Ted Crawford

I used to candle eggs at my grandfather's farm; hold an egg up to a light and look for imperfections. The first time I did it, he told me to put the ones that were cracked or flawed into a bucket for the bakery.

He came back an hour later and there were 300 eggs in the bucket. I found a flaw in every single one. Thin places in the shell, fine hairline cracks.

Look closely enough and you'll find everything has a weak spot where, sooner or later, it will break.

-- Ted Crawford

Anthony Hopkins portrays Ted Crawford, an engineer and scientist who specializes in fracture mechanics, analyzing aeronautical malfunctions and plane crashes. He prides himself on being able to spot even the smallest defect or weakness in any system, mechanical or otherwise.

It took only one read for Hopkins to sign onto the project. "It's a smart, sophisticated, well-written script," explains Hopkins. "You don't get many of those today. Being asked to participate was a stroke of luck."

But do not ask Hopkins about his character's motivations – he's quick to direct you elsewhere for an answer. "I'm not a film scholar, so I never analyze the ingredients of a good film. I never go into a character's subtext," he says. "Ask the writer for the reasons why someone does something. I just let it emerge."

Producer Chuck Weinstock laughs at the ease with which Hopkins dismisses any attempt to psychoanalyze his character. "Tony just plunges right in," he says, describing his take on Hopkins' acting style.

"This was one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had on a movie in a long time," says Hopkins. "The part is very wittily written. Crawford is like Iago, he's got cards hidden up his sleeve. If it's written well, it's easy to play."

"I've played two criminals in my life," he continues, "Hannibal Lecter and this guy. He's a control freak. He's fascinated by precision but that's the very flaw in his nature. He likes to toy with people, he likes walking on the edge, and he's a little too smart for his own good, which eventually undoes him."

"People make a big deal about acting," Hopkins says, "but I never treat it like a mathematical formula. The character is an engineer – OK, I'm a smart criminal; they put me in nice clothes and give me an expensive car to drive – OK, I'm a rich criminal. It's as simple as that."

"The character of Crawford has all kinds of colors," director Gregory Hoblit says. "From being a cold sociopath, to a charmer, to a game player, to being funny, to being deadly. There aren't many actors who can cover that territory with ease. Anthony's an interesting guy; he doesn't mind going to that dark center he has tucked away, and he's able to convey bitterness more elegantly than any actor I know."

Given that Hopkins only appears in six or seven scenes for a total of about 25 minutes of the film, "the cumulative impact of those scenes is imperative," explains Hoblit, emphasizing the actor's impact. "His delivery of those scenes is what makes the movie."

The filmmakers were determined to avoid the pitfalls of the robotic, one-dimensional antagonist. "Ted Crawford could have been a one-note, heartless bad guy," says Hoblit. "But Tony being Tony – a man with such depth you don't know where it will end, or even if you want to get to the bottom of what's lurking beneath the surface – he's graced with such intelligence and his gifts are so formidable, you can imagine Ted Crawford is the type of man who would love to have a normal relationship, but just can't do it. He's blocked, and so we find Crawford jammed, with a cold, mechanical look at the world and a need to abuse. Even when he shoots his wife, as ruthless a moment as that is, you get the feeling that he's conflicted and confused. He's a sad character."

Weinstock agrees. "Ted is wounded and because he's so intelligent and complicated, he's been able to dress and hide those wounds."

"He's the classic tragic character," agrees screenwriter Glenn Gers. "He thinks he can step outside the law and the bounds of decent human behavior, and for a while he's astonishingly successful at it, but then his crime haunts him and in the end he's brought low by his own arrogance."

"I'd written a few notes that were very 'Hannibal Lecter,'" adds Gers. "But to his credit, Tony's response was that he'd already done it before and wanted to make this guy different; Tony brought humanity and grace to this character which made for more than just a cold, nasty villain."