and the weight of carrying a film; I just really enjoy it. The thing that was the most challenging for me in The Sacrament was that no one was going to notice me at all. Because of how the role was written, I had to deliver a really subtle performance, so I really thought this maybe was going to be the movie where people finally started to shit all over me. Thankfully, we’ve had the opposite response.

I was able to play a kind of character I’ve never really played before. Essentially, he’s a good guy. He’s a bit exploitative, because he is a journalist, but he isn’t a bad guy at all. That was new territory for me (laughs).

I know there’s been some discussion about whether or not The Sacrament is found footage and whether or not filmmakers can get away with shooting documentary-style anymore because everyone looks down on it. Personally, I find that it’s still a viable format and thought the way Ti framed everything within this idea of making a VICE documentary added another layer of authenticity that made the film all the more terrifying. What were your initial thoughts about making The Sacrament in this style and how much did that inform your performance during production?

AJ Bowen: You know, before we started shooting I actually had arguments with Ti about shooting The Sacrament traditionally because this was the biggest movie we had collaborated on together and I didn’t believe that if we shot the movie mockumentary-style it would reflect that. I realize now in retrospect that what I was really worried about were semantics more than anything and I now know that Ti couldn’t have made this movie any other way.

Shooting in this style also changes how you build a performance too. Not only because you’re kind of making a movie while making a movie, but also because, with this style, there are no push-ins. There are no insert shots and most of the shots we did were long takes. The scene I did with Gene was done in 17-minute takes. We had to shoot it that way so it had a loose and free feeling that was authentic to Ti’s vision.

And that’s why I completely trust Ti- he knew it was the right decision to make The Sacrament the way we did. You just should always trust what Ti says- always. Something else that we discussed was how I’d approach this role because it had two sides to it. Sure there was this on-camera personality that had to be charming and sort of schmooze people to get the stories he wanted, but at the same time, he’s still a guy who cares so when everything breaks down on the compound and you can see he’s genuinely concerned for these people. It was an interesting dynamic.

You just mentioned that pivotal scene with Gene and I wanted to ask you about it just because it really was the turning point in The Sacrament. I just loved that moment where he turns things on you and you can see that your character is visibly shaken by it. What was the atmosphere like during that scene?

AJ Bowen: Incredible. So much of that came just from the fact that Gene is an absolutely amazing actor. We had 200 extras- and I say extras in only the loosest sense because what we really had were 200 additional actors not just extras- on set the day that we shot that scene and the energy they brought to it was so magical. It was real and you could feel it pulsating. When we started, I just felt like I was riding this wonderful ride along with every single one of them.

What’s even more amazing is that everyone nailed that scene in our very first take and a lot of what made it into the final movie is from that take. Something like that doesn’t happen very often, if ever. It just had this wonderfully organic nature to it that came from everyone being so emotionally invested in the moment. I think we all knew after that first take that we were doing something special.