The Hitcher - One Of the Best Darn Movies From the 1980s

[Mal12345]

Fuck the 2007 remake of this movie.

"Well... what happened to you?"

"Nothing..."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing happened."

 

[Mal12345]

"The Hitcher was a real important film for me as an artist, but more importantly, for me as a person. I was 17 or 18 when I did that movie, just starting to really understand what it was to be an actor. I'd done some movies prior to that where I really was clueless. I had no idea what I was doing on The Outsiders, I had no idea what I was doing in a lot of those movies I did, whether it was Secret Admirer or Tank or Grandview U.S.A. or A Tiger's Tale. I was just sort of handed a gift at a young age, and I really only knew enough to get into a world of trouble at that point. The Hitcher kind of was a pinnacle for me, because of Rutger Hauer, who's an amazing actor; Jennifer Jason Leigh, who's an award-winning actress and still the most committed actor I've ever worked with to this day; and Jeffrey DeMunn, an incredible guy who has trained more in theater and done some great roles. I was working with these people, who really gave me an opportunity to sit down with each one of them and discuss the craft and how to build a character and how to make choices. At that point, I hadn't really done that. I was just going through the motions, playing these roles of young teenage boys, where the choices are made just by showing up. I mean, you're a young teenage boy, you're playing a young teenage boy. There isn't a whole lot of thinking that goes into that. But The Hitcher was my first step toward adult roles, and the experience of that film is what really made me want to do it for life. It was a time when I was trying to figure out who I was as a human being, as an artist. You're judged so harshly at that point in your life, not only by yourself, but also by your peers. It's a difficult time. Being a teenager really sucks. It's a hard time of life, and I'm about to have two of 'em. I've got one kid who's now 20, but I've got a 16-year-old boy, and I've got a boy who's 12 and just about to step into his teens. I recall my teen years, and I remember that as being the hardest time of my life. You just care so much about what other people think, and it's painful. The Hitcher, for me, was my first step out of that area and into becoming an adult, and I'm so thankful for that role. That experience is one of my favorite experiences in my career, and it's also one of my favorite films."

C. Thomas Howell, IMDB.com