Articles
Dying Wishes and A Love Triangle; Polley, Ruffalo, and Speedman on "My Life Without Me" by Wendy Mitchell (2003)
Taken from Indiewire
indieWIRE: Why were you attracted to this role of Don?
Scott Speedman: What attracted me to this guy was that he was a pretty simple man, but there were some traps playing this part. I think a lot of people were looking at [the character] like he was a deadbeat dad and not the most responsible fellow but I saw him as a very loving guy.
iW: He has a good heart.
Speedman: I think his fault would be that he may take his wife for granted a little bit, he thinks she's gonna be around forever. I think he thinks there's no way they won't be together. I think he's just been with her since they were teenagers and he loves her unconditionally. He's pretty satisfied living in that trailer. I was attracted to how simple it was.
iW: One thing that I felt was unique about this film was that it is a love story between you and Ann but then also her and Lee, yet that doesn't really diminish her love for you.
Speedman: What she does with another guy isn't about not loving me, it's about the fact that she's dying and she wants to know what it feels like to fall in love again.
iW: going into a role like this, do you prepare? Did you read the short story that the film is based on [Nanci Kinkaid's "Pretending the Bed is a Raft"]? Did you talk to Isabel [Coixet] a lot?
Speedman: I tried to hang out with those kids. I did a lot of work getting ready. I drove up to Vancouver by myself. I kind of spent a lot of time by myself. I was pretty serious about spending time with those kids because I thought it was important to get across that we were actually a family.
iW: What did you learn from Sarah and Mark and what did they learn from you?
Speedman: I don't think they learned anything from me [laughs]. Sarah and Mark were the real reasons why I initially wanted to do this movie. I can't really put into words what I learned from them. I was happy to have a beer with [Ruffalo] and pick his brain about stuff. I learned a lot to keep following what I want to do. And acting with Sara -- she takes things to another level. If you have the right actor you can go to another place.