Being Ira: A Conversation with Alan Alda
In The Longest Ride, the lives of two couples from different eras become intertwined after a series of serendipitous events.
Sophia (Britt Robertson) a university student, and Luke (Scott Eastwood) a professional bull rider, have just begun a very passionate relationship, despite different backgrounds and personal goals. One night they witness a car accident, and rescue Ira (Alan Alda) an old man who has recently lost the love of his life, Ruth. The young couple discover Ira’s chest of love letters to his wife, and develop a bond with the ninety-one year old man. This friendship inspires Sophia and Luke to reconsider their personal ambitions in order to let go to their new love. Set in the beautiful scenery of North Carolina, The Longest Ride is a timeless story of romance and long-lasting love, based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks.
Academy Award® and Tony® nominee Alan Alda (The Aviator) is a six-time Emmy Award® and Golden Globe Award® winner. In his rich six-decade long career in Cinema, Theatre and TV, he has portrayed many beloved characters, most notably Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H, and Arnold Vinick in The West Wing.
In the conversation below, Alan Alda discusses how he was initially drawn to The Longest Ride for the challenge of playing a much older character than himself. Also, how he was quickly charmed by this wonderful, untypical story about long-lasting love. “The Longest Ride is not just about the first blush of youthful romance.”
What attracted you to the character of Ira?
I usually get attracted more to the writing of the piece than I do to a character. In this case, one of the things that attracted me to the character was that he is quite a bit older than me. I wondered if I would be able to do that. Whenever I hear myself wondering if I will be able to do that, then I want to do it. That means I won’t be repeating myself, it’s something I haven’t done before. It makes me curious and interested.
And the story interested me because it’s a story about love that goes on for a long time, not just the first blush of youthful romance. That is a wonderful thing but most movies end right as they are entering the new phase of a more interesting kind of love, which is long range love, a long term love. I like that. I haven’t seen many movies like that.
There’s a key sentence that your character says: “Love is sacrifice.”
I don’t actually believe love is sacrifice. I think from the outside you could say this person is sacrificing for the other person. But if you really do it out of love, you are doing it because you want the other person to have what is good for them. You do what you need to do and thrive on that. You have done something really good and really helpful and that feels good. It doesn’t feel like a sacrifice.
Letters are such an important part of the movie. What is so timeless and romantic about writing letters?
I don’t know if I have written any love letters in my life, maybe one or two to my wife early on. We write little notes to each other. Once in a while we write each other a real love letter, where you go into depths. I think we do that on a birthday or something like that, where we really are reminded how much the other person means. It is nice to put it into words. When you read love letters from the past, people reveal things about themselves that you just can’t reveal in 140 characters.
How was it for you to work with Britt and Scott?
I loved working with Britt and Scott. They both have this wonderful ability to be present when you talk to them. You look them in the eyes and you are looking at a real person, you are not looking at somebody pretending to be a person. And Scott has that wonderful economy. He doesn’t seem to be doing anything then you watch him on the screen and you see emotion. It’s very nice. They are both admirable.
Can you imagine an audience seeing this movie at home or in a context that is different than a theater?
Oh sure. I think this movie is as enjoyable at home as it is in the theater. In fact, maybe more enjoyable at home because the box of Kleenex is closer for when you break down, especially during one of my big scenes. (laughs)
THE LONGEST RIDE IS OUT NOW ON DVD
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