Just keep it simple.
I generally respond to the simple.
What sort of watches have you gravitated towards from Tag, and why?
I mean, the Monaco's kind of hard to, uh,
miss. It's so unique. I remember seeing it in Le Mans and just feeling like it's obviously very special. But I think the Carrera, for me, is just what I respond to.
And you really like vintage watches, too. What is it about vintage that you're really drawn to?
I feel like what's cool is you could put this in any situation and any time period over the last century and it probably still would've been cool. So, for myself anyway, I'd rather have something that I could just wear in any situation and not have to think too much about it.
You mentioned that sometimes watches can define or say something about a character in a movie. In this movieThe Gray Manyou have coming out, all the characters wear Tag Heuer. So what about those watches was right for those characters?
Well, the character has to be able to kind of go into many different kinds of situations and assume different personas and blend in and also is involved in so many extreme action moments. So the watch had to be able to work in all those different scenarios and also be able to be resilient enough to believably take all of the extreme situations it was in. I mean, we really beat the hell out of it and it just kept going.
That's cool. And Tag Heuer has a nice history of representing different characters. Steve McQueen chose the Monaco inLe Mansbecause that’s the brand a real-life driver would have worn.
Yeah, and in Drive, I had this thought that the character wouldn't trust the timepiece in whatever burner car he was using. So he would fix his watch to the steering wheel. And I wanted it to be really simple and legible so that it was not only clear for the camera, but clear for the character exactly how much time he had.
And partly because ofDrive,Tag is referring to you as the heir apparent to Steve McQueen. What do you think when you hear that?
I don't know much about Steve McQueen. I mean, I know a little of his work. And obviously I know of his connection to racing, so I see why he was a perfect fit. I also think there's something about watches that are... whatever history they come with, they're always present. They're always just in the moment. And I think that's something McQueen possessed as an actor. He was a very in-the-moment kind of actor.
Well, let's pivot from watches for one second. You fly very under the radar. I wonder how has the past year and a half been for you in the pandemic? Picked up any hobbies? Are you making sourdough or anything?
No, no sourdough. Our kids are young, so it was a tough time for them to be separated from other kids and not being able to see family and whatnot. So, we did our best to entertain them. I think Eva and I did more acting in quarantine than we have in our whole careers.
Really dramatic bedtime stories with the voices and all that?
Yeah, we spent a lot of our time just doing that.