Stoned - A Conversation with Leo Gregory

By Jenna Bensoussan

I had the chance to watch the film Stoned last week before my conversation with Leo Gregory this very morning of February 13th. The movie was absolutely amazing and his performance impeccable. Short on time, we jumped right in with the Q&A.

ACED: If Brian Jones were still alive today, is he the kind of fellow you would consider for a friend, why or why not?

Leo: That is a difficult question. I think if he... See what I learned about was that he could be the most wonderful, intelligent, charismatic person you'd ever be likely to meet, but then in the blink of an eye he would be the biggest s*it that you would ever have the misfortune of coming across. So - if he was still like that I guess I'd prolly end up slapping him about or something. *laughs* I guess you have to remember he died at a young age so maybe he'd of gotten things out of his system and gotten more of an even keel.

What do you think is this character's greatest strengths and weaknesses? How does this compare with your own?

An obvious strength would be that the guy was a musical genius, which I certainly am not. He was one of the first people to do the bottleneck slide guitar thing. And this is a perfect example of genius and flaw - he could pick up pretty much any instrument and get it to make the sound he wanted it to make, but he would never learn his instruments to their fullest capacity. That kind of sums him up really. He had this amazing gift and at times just didn't nurture it to the best of his abilities. In terms of him as a person he was clearly deeply troubled. He clearly had issues with his self confidence and his self worth. I don't think he had a lot of love, a lot of real love in his life; and therefore he didn't necessarily know how to love or be loved. To be fair... strengths... he didn't really care about what other people thought. He didn't give when his parents didn't want him to go into music, he didn't give about others and he didn't give about himself either really. Everything with him was kind of a strength and a weakness. He was such an enigma. Compare that to me... I am sure there are some similarities along the way but on the whole I'd say we are totally different people.

What did you do to actually prepare for this role? Did you talk to any members of the Rolling Stones?

I came on board right before we started shooting. It was eat, sleep, s*it Brian Jones, the Rolling Stones, and the 60s, you know. There were two main books I used. One called "Painted Black" and one called "Who Killed Christopher Robin." I had a few little tiny TV clips of him... Learning and listening to all the music that influenced him. I had to immerse myself totally in it. I spoke very briefly with Anna Wohlin, who was you know his girlfriend at the time he was at the house. I also spoke with Tom Keylock who was their manager.

What were the responses of Anna and Tom after they saw the film?

Tom sent me a very lovely text message saying, "You really nailed it. Congratulations." He really loved it. It was very sweet, very kind. Anna Wohlin called one of the producers and was apparently crying and saying how creepy it was that THAT was Brian and things like that. So, to hear that from those two people who knew him and lived with him... that was very very nice to hear.

What was most appealing to you about this character when considering this role? Why did you actually end up taking it?

My thing was... when I read the script... I called up my agent and I said, "So this guy really existed?" And he said, "yea, of course it's Brian Jones man." I had never heard of Brian Jones... who the hell was Brian Jones. He was talking about Brian Jones like I should know who he was. And then I learned that I really should know who he was... and the fact that I didn't know who he was, and my friends didn't know who he was, and lots of people in this country who didn't know who he was, you know... I couldn't understand it. I know who Janis Joplin is. I know who Kurt Kobain is. I know who Jimi Hendrix is. It sorta became like, "God, this is important and people need to know who this guy is." Love him or hate him people need to know who this guy was. He was the original Rolling Stone... and that became a big reason why I wanted to do it. And working with Stephen was a dream. The cast was amazing.

What was the most difficult aspect of the character?

I guess figuring out why Brian did what he did when he did it. Sometimes there was just no reason to why he did things. An example, there is a scene with the wall in the film... it's nothing really, and he asks the builders to make the wall and then redo it. I mean, I am thinking to myself that he can't be that stupid that he thinks it's that easy to do that. And then again, the man is paying for the work why would you want to waste your money. Trying work out the real core reasons of him I guess. That and trying to look like I knew what I was doing with a guitar.

What did you learn as an actor and as an individual after completing this production?

As an actor I guess... if you are thrown into the deep end (I hate to use the pun) and you can either sink or swim... you can swim. There were times during the three weeks I had to prepare that I thought to myself, "Whoa. I've gotta find out everything I can about this dude, and the 60s, and the Stones, and guitar..." And in three weeks... You're like "pfffooo." But then, BAM! You do it you know. When you've got the right help around you that I was lucky to have. Even the things in life that you are a little apprehensive of. BAM, just do that, do that, do that, do that - and you will do it.

If you had to choose a song that would sum up the character Brian Jones, what song would you choose and why?

Maybe 'Ballad of a Thin Man' by Bob Dylan. Because, I dunno. I don't think he knew what he was doin'.

What about for yourself?

Myself? Um... O-M-G You are coming up with some good questions I wish I'd put my brain helmet on. 'Sky is the Limit' by Notorious Big 'cause where I am from it's not the norm to be an actor. If someone had told me ten years ago that I'd be here on the phone with you talking about a Brian Jones film I'd have laughed at them like everybody else. But the sky is the limit, if you work hard you can do what you wanna do.

What was your initial motivation that actually got you into acting?

I guess I kind of did when I was a kid. I never went to drama school or took acting classes, but when I was a little kid my mum would take me to the theatre at Christmas to see some show, you know. If they ever asked for audience participation I was always the first one out of my seat and up on the stage. I got into it when I was 18 and really started to understand it.

What do you think is the most important thing an actor can do as far as understanding their character?

You have to find the essence of the character that is true to you. If you force it or you don't really understand it or really believe their motives then you're not going to believe what you are doing with them. You just have to find that core thing, whether it's in you or not, where you get it and you go with it.

Visit the official Stoned website for more information about the movie.