QUOTH THE RAVEN

Edward Furlong returns in The Crow: Wicked Prayer
Photography COLETTE DE BARROS

There’s nothing more damning to a normal adulthood than starting out in life as a child actor. But Edward Furlong’s one of the few to come out of kid stardom fairly unscathed and still making movies. Maybe it’s because acting was just an accident. Discovered at age 13 hanging out in a Pasadena boys’ club by a casting agent for Terminator 2, Furlong wasn’t exactly the type of kid whose mom dragged him around to auditions or who cried when he lost his baby teeth. Or maybe it’s because he fell in love with the vocation, opting for more challenging roles in movies like Tony Kaye’s American History X, John Waters’ Pecker and Steve Buscemi’s Animal Factory instead of taking the easy-but-cheesy teen flick route. Now 27 and playing the lead in this fall’s The Crow: Wicked Prayer, Furlong has made the transition from child star to movie star look pretty damn easy. Strut talked to Eddie about wearing makeup, kicking bad habits and Angelina Jolie fantasies.

You just wrapped filming on The Crow: Wicked Prayer. How does it feel to
follow in Brandon Lee’s footsteps?
EDWARD FURLONG: They really wanted to rejuvenate The Crow. The same people who worked on the first Crow worked on this one. They’re trying to make it into a really good, entertaining movie, and I get to look all badass because I’m the Crow – a sexy, sexy Crow.
Did they have you in a leather getup, Brandon Lee style?
I’m telling you, man: sexy. I swear to God, they put me in these pants and there’s lacy shit all around them. And then I’m in this weird tight lacy shirt and big-ass black trench coat, my hair’s all long, I’ve got the Crow makeup on. It’s tight. And I got to work with the crow from the original movie.
Really? He’s still alive?
They had, like, three different crows there, but the one that ended up working best with me was the main crow. I was like, “Cool! This is the original crow on my shoulder!”
He’s super-trained though?
Yeah, the guy who handles the crows puts food on your shoulder and has the crow fly over and eat the food. But then when the camera rolls, the crow thinks that the food is still on your shoulder. Then the crow flies out and lands on your shoulder and he just stands there.
Did you have to do a lot of takes?
No. I’m telling you, this crow is a professional, dude.
How did you prepare for the part? I was watching Brandon Lee in the first one last week and I was like, “Shit, he’s really in shape.”
Well, it was a lot of sucking in my stomach. I wasn’t as in shape as Brandon Lee was. I just had to act tough. And I’m not overweight; I’m good. I try to work out my body and get that six-pack. But it’s impossible. Who wants to run like a rat on a fucking treadmill? It’s not for me.
You were a pretty big star in Japan when you were younger. What was that like?
It was like something out of The Doors – girls running up and banging on the windows, cops pushing them away, all of that. And the CD – I don’t know why they ate that shit up, because it was horrible. It was the crappiest fucking CD in the world, and it was number one. And I was literally going like, Hold on tight and don’t let go/We got tonight/We’ll make it together. It sounded like Nintendo music with my whiny little voice overtop of it.
Was it your idea to do an album?
No. They came up to me and said, “Do you want to make an album?” And I was like, “I can’t sing.” And they were like, “It doesn’t matter. You’ll make a lot of money in Japan.” And I was like, “Okay.” It was a weird experience. I don’t even own a copy of the album.
How old were you at the time?
I was 14.
But that’s the perfect time to be a teen heartthrob. A lot of people who start acting when they’re young end up either screwing up or being typecast because they’re too young to handle it.
I don’t want to be a super-superstar. I’d just like to stay stably working and have a bed and a roof. And a nice television. And maybe some women.
And you don’t have any regrets as far as that goes?
No, not at all! I’m really lucky. There are so many people in this world who hate their jobs. It’s hard work, but I’m a lucky-ass bastard because I love what I do. And the perks are great!
What kind of perks?
There’s a long list of perks, man.
Top three.
Hot girls, number one. Number two, free shit. Number three... let me think of number three. Oh, you get to travel all around the world.
You’re really upbeat. At one point, you got a lot of press for drug use, but you were able to put all that behind you.
The first year was so difficult for me. I was giving something up that was taking over my life. Your eyes open and you’re like, “Damn, screw this.” I’m glad that I went through drug addiction in a sick sort of way, because it made me feel like I could pretty much handle anything after that.

For the remainder of this article, run out and get the Fall 2004 issue of Strut.

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