Wait, Joseph Gordon-Levitt Says He Never Watched The O.C.?

For nearly 25 years, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been a professional actor, starting with his portrayal of student number one in Beethoven. Needless to say, Gordon-Levitt (“You can call me Joe, Joseph, Joey, Jose, Giuseppe, whatever you like,” the actor jokes) has come a long way in the years since. Now, he’s taking on the role of real-life whistle-blower Edward Snowden in the thrilling and captivating drama Snowden.

“Doing press for this movie is unlike doing press for any other movie I’ve been in,” says the married father during our interview. “We’re talking about democracy and technology—stuff you don’t get to talk about when you’re [normally promoting a movie].”

That’s not all we covered, though. Gordon-Levitt also talked with us about life as a child actor, the surprising reason why he dropped out of college, and the future of the new live-action Fraggle Rock movie that he’s starring in and producing. For the notoriously private actor, he’s refreshingly open.

Glamour: In an early scene, we see Edward Snowden sweating through numerous interviews with the CIA and NSA. How similar is that to the audition process you’ve gone through as an actor?

Joseph Gordon-Levitt: I’ve been on hundreds, if not thousands of auditions in my life. I went on a lot of auditions, though these days I’m lucky it’s been a while since I’ve gone one. I definitely did a lot of those, so did I relate those to Snowden in [his] interviews? I suppose, a little bit. There are certain similarities. Auditions certainly aren’t the most fun [to do], but it’s worth it to get a job. When I was young, I would go on one, maybe two a day, and you maybe get a job one out of 50 times, one out of 100 times.

Glamour: Shailene Woodley (she plays Snowden’s girlfriend in the film) told us the most hilarious story of the first time she found out who you were. Have you heard this?

JGL: No? [Laughs] I don’t think I know this!

Glamour: She said, for her, it was five years ago when she first watched Mysterious Skin, and she called her manager to say, “This guy is going to be a star! You should sign him!” And her manager had to say, “Um, he already is!”

JGL: That’s really funny! I was first aware of her in The Descendants. She was so good in that. I pay attention to younger actors because I was a younger actor; oftentimes younger actors are often given a pass because they’re young, which I think is bullshit. Am I allowed to say bullshit on Glamour.com?

Glamour: Haha, yes, you can.

JGL: OK, so it’s completely bullshit! Young actors can be the best actors! They are closer to the days when you can play pretend and are completely uninhibited.

Glamour: I was kind of hoping you were going to say you first noticed Shailene on The O.C.!

JGL: Oh, you think I watched The O.C.?

Glamour: Of course. [Laughs]

JGL: Sorry to disappoint you! I believe she was great on it though! She was in White Bird in a Blizzard, which Gregg Araki directed. He directed me on Mysterious Skin. [White Bird in a Blizzard] actually came out right as I had taken the job for Snowden, and they were starting to cast the role of Lindsay. I was hoping for her after seeing her in that role.

Glamour: In this movie, Snowden says he doesn’t drink or smoke and then he’s asked, “Well, what’s your vice?” He says,”Computers.” So, what is your vice?

JGL: Oh, interesting! I definitely have workaholic tendencies. When I’m working on a project, I can be pretty single-minded about it. I can stay up all night and not realize…I think it’s a similar thing to when Snowden says computers. When you get into writing code, you can get into tunnel vision. So when shooting or especially editing, it’s very much that way for me. I taught myself to edit when I was 21. I always wanted to because I always played with my family’s video camera, but it wasn’t until the early 2000s that video editing software finally became accessible to anyone with a computer. Once that became accessible to me, I got a copy of Final Cut Pro, and I dropped out of college. Honestly, if there’s one thing that influenced me dropping out of college more than anything it’s when I got Final Cut Pro. I could either be writing a paper for a class or editing this video, and it’s addictive. At least it is for me.

Glamour: Skepticism is a theme throughout the film, as well as trust. What are you skeptical of in this business?

JGL: Wow! I love that you asked that question. What’s funny is, the word skeptical to a lot of people nowadays has a negative connotation. You picture somebody is who grouchy as skeptical. That’s not what that word means. The word skeptical means someone who is not a sucker. The word skeptical is just someone who is curious enough to ask questions and really try to understand what is going on instead of just taking someone’s word for it. That’s what skepticism is. So, first I just want to say that. [Laughs] But what am I skeptical about in this business? Look, I’m in very privileged position, and I’m aware of it. There are people—today is a good example—telling me how great I am in this film, and it’s important to be skeptical of that. I’m proud of the performance too, but I have to remain skeptical. I’ll lose my mind if I’m not skeptical. People really talk up actors. [Laughs]

Glamour: How hard it is for you to watch yourself in this role or in any role?

JGL: It used to be really hard for me to watch myself because it’s just awkward. I think it’s pretty normal for people to have trouble watching themselves on video. I’ve spent a lot of time watching myself just learning how to edit from videos I did, so I got used to seeing myself. I directed a movie I was in, so I was drawing on that as well. I feel like I’ve tried to build an ability to watch myself and be more objective. This movie, to be really honest, is harder than any in a while to watch myself.

Glamour: How come?

JGL: I actually don’t know why. I don’t know. But, you know, I’m delighted that people are talking about it.

Glamour: How often have you communicated with Edward Snowden?

JGL: Probably three or four times. The first time I met him in person was probably a few months before we started shooting, and I’ve spoken to him a few times since then. He actually just contributed to a Hit ReCORD project that was really cool. So, we’ve talked a bit since then. I think he’s the kind of person who cares so much about what he believes in, and that’s evident. He risked his life for what he believes in. Whether you agree or disagree with what he did, you have to admit he really cares. He didn’t know if he was going to survive, and he considers himself lucky that he did. And even though he did survive, he was living an extremely comfortable life, living in Hawaii, making good money, living with his girlfriend of many years who he loved. He gave all that up, and he doesn’t like living in Russia. He wants to come home. But he’s obviously perfectly willing to make those personal sacrifices in order to further the cause that he believes in for us to have these conversations, talking about the way that technology impacts democracy, and letting the people make informed decisions and form their own opinions about the way that this technology is developed.

Glamour: What do you hope those that work for the NSA and the CIA say about the film once they see it?

JGL: I think what’s so beautiful about living in the United States of America is that the government is accountable to the people. We’re lucky that’s true. Not everyone in the world is lucky enough to have that privilege. What the NSA was doing was undermining that beautiful thing that makes our country so great. They were changing the rules in secret and lying about it. Look, maybe mass surveillance is a good idea, maybe it isn’t, but we as a country should be making that decision. That’s what a democracy is. I think and I hope that the intelligence community remembers that, and that they need to include the American people if they are going to be changing the rules.

Glamour: Lastly, this is completely off topic, but it needs to be mentioned. What is going on with Fraggle Rock?

JGL: Oh, it’s happening!

Glamour: Are you the kind of fan that has the characters at home or in your office?

JGL: I have a Gobo and a Red. We’re writing the script right now, and it’s coming along really well actually. I think it will be a really cool movie. When movies are this early in development, you never know whether they actually work out, but this one is looking good so far!

Snowden is in theaters this Friday. For more with Gordon-Levitt’s costars Scott Eastwood, click here, and Shailene Woodley, click here.