Jackie Earle Haley, the former child star now being applauded for his gallery of memorable dark characters, is finally getting a chance to lighten up. Haley co-stars in Fox’s “Human Target” as Guerrero, a mysterious hired hand always one step ahead of everyone around him, especially the bad guys.
It’s a return to more humorous parts for Haley, 48, who in the 1970s starred in hits such as “The Bad News Bears” and “Breaking Away” before a lack of more mature roles prompted him to drop out of Hollywood. His absence lasted more than a decade, and he struggled much of the time with odd jobs and financial woes. But his Oscar-nominated turn as a sex predator in 2006’s “Little Children” and his portrayal of the sinister masked superhero Rorschach in last year’s “Watchmen” brought him back with a vengeance.
Despite “Human Target,” a return to the dark side is just around the corner. He’s the new Freddy Krueger in the upcoming reboot of “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” and he’s in Martin Scorsese’s prison drama “Shutter Island.”
Q. With the kind of roles you’ve been playing recently, are people ever afraid of you or afraid to approach you?
A. Everyone is incredibly nice, very positive. My biggest concern with “Little Children” was whether people would confuse me for that character. Lots of people come up and talk to me about that character, but it’s been more about my acting than with the character’s proclivities.
Q. What has this return to Hollywood been like?
A. An incredible rush. I had no idea what that movie would do. Part of me felt it would be bad for the career. But it was worth risking all, even if it was the last role I played.
Q. What’s been the highlight of your return?
A. If someone asked me my favorite role, it would probably be Rorschach. I fell in love with that miserable character.
Q. How do you define this period in your life?
A. It’s definitely a whole new go. The first go was stopped; it was mourned. It was lost; it was painful. It’s a blessing to be a working actor again. I don’t know how you make it once in this business. Doing it twice is mind-boggling.
Q. When you were gone, was it painful to think back on the past?
A. About five years after I quit, I found this pile of posters from this play I did on Broadway, “The Slab Boys,” with Sean Penn, Val Kilmer and Kevin Bacon. The poster is a photograph of the four of us. I folded them up and threw them in the Dumpster.
Q. How did it make you feel? Were you sad? Angry? Bitter?
A. It was all of that. By the way, this doesn’t define my experience, just that moment. But I was jealous of all those guys.
