“It’s all about power, wealth and doing whatever you have to do”: Ed Harris on How to Make a Killing

Veteran actor Ed Harris discusses stepping into the shoes of the ruthless Whitelaw Redfellow in John Patton Ford’s neo-noir thriller How to Make a Killing. Speaking from the film’s set, Harris reflects on portraying a man driven solely by power, working opposite Glen Powell, collaborating with acclaimed filmmaker John Patton Ford and why audiences can expect a darkly funny crime story with surprising energy.

Tell us about your character, Whitelaw Redfellow.

Hi, I’m Ed Harris. I’m playing Whitelaw Redfellow. He is the patriarch of the Redfellow family. He’s the grandfather of his bastard grandson Beckett, played by Glenn. He’s an extremely wealthy man. He’s rather ruthless and has his own immorality, I guess you could say.

If I’m looking at him objectively, he’s just one of these guys who doesn’t give a shit about anybody else other than himself. It’s just about power. It’s really about power, and assuming that power. Thinking that way means treating everyone else as though they’re not your equal. They’re not as good as you. They’re not as powerful as you. They’re not as wealthy as you. They’re not as smart as you.

You’re the top dog. It’s all about winning, it’s all about wealth, and it’s all about doing whatever you have to do to maintain that wealth and get more of it.

What was it like working with Glen Powell?

Working with Glenn’s great. When we first meet, I suspect him of having done in a number of my relatives. Hopefully, that little scene worked.

I’d never met Glenn before, but I was certainly aware of his rising star. We had a really nice chat and talked about lots of different things. He’s a big Texas Longhorns fan, and I’m a major Oklahoma Sooners fan, so that was fun to chat about. He’s got a lot of things going on.

The scene at the end of the film, where we finally confront each other, and we’re sitting for dinner at this table, is one I ultimately felt really good about because there was subtle stuff going on between us. Working with the director, we had some good conversations about it, and I think we finally nailed it. It was pretty fun.

What makes John Patton Ford such an exciting filmmaker?

He’s a very talented guy. Visually, I think he really knows what he’s doing. He seemed like he really knew what he wanted to do and had a clear vision for the film.

I like working with directors who really have a certain vision about what they’re after, a clarity to it, but who are also willing to collaborate and listen. He’s really smart, and I think he’s really good with actors. He’s honest, you trust him. I liked him a lot. We had a good time.

What can audiences expect from How to Make a Killing?

I guess it depends where people are coming from, how they see themselves in the world, how they react to other people and what their own sense of morality is.

There’s a lot of humour in it – kind of dark humour – because Glenn’s offing these people one by one and not being caught at all because of the weapon and the manner in which he’s doing it.

There’s a buoyancy to it; it’s not heavy. There’s a life to it. Glenn himself has that quality. He can be very serious, but he’s also very likeable. He’s fun to watch, and he has good energy. It’s positive energy, so there’s a certain breath and life to it.