![]() Trust me, you’re not going to make a lot of money. Have someone else like a lawyer sign off on this. I don’t have time to negotiate with an agent or manager. “When Sean hired me, he said, ‘Do me a favour and don’t tell your agent or manager about this. It was a leap of faith the actor was more than happy to take. Under wrapsįollowing his casting, Rex had just three days to drive to the film’s location in Texas, learning his lines on the way. Rex was cast on the strength of Baker’s gut instinct and an audition clip filmed on an iPhone in the kitchen of Rex’s Joshua Tree home. He plays loveable deadbeat Mikey Saber, a down-on-his-luck adult-movie actor who returns to his Texan hometown and his estranged wife with his tail between his legs, only to spy opportunity when he meets a teenager (Suzanna Son) working in a donut shop.Ĭovid had sunk the project that Baker had originally planned to make, so Red Rocket - low budget and shot under the radar with a 10-person crew and a mix of professional and non-professional actors - was a seat-of-the-pants, last-minute replacement. The opportunity came in the form of a dream role, which gave Rex the opportunity to finesse his comic skills while also digging into hitherto untapped dramatic potential. ![]() As he explains: “People have an idea of you in their mind and it’s very hard to reinvent yourself unless you’re given an opportunity like this from someone like Sean Baker, who works outside the box of the Hollywood industry and does things his way.” Rex achieved some success in broad comedies such as the Scary Movie series, but quickly found he had been typecast and subsequently sidelined. I said, ‘Wow, I better listen to him if he’s saying this, maybe he’s right.’” You need to go to acting school, but you have something.’ I’m a big Gus Van Sant fan, Drugstore Cowboy is one of my favourite movies. “In the audition Gus stopped me and said, ‘I’m sorry, you’re not ready for this. The segue into acting came at the suggestion of Gus Van Sant, who invited Rex to read for a small role in Good Will Hunting. I’ve never been on TV.’ And they said, ‘Perfect, you got the job.’” The music career - Rex has a rapper alter ego named Dirt Nasty - was equally fortuitous: demo tapes made with buddies in a bedroom led to a supporting slot with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and a deal with Interscope Records. ![]() I’ve never done any journalism and I don’t have a lot of music knowledge. “I was quite honest in my response to them and I said, ‘Well, I’ve never done anything like this. Put like that, Rex’s career-igniting performance in the lead role of Red Rocket, directed by The Florida Project’s Sean Baker, is just the latest in a long line of windows through which the model/rapper/actor/MTV VJ has hurled himself over the course of a switchback professional path that started when the now 47-year-old Rex was street-cast to be a model in his early 20s.įollowing an early flirtation with adult content, the modelling brought him to the attention of MTV which offered a gig as a VJ. ![]() I guess I just have the knack for jumping through a window of opportunity when it presents itself.” I’m like, ‘I can’t even plan tomorrow.’ And it works really well for me. “It drives people crazy - let’s go to dinner next Saturday. “I have the life philosophy that no plan is the best plan,” says Simon Rex, explaining his eclectic CV. ![]()
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