I had the pleasure of meeting John Michael Bolger, the duplicitous Martin Zarkovich, at the 2009 LA Film Festival premiere of Public Enemies.  Ever the gentleman and a child at heart, John Michael Bolger and I held an interview in 2009 for my Diagnosis Movies column.

John Michael Bolger Turns Traitor in Public Enemies

How did you prepare for the role of Martin Zarkovich?

Bolger: What I did was I went out and bought Bryan Burrough’s book Public Enemies and I read it, ate a few pages with a little salt and pepper on it.  Because of the fact that I’ve played a lot of police officers and I’ve known a lot of people in the world of larceny, I sort of put my mind into that.  And then when I got the part, I got so much research material (from Michael Mann).  I just hit the streets in Chicago and Wisconsin and walked where he walked and started to think how he thought.

How did you feel playing a detective who plays both sides of the law?

Bolger: I’ve played a detective who’s played both sides of the law before.  The only thing that bothered me was that I had to be a rat.  In the world I come from, you’re not a cheese eater.  But I did it for a dame, I did it for the love of Anna Sage, the love of my life, I did it for a girl.

With the exception of Johnny Depp as Dillinger, Public Enemies feels more like an ensemble piece.

Bolger: Everybody did a great job.  There were a lot of actors in that film.  The guys who stood behind Hoover or stood in the jail cell when he went to Indiana or the extras or the people in the street, the people in the courthouse, even those soldiers, they didn’t say a single word but they said a lot.

Michael Mann is known for his attention to detail.  For some it can be intimidating to live up to that expectation of perfection.  What was it like to shoot a scene with him?

Bolger: If Michael Mann called me right now and said “John, I’m doing a film in Topeka.  I don’t have any money. Get here.”  I’d be hitching on the west side highway.  I think that guy is a genius, he’s George Patton on the front of a jeep, he’s Hannibal going through the mountains.  I love that he’s into detail … that he knows exactly what is going on, and I love that he is the first one in and the last one out.  He’s got more energy than ten of us put together.

You filmed quite a few scenes at the Poser house in Columbus, Wisconsin.  (My physician partner’s wife, Mary Wilkinson, grew up in and around Mary Poser’s home.  Connections being what they were, I had the good fortune to tour the sets of the Poser home in May 2008.) 

Bolger: The little old lady, I met her.  She’s a riot.  That woman was great.  She said, “Come over here” and she gave me a punch in the arm.  “Welcome to my house.  I think we’re going to rename this place the whore house.”  I said to her, “If I was older or you were younger or vice versa, we’d be flirting.”  She said, “we are flirting”.  She was just a lovely lady who opened her home.

If you could say anything to her today, what would you share with her?

Bolger: I would say my love and best regards to you.  I remember your spunk, I remember your moxy, I remember your smile, I remember your warmth, I remember your hospitality, I remember your spirit.  You’re memorable, Mary Poser.

If there was one thing you could take from the film, physically, what would it be?

Bolger: It’s funny you ask me that.  When I was leaving, Colleen Atwood (costume designer) said to me, “Hey, John.  I want to give you these shoes.”  She gave me these two-toned brown classic vintage Churches of England shoes that inside they wrote Zarkovich.  They’re beautiful.  Whenever I wear them, people say “look at those shoes.”  And I go to the shoemaker and I keep them highly shined and I keep a shoehorn in them.  I’ll wear them for the rest of my life.

What did it feel like to have your fans waiting for you at the premiere?

Bolger: When I got out of that car, you lovely people were right there to take care of me.  What I’ve always said about my experience with the fans is that when I fall off the high wire into my net, they pull me in and love me.  They take care of me and they protect me.  I’m a fifty-three year old character actor from New York City who had a dream, and my dream is happening.  And for a guy like me to have anybody call me across the room to say hello to me, for me, it just blows my mind every time it happens.

The red carpet was your childhood dream.

Bolger: The premiere was so surreal for me.  The red carpet was unbelievable with people calling my name, “John, John”.  All the cameras, everything.  I did the press, and that was lovely because I got to talk about things that matter to me like my family and my training and my beliefs.  That I was just a kid, a little schnook with a dream, and that all you kids out there wherever you are in the world, just believe in your dreams and follow your dreams and know that your life doesn’t take place in one summer or one weekend or one night.  That you can make it to the other side.

What was it like to watch yourself on the big screen at the premiere?

Bolger: The movie theater was packed.  It was a who’s who. Everybody was there.  I sat and the lights went down.  Was I nervous.  Then I just locked in and enjoyed the story just like I loved watching movies as a kid.  But it’s hard for any actor to watch yourself.  I mean, I have a hard time looking in the mirror.  But that particular night I just sat back and really enjoyed it.

Those who have seen Public Enemies have had a true cinematic experience.  What would you say to those who have not seen it yet?

Bolger: It’s a movie that has a big message about honor, about friendship, about tough times, about love, about betrayal, about a country in upheaval, about a new day, a new way.  A movie like that, if you look at it for its historical content and for the fact that it was only seventy-five years ago, proves that things get better.  It will get better.  There’s a lot of hope in that movie.  Although it looks bleak and like this is never going to end, things will get better.

It sounds like things in the world of John Michael Bolger have done just that, gotten better.  The actor had been out of work for twenty-four months preceding his casting in Public Enemies but is now seeing his hard work and dedication pay off, recently receiving a call from one of the biggest producers in the industry.  We’re wishing you the best, John, and we will be sure to keep our eye out for you on the screen, whatever the size.  Stay in touch.