1) How did you wind up playing Aaron Burr?
I was attending a movie premier when Larry Stanley approached me about playing the part. I didn’t know at the time it was a re-enactment, and told him I would love to read for the part.
2) What did you know about Burr before you portrayed him on camera?
I really knew very little about Aaron Burr before portraying him on camera. I think I knew about what other people know, that is that he shot Alexander Hamilton in a duel, but I had no idea what the duel was about, or why it occurred.
3) What kind of research did you do before you tackled the role?
When Larry asked me to play Burr, I dove into the man’s life. Although there would be no lines in the reenactment, I wanted to portray Burr the best I could for the -camera. Of course, the Internet has become such a valuable tool for research. You can learn almost anything you want to know.
4) Burr is considered a villain in a lot people's historical analysis. Do you think Burr was a villain?
I suppose I never thought of Aaron Burr as a villain. Although dueling was illegal, it still amounted to an agreement that two gentlemen entered into. In our time people look at the duel as having a good guy and a bad guy because we are so far removed from such things, and Hollywood describes a good guy, bad buy scenario as essential to the story, so public opinion ascribes the roles of good and bad. A duel however, was not a circumstance of a good guy and a bad guy; it was an “affair of honor”. There was a code of etiquette governing duels, and the rules, which included Seconds, witnesses, and the presence of a physician, were obeyed. Usually, the situation was resolved without weapons. The only reason people want to assign roles to the duelists is to appease our Twenty-first Century sense of justice.
5) Was it hard playing the "Villain" role?
It wasn’t really hard to play the “Villain”; I was actually looking forward to it. In the few roles I have played, the opportunity to play the “Bad Guy” was one I had not, but have wanted to. I think playing the Villain allows an actor the occasion to explore the dark side; we all have one, and though I don’t want to live like that, it was fun to let the Villain out for a while.
6) There is a lot of debate of how the Hamilton-Burr duel went down. Who shot first? Did Hamilton throw away his shot? Walk us through how you think the duel played out.
Both of these men were political “rock stars” in the U.S. government of the early 1800s I think it’s important for people to realize that neither of these men were the nicest of guys. We usually see Hamilton as the “injured" party, but they were both equally responsible for what happened that day in Weehawken. After years of fencing with each other politically, Hamilton publicly slandered Burr during his run for Governor of New York.
As for the duel, I think Hamilton finally realized that his mouth had caught up with him. His hatred of Burr had led him to this moment, and Burr, infuriated by the public slander Hamilton had perpetrated against him, was determined to see an end to it.
I believe Hamilton fired first. Whether he threw the shot, or missed, my perspective is that he did it intentionally with arrogant expectation that Burr would so the same. Burr did not.
7) Besides Aaron Burr what other historical figure would you like to portray on camera?
I think it would be interesting, and challenging to play a figure from the Renaissance, like Di Vichy, or one of the Medici. I’ve also always had a love for westerns, and people like Bill Hickok, I’m just not near tall enough to play him.
8) What acting experience did you have before tackling Aaron Burr in Channeling Hamilton?
Acting was always something that stayed in my background mostly. I had played parts in a few stage plays, and I’ve done bit parts in a few short films. I enjoy acting because it allows me to be a kid again and pretend. I have a very active imagination, and pretending comes rather natural.
9) How was the reenactment shoot?
The shoot went very well. In fact, it was one of the smoothest, well-planned shoots I’ve been involved with. All the actors did a great job, Larry Stanley and his crew were right on target with the schedule, and we finished the whole thing in a couple of hours. It was great!
10) What did you do the day of the shoot to get in the dueling mindset?
I think anger is about the easiest emotion to play, the trick is not to over-play it. I began to imagine how Burr actually felt about a man who had been against him throughout his political career, and caused so much harm to his name and character. The rest was easy—we’ve all been angry.
11) Tim Newkirk (Alexander Hamilton) is a really nice guy off camera. Did you find it hard to get angry enough at him to sell it on camera?
Tim is a nice guy, and though I don’t know him well, I’ve worked with him on a few other projects, and would work with him again. As for getting angry at Tim? I never did…I was angry at Alexander Hamilton.
12) When you are not acting what can we find you doing?
Some people say I do too much, but I love doing many things. Writing is at the root of almost everything I do. I’m a published author, I’ve been a singer/songwriter for years, I’m co-owner of Dog Pack Productions (an indie film co.) where my primary jog is screenwriting, and editing. I also “fix” scripts, and when I’m not doing that I teach martial arts, and do fight choreography with my film partner, Tracy Frost.
13) Where you a good history student in school?
I don’t think I was a good history student in school, but I love history, and have been a good student of it since school.
14) Favorite U.S. President prior to your lifetime and why?
My favorite President prior to my lifetime, and of all time really, was Theodore Roosevelt. We don’t live in times like that anymore, but Teddy was a man’s man, an adventurer, and a man that got things done. He didn’t allow anyone to push him around, and I think he retained some of that wild spirit that was the soul of America
15) What's Next for Eddie?
I’m always open to play a part, but I’m not actively looking for the next gig. I’m currently finishing up a collection of songs that has taken a little over 9 months to complete. I have three more of those projects slated. I’m also currently working on a screenplay for a feature that Dog Pack Productions is hoping to film in the coming year.
Links
Watch Eddie's brilliant portrayal of Aaron Burr in Channeling Hamilton:
You can find Eddie's music at the 5th Of January Records page on Facebook:
Eddie's book: "The Way Of Seven Swords" is available through Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Way-Seven-Swords-Eddie-Reed/dp/1492110256
