Patrick Wilson On ‘A Kind Of Murder,’ Working With Jessica Biel [VIDEO EXCLUSIVE]

Patrick Wilson stars in the psychological thriller A Kind of Murder, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this week.

Patrick Wilson On ‘A Kind Of Murder’

In Andy Goddard‘s A Kind of Murder, based on Patricia Highsmith‘s novel The Blunderer, Wilson plays Walter Stackhouse, a successful architect who wishes he were a successful writer. Walter is also married, but, particularly after meeting lounge singer Ellie (Haley Bennett), he wishes he weren’t. Upon reading a story that involves a man killing his wife, Walter can’t help but obsess over the possibility of killing his own wife, Clara (Jessica Biel).

“This starts this through-line, this obsession with him in his own life of, ‘Wow, this man, seemingly, this other man, killed his wife. What would happen if I did that? I could never do that, but what happens if I did? And then what happens if I…,’” Wilson told uInterview, trailing off. “Well I won’t give too much away. But then yes, you get on a very Highsmithean, psychological thriller.”

Going on the journey of playing the complicated Walter was at times difficult, Wilson admits. Most difficult for the actor was likely determining where Walter was emotionally towards the end of the events in A Kind of Murder.

“This was a guy that had never been a part of something real, if that makes sense. He felt like his marriage was a sham. His career, it’s fine, but he really was a frustrated writer,” said Wilson. “He got published, but it was in a crappy little, you know, collection of stories. So he’s never felt really important, and by the end, he feels like he’s in the middle of something, which is important.”

Preparing to play Walter in A Kind of Murder, Wilson referred to Highsmith’s 1954 novel, and then dove into the 1960s New York setting of Susan Boyd‘s script.

“Obviously, the source material was a great help – the book – and even though we’ve deviated from the book a fair amount, the bones are still there,” Wilson explained to uInterview. “There’s also just the time period, which can sort of help with wardrobe, style, the way you walk, the way you sort of carry yourself. I mean, that’s something that’s sort of fun as an actor to kinda dig into.”

It was also fun for Wilson to act opposite Jessica Biel, whom he’s acted alongside and appeared in photoshoots with in the past. What impressed Wilson most about Biel’s performance in A Kind of Murder was how committed she was to throwing herself into the rather thankless role of Clara.

“She goes out on a limb. This is not her comfort zone, which is why I think she gravitated towards it. I mean, Clara really loses her mind in a way that we’re not really used to, and at times, [she’s] unlikeable and abrasive from Walter’s perspective,” Wilson said. “You know, [Jessica] is ‘a gamer.’ That’s what you say. She was down with it and that’s really all you want. You want somebody that you have great chemistry with and somebody that’s driven and that’s got the chops and that’s her.”

A Kind of Murder premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival April 17.

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