Joseph Gordon-Levitt talks learning to walk a high wire for 'The Walk'
Joseph Gordon-Levitt talked to theGrio about learning how to walk on a high wire from Philippe Petit for his role in the film The Walk.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt talked to theGrio about learning how to walk on a high wire from Philippe Petit for his role in the film The Walk.
The film is based on Petit’s incredible feat of walking between the twin towers of the World Trade Center on August 7, 1974. Over 100 stories and over 1,300 feet in the air Petit captured the attention of New Yorkers below when he walked between the towers for 45 minutes.
Gordon-Levitt said it was Petit’s optimism and positivity that helped him learn to walk the wire before filming began.
“Not everyone who’s good at something is also good at teaching it, so I wasn’t sure how Philippe was going to be as a teacher,” the 34-year-old told theGrio. “But I was relieved because it turned out he was actually really great.”
Director Robert Zemeckis truly captures the beauty of the towers and Petit’s love of them. It’s been just 14 years since the towers fell on 9/11, and the film’s cast recognizes what a film like this will mean to New York City.
“I think the towers are a main character in the film,” said Gordon-Levitt, adding that “Philippe is always personifying the towers. He’s always talking about them as a sort of love affair that he has.”
Gordon-Levitt’s co-stars James Badge Dale and Ben Schwartz are both native New Yorkers and shared what working on this film has mean to them.
“That’s apart of our city’s history, that’s our culture, that’s our fabric — that skyline,” Dale said about the twin towers. “And to me there’s something beautiful about remembering the birth of these buildings.”
The Walk hit IMAX 3D theaters Wednesday and will open nationwide Oct. 9.
