Finn Wittrock is proving to everybody that he is one versatile actor, from playing the deranged and privileged Dandy Mott in American Horror Story: Freak Show then skin-and-bones U.S. soldier Francis "Mac" McNamara in Angelina Jolie's film Unbroken.
Wittrock really makes an attempt to understand the psyche of his characters. And though Dandy has done some pretty horrible things in Freak Show, Wittrock still understands his character and doesn't view him as completely evil.
"I can never think of him as a villain. I can never think of him as evil. I just have to keep getting under his skin. But he realizes that his purpose in life is to kill. It doesn't get more dangerous than that. Because I actually found that the killing is not out of hatred. He kind of likes the people that he kills. He wanted to be a performer, and somehow that's transformed into murder, so he thinks of it as a performance, like he's fulfilling his destiny," he told Vulture.
Wittrock said that certain scenes were hard to film, especially since he was covered in blood in his underwear. "It was very sticky. But at least I got to cut off Matt Bomer's arm. It was sad to see Patti go. I will say that. She's pretty awesome," he said.
However, his preparations for the film Unbroken were the hardest, since he had to lose weight and prep himself mentally and emotionally as Mac. Wittrock lost around 35 pounds for the film.
"I was basically just starving myself. I was just pushing through a lot of black coffee. I'd eat something but would keep the calories really, really low every day. And then when the nutritionist came on, he gave us a much more healthy, conscientious regimen, which basically is just protein and vegetables," he shared.
The difficulty did not end with just the diet. During filming, Wittrock and the other cast had to endure physically trying scenes.
"We were mostly on water, so that was difficult. We were so thin, our body fat was very low, so I'd get cold very quickly. The storm scene, they were just throwing water on us, and I was literally shivering. I have to say the crew did a really good job of taking care of us. We all knew we were going to some dark places, and I didn't have to touch the prison camp, thank God. I got to stay on the raft," he said.
One of the best things about filming Unbroken, according to Wittrock, was the chance to talk to Louis Zamperini about Mac.
"I got to meet him, and we talked about Mac, and it becomes a whole new world of real when you're not just playing someone that a writer made up off the top of their heads. When someone tells you, 'This guy died in front of me, I saw him starve to death,' it becomes a whole new level of responsibility for you to pull off," he shared.
"He told me that he was always after stimulus. He was always eating desserts, always off drinking and smoking and chasing women. He was eternally a child. Louis had to be paternal towards him. If he would criticize him at all, Mac would crumble. So he had to take care of him," added Wittrock.