Taylor Kinney on 'The Forest', Favorite Quotes, and Lady Gaga

I had a ghost pass through my body.

Did he tell you or something? Did the ghost tell me he was passing through your body or did something else just pass?

Yeah. I was like a ghost. No it was like a ghost passing. What part of Japan were you? Oh my God. I'm here with Taylor Kitsch and we realize that we're kindred spirits because we both have Blackberry still.

Yeah. We both have an AOL account.

Have an AOL account. Yeah. And what was the last one? I don't know, but it might it might as well have just turned 1992 or something. I don't know. Well we're both so young. How is this possible?

I think we're just very retro. Yeah. And just Yeah, just holding on to the the golden age of of the the finer things.

The finer things of life. So why the Blackberry?

Cause it works. It didn't break. Uh it didn't break to keep up with a new phone every six months or something. And then it breaks. Mine doesn't break. I might drop it in the toilet or something.

So much pressure. No one can hack into your phone either.

No, it's pretty secure, right? I'm not big on social media. I'm not big with a

Right. You could like embrace the whole selfie, you know, thing. I I don't think I

No.

Have you ever selfied?

No.

You selfied in here with me before. But I didn't do it. No, I know. I did. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Which I want to point out about The Forest. This is really funny cause the last time you were in here, I'm sure people have pointed this out. You were here with Nikolaj who was on Game of Thrones. Now you're in this movie with

Yeah. Yeah, I guess it is a common there's a common theme here.

Are you obsessed with Game of Thrones? Is this like a secret

You know what's funny is uh we were in Serbia for Japan for for The Forest.

Yeah, I'm sure it was beautiful in there.

And Natalie had Natalie had her scripts. And it was No, she is like

Really? Yeah. Hey, should we talk about The Forest and not just Game of Thrones?

Yeah, sure. Careful. Hey. Get back in there. Come on. Jesus. Hey, come on. Get away from there. Come on. So in this film, I'm it takes place in Japan in this forest. It's called like the suicide forest where people go to commit suicide. But it's also very supernatural. And I actually went to Japan once and I I'm not a believer in that stuff, but I had a supernatural experience.

What is it?

I I had a ghost pass through my body.

Did he tell you or something? Did the ghost tell me he was passing through your body or did something else just pass?

No, it was like a ghost. No, it was like a ghost passing.

What part of Japan were you?

I was in Tokyo. And I like convulsed like you see in Ghostbusters like the And then it like threw went out the back of me. And I don't believe in that stuff, but I swear to heck it happened. And I and when I told like the person that I was working with who was Japanese, he kind of looked at me like, yeah, well that happens all the time. It's not even. So

Okay. That's scary. You should try it sometime. People sometimes see things in the forest. If you see anything, it is not real. Um so what is your biggest fear? Cause this movie's all about fear and

My biggest fear? Oh gosh. I The in the in the film I'd like to go. I didn't get to go to Tokyo. I didn't get to go to Japan.

You'd be scared to go now.

Natalie Natalie was. And and just The Forest itself uh you know, there's a lot of lore and there's a lot of history and there's a lot of respect. But there's also it has this aura of uh kind of this ominous kind of danger. If I got the opportunity, I'd like to go. But I don't know that I'm bringing a tent and staying the night. I just peek my head in.

Okay. So in the film, there's a Sara Teasdale quote. She either quotes to you or you quote to her. This Sara Teasdale quote. I want you to Do you have a favorite quote or a favorite saying or like a mantra that you live by?

I think I do. There's Henry David Thoreau has some pretty great quotes that I like.

Any that you can remember?

Yeah, I remember them, but

Want to quote it?

Uh if one to to dares to live the life in which he imagined it it's something along those lines.

Is that a Is that like if you if you imagine it you can live it? Like if you can sort of visualize it you can live it or is that

Yeah, it's uh if I've learned this by my experience if one dares to live the life in which he it imagines, he will meet with the success uncommon or unseen in common hours.

Words to live by this year.

Well, I I messed up the quote, but it's it's along those lines that to to have a vision and to see something clear and then to to follow it and focus on it you'll have more success than if you meander and flow.

How is it that when you get nominated and you see like the Because people in your category are pretty formidable too. I mean is it kind of like Is it fantastic? Is it

Yeah, I don't know. I'm I'm I'm along for the ride. I guess I don't campaign for these things. I just I I love what I do.

You have other people doing that for you.

No, but I mean I I work and and uh I feel really, you know, blessed and fortunate to do what I do. And then the rest of the stuff is you know, the the bonuses. So but yes, you know, uh I know that Terrence, Terrence Howard is is nominated. I met him once and uh uh Jesse from Grey's Anatomy and and some of those guys. So it's great company. Terrence actually Empire shoots right down the street in Chicago.

Oh, really? From Chicago. So uh

We're on the same lot. So it's

And you freeze your assets off together?

Yeah, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Chicago Med now. Empire is right down the street. It's getting pretty big. It's getting pretty packed.

Do they give spoilers on that show too?

Uh Empire? No. No, I don't know that I'm here I don't know that I'm hitting up Terrence asking for for Empire. I don't know that he'd give it to me anyway.

You once referred to yourself as a really happy camper. Um on what occasion have you been like the happiest? Do you think? Like when were you the happiest camper? Just in like camping or in life? In life.

I don't know. It's uh You know, I'm I'm just I kind of go with the flow. So the ups and downs. I think you take the good with the bad and to stay level headed. Uh in terms like if if things are going really well and you're over the moon and you project uh like a trip six months down the road. It's all sunshine and roses and you're going to say, I'm going to have the best time. And that's all well and good. But that doesn't I mean, it hasn't happened yet. So I think trying not to project outcomes of future events that haven't happened. Because when you're at a lull and you're really bummed and down and out over something, you project that. You can get stuck. And I think it's a hindrance because I think if you if you take a step back and and say, hey, it's just the the Wheel of Fortuna. It's life. It go it has its ups and downs.

Where do you get this from? Cause you always seem like even from the last time I interviewed you, you're like a really happy go lucky guy.

Yeah, because I'm I from happy camping.

Um okay, and last but not least, I know that you and the countess

Yeah.

Can I call her the countess?

Sure, whatever you want.

Drew. It's my world today. Um you guys and it was with um it was with Natalie and was it her husband or her boyfriend? You all sort of got together.

Her fiance. Her fiance. Was it in Belgrade? Greyd.

Bel Belgrade? Yeah, there's a D in there.

Uh it's in Serbia. Yeah.

My trust is I I It has it's Belgrade for this interview. It's for Taylor to make me look as stupid and as uneducated as possible. No, I'm kidding. Uh so so we flew into Serbia and and we met and uh I actually hit it off her her fiance. Uh sweet sweet man, great he's a director directs uh television and film. And we went out and kind of hit it off and we stayed we stayed close. We had dinner in New York not too long ago. Um thanks for coming in. Thanks for before we go out, do you want to share your AOL?

No. My I almost did. Uh no, I don't yeah, it's

Give a hint because you told me before we started rolling. It's really hilarious.

It's it's T-Bone something. But I I I was 16 years old and it was in a nick maybe younger. Um 15, maybe now I have to change it.

So did you really just give us your AOL

No. So so no that well that's not it, but so so now I'm I'm, you know, in my thirties and, you know, working pretending to be a serious guy, you give someone your email address and they scoff or laugh and you're like, yeah. But I but it's the same with my Blackberry. It does it's not broke, so why fix it?

Why fix it? T-Bone works. We're AOL buddies now.

There you go.