I was thrown into a community production of 'Bye Bye Birdie' or something when I was a kid. I wanted to just build the sets, but I wasn't allowed to just build the sets unless I auditioned for the play. So I auditioned for the play and was thrown into the chorus. During the course of that I fell in love with it, and I never really turned back.
Michael Stuhlbarg[Pawn Sacrifice is] about the 1972 chess championship between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. I play Paul Marshall.It was a great story of a very peculiar man, another genius who's troubled and lived an interesting life. I had great fun making that.
Michael StuhlbargI've found in my own life, if you try to struggle against what the universe is telling you, you set yourself up for more of a battle.
Michael StuhlbargAlong with reading as much as I could about Andy, several of the real folks came in besides Andy [Hertzfeld] - Joanna Hoffman and John Sculley and Steve Wozniak all came in and spoke with us - so we had the advent of being around the real people and feeling their spirit, in talking to them about what Steve was like, what their relationship was like, and how they felt about each other.
Michael StuhlbargThe key research I usually apply that allows me to understand the roles that I take on, starts with the script in front of me, and what it offers. I try to absorb as much of it as I can, in the time that I have to study it, and I like to change things up, if I have a choice in the matter... and I usually don't. I dream on it, write about and find out who the individual is, and try to bring him to life with as much human and truth as I can.
Michael Stuhlbarg