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What drew you to the part of Landon?
Look, we were all a lot younger, and we were looking to start our careers.
I loved the Nicholas Sparks story; I immediately loved the director, Adam Shankman.
I obviously knew of Mandy Moore, but I didnt know of her as an actress.
But this one was so special in story and content.
Just know that you guys all made a great movie.
Whether anyone sees it or not doesnt matter.
Just be proud of what you did.
And thats kind of our thoughts going into it.
This was a great story, and it deserved to be told.
But we didnt know what was going to happen, of course.
Obviously, Landon is super-brooding for half of the movie.
Did you take inspiration from any specific characters as you prepared to live in that mood?
No, that was me.
That is another reason why I think I got it.
At the time, I was playing a little bit of a brooding son onOnce and Again.
I had a band that I was trying to get off the ground.
I was always into rock and roll and punk rock, so transitionally, itwaskind of me.
It was more or less,Did the studio want me?
Did Adam want me?
It was just cool because thats a bit rare.
I did, with theworstscene ever.
My little band at the time was called Average Joe, but we were just playing for fun.
By the time we wrote this song [So What Does It All Mean?]
So we just threw our last names on it, [and] it looks like a law firm.
Later we changed [our name] to Jonny Was.
But the cool thing about that was I knew Mandy was getting music on the soundtrack.
I knew that was a part of the deal as she should.
Even when you do spend the money, we still may not accept it.
Is the song in the movie or just on the soundtrack?
Thats Adam doing that.
He didnt need to do that.
They could have just slapped it on the soundtrack as a song that no one heard.
What happened to your rock band?
In reality, I actually joined them.
They got back together, and I started singing for them for probably like five or six years.
We toured around, and it was pretty wild.
But it was such an amazing experience.
Someday Ill have to write about it, but it kind of cured my pop-punk aspirations at the time.
We [Jonny Was] talked to Capitol Records at one point.
We had a deal with Kung Fu Records, which was cool.
But it wasnt something that we felt we should do.
I knew [Jonny Was] had come to its end.
Obviously, I focused more on acting.
How did that change your relationship with fame?
It was a bit overwhelming at the time, but not necessarily negatively.
Some of our Jonny Was shows were sellouts because of that, which was insane.
We didnt have a label.
We didnt play around.
We were just selling out the L.A. Theatre and the Roxy.
We knew a lot of it had to do with the success in acting all of a sudden.
It was harder to go to Disneyland, the CityWalk in Universal Studios, and those kinds of things.
We just didnt know that everyone was going to be crying.
He said, Prepare for everything to change.
Your lives will never be the same.
And that was a pretty cool moment.
Do you remember who else was up for the part of Landon?
I remember thinking Mandy, even though I didnt know her, was perfect for this.
We had a sit-down audition.
You dont really do that.
Apparently, we did.
Was Jamies sweater always supposed to be such a central through-line and butt of the joke in the movie?
There might have been some moments where Adam ad-libbed and said, Lets talk about the sweater more.
But it was basically there in the script.
I remember talking to Mandy about this last year.
Theres certain things that you remember, and theres certain things that you dont.
We never really paid attention to the sweater.
What we really paid attention to all the time was Mandys hair.
Because she had dramatically rolled the dice to completely change her image for this movie.
That was the true, behind-the-scenes reality of,Wow, she looks great.
Adam did a great job of keeping us joking around, laughing, happy.
The butterfly-tattoo scene is one of the sexiest moments in the movie and yet its so innocent.
Was that planned in the script?
The butterfly on the shoulder?
We were just pulled over near the alleyway.
Then [Adam] put a camera inside of the car.
But thats just how shooting goes.
When you look at certain things like that, its written down its not much dialogue.
Its more [that] youre reading the text and then you go and do it.
It was fun to do.
Its hard to not smile when youre looking at Mandys cute, adorable face to react to that.
And it made it easy.
I couldnt get that tattoo right.
I was screwing it up constantly.
There should be outtakes.
Then she starts laughing and then its all worthless.
So I think the combination of us joking around made the ultimate reveal more of a success.
What was it like having Daryl Hannah play your mom?
That was supercool because I had been a fan of hers growing up.
I believe Andie MacDowell was up for [the role], who I was also a fan of.
Daryl got it, and she should have.
She changed her hair color, too.
Obviously, I was a little smitten in a way.
She could tell me to do whatever; I was going to listen to her.
And shes very easy, very accommodating.
Theyd fly Daryl in for specific scenes and fly her back out.
But she was great.
Of all the Nicholas Sparks movies,A Walk to RememberandThe Notebookare probably the most popular.
Why do you thinkA Walk to Rememberreally resonated with people?
Thats a tough question because hes made so many.
Maybe the right time period?
I havent seen all of Sparkss movies.
I think they couldnt have cast it any better.
It just all worked.
And everyone was there to do their job and be supportive.
Ive been on a lot of different sets, and theyre all different.
This one absolutely stood out.
One of the moments that stood out for me when filming was when we were doing the play.
My character didnt want to be there, didnt want to act, and didnt care.
Maybe that was lightning in a bottle right there.
I was struck by her performance in reality, during the moment.
I was proud of her in reality, during the moment.
I was also trying to act, which was also some of what Landon was feeling.
We certainly werent lying.
That leads me to my next question.
Everyone liked each other.
It was the opposite of the movie.
Everyone got along and had a great time.
And yeah, there was chemistry.
That sounds incredibly corny but is true and rare.
Do you have any untold stories about filming that maybe people might not know?
I bought the car from the movie.
I still have mine.
Im thinking Im going to sell it next year because I just cant have it anymore.
Its a fun thing.
One of my favorite things was at the very end of the premiere.
We had no idea that this was going to hit home.
She gives [the passes] to me, and she goes, Here are the passes.
We didnt know that the film would resonate so much.
Wed get photos sent to us, like the line standing in two places at once and the alleyway.
They just found one on the spot and said, Lets shoot.
Which locationsweremore planned out?
Theres one thing that did stand out that scared the hell out of us.
They had to send scuba divers into the water to try and clear it out before we filmed it.
They had built that for some scene inDawsons Creek, I believe.
So it was man-made, but somehow stuff got into it.
It was pretty gross.
I stayed at Kerr Smiths house [Jack fromDawsonsCreek], actually.
Not for Dawson and not for Pacey.
I dont even know what character.
It was several years down the line.
It was probably for Kerr Smiths role.
My favorite is when Ill hear about sequel possibilities, and, well, what is the sequel?
I dont know if she comes back.
But I dont think it would continue as Landon and Jamie.
I think it would continue as Shane and Mandy if a different project happened.
But well see if it ever happens.
That would be the sequel: a different project starring the same, familiar faces.
Where do you think Landon is now?
Remarried with six kids.
No, Im just kidding.
I think he continued doing what he was going to do.
She was his inspiration.
I think he lived his life to the fullest.
Its hard to say if he would remarry, because you could really go two different ways with that.
I cant imagine anyone reading the book would want to hear that.
I mean, he got married at 18.
So its possible he found someone else.
I know, lets be honest: They were so young, for Gods sake.
I would hope that he would have another wonderful relationship later in life.
What did you think of the films religious undertones when you saw the script?
I didnt think of it.
Mandy, I dont believe she did either.
I dont think we ever set out to do that.
Theres nothing wrong with that.
Im thankful that they loved the film, but it wasnt set to do that.
Heres a little bit I forgot happened.
Theres a movie calledSave the Last Dancethat came out with Julia Stiles.
Basically, we were told, this movie succeeded while being PG.
[They said], Just pretend you had been drinking.
Pretend you were bad kids.
Maybe that also softened the film and made it safer, so to speak.
Maybe that also kind of helped out with some of the religious aspects.
More power to them.
Im glad they liked it.
What was the most challenging scene you filmed inA Walk to Remember?
Maybe crying on my dads shoulders.
That was really tough.
That could be maybe the most challenging.
Back in the day, I had a Discman.
Then I would take the Discman off and go.
That was probably the most challenging: good old ugly-crying.
But you have a new film calledNo Runningat the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival.
Do you want to do more mainstream movies?
Its all about the right fit, what the project is.
If they want me.
Its certainly not like we dont try.
Its a strange world right now.
Its kind of an A24 indie film or the Marvel Universe.
Its why television has taken over film.
Its just been a golden age of television.
Most people want to be on television now, so thats what Im continually looking to do.
But film is always there.
Its a blessing to haveNo Runningget into Tribeca that was something that came my way.
To actually play a father in that, to play the sheriff in the town, was pretty cool.
Thats a really good film, and Im glad its getting respect.
Ive got two small films Im supposed to do this summer.
You know, its hard.
But they have to take the chance on you.
So until Im asked to be the next Batman, I dont know when thats going to happen.
What do you want for your career at this point?
Would you do another romantic movie likeA Walk to Remember, or is that totally outside your scope now?
I would do it.
I want it to be the right love story.
I want it to be the right person.
The big joke is Ive always wanted to do a Western because my last names West.Nikitawas a love story.
EvenSalem, in all of its twisted witchcraft ways, was a love story.
But those characters, even though they were love stories, were a little bit darker.
It just has to be the right project.
It would be cool in the final year ofThis Is Usto pop in as a surprise.
I dont know how that would work, and I dont even know if thats even possible.
I dont want to mess with the world that they set up.
When it comes to those things, I want to pick and choose right.
And in a smaller, cult extent, myself and Janet inSalem.
So theres been that, with obviously Jamie and Landon at the top.
I want to keep batting 1,000 when it comes to [projects].
But if its there, Ill do it.
Personally, youve remained pretty private in the years since the movie.
How have you managed that?
A lot of my friends and I have been talking about that recently.
We werent kids and teenagers; we werent old; we were pretty young adults.
It also depends on personality.
I was never the bang out that wanted that.
Like I did with the Germs film.
But you dont have to be in the public eye all the time.
So I kind of shunned it while still liking it.
That was not what I was striving for, not that theres anything wrong with that for anyone else.
But it wasnt my thing.
I wanted the work to speak for itself.
I dont want to throw my dating life in anyones face.
I dont think anybody really needs to know about that.
If I get married and have kids, Ill let the world know.
