ADRIAN MA, HOST:
Twenty-five years ago this month, one film and one filmmaker became synonymous with the big plot twist.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE SIXTH SENSE")
HALEY JOEL OSMENT: (As Cole Sear) I see dead people.
MA: Now, after all this time, if you still have not seen "The Sixth Sense," we are not going to ruin it for you. But it's no spoiler to say that the film became a phenomenon, and its director, M. Night Shyamalan, an overnight sensation. His career has had some ups and downs since then. He currently has a film out called "Trap." But it was his breakthrough film that reimagined the psycho thriller.
As part of our ongoing look at how the films of 1999 changed moviemaking, we take a closer look at "The Sixth Sense" and its then-young star, Haley Joel Osment, who grew up in the shadow of the movie's success. He spoke with ALL THINGS CONSIDERED co-host Scott Detrow.
SCOTT DETROW, BYLINE: It's such an intense performance. And I just rewatched it last night and was still terrified by it, even though I've seen it so many times over the years now. Do you remember what the initial conversations with M. Night Shyamalan or others about just kind of how you were approaching and thinking about this kid were?
OSMENT: Yeah. And one of the luxuries that we had doing this movie - and it's a really rare luxury, especially these days - was weeks of rehearsal and conversations with, you know, me and Night. And my dad would go off and have conversations together. And then me and Night would - Bruce - and Bruce would meet, all these small groups of discussions, then leading into rehearsals and hanging out in the spaces where we'd be shooting the film. And that just really was a great opportunity to get into the feel and the tone and the atmosphere of the project.
And I think I remember the very first conversation I had with Night in his office after getting to Philadelphia was him being very adamant that this would be, you know, I don't even know if he'd call it a horror movie, but he's like, in horror movies, someone's walking down a dark hallway and there's a scare because a hand grabs him on the shoulder, but, oh, it was just their friend. He's like, we're not going to be doing things like that in this movie. We're not going to have cheap scares. It's all going to be coming out of real behavior.
And I think that set a really good tone for us. And one of the best things my dad said to me when I was, you know, rehearsing for the audition was saying, this is a movie about communication, not a movie about ghosts. And that's where I think the real horror and emotion comes from is there's no greater fear than not being able to communicate with the people you love.
DETROW: Right. Right. I mean, this isn't an original observation, but I was thinking about it so much watching it last night before I talked to you, that I feel like so much of the power of your performance comes from really subtle facial expressions and really subtle eye movement, just the way that this kid feels a ghost's presence or gets frightened or becomes very vulnerable. Like, these little movements go such a long way. Was that something that was actively part of those conversations about how to approach this?
OSMENT: I think a lot of it just came naturally. I mean, it's all part of Night's brilliant direction. But the environment we were shooting in was this - I think it's gone now, but it was the old Philadelphia Convention Center, which had been abandoned except for film productions. And even a studio film like this seemed dwarfed by this, you know, cavernous space with these hallways that kind of looked like, uh, when Bruce comes aboveground in "12 Monkeys" and everything's covered in spider webs and everything. So it was a great kind of haunted house environment shooting.
And then there were these repeated scenes where we draped the set in tarps and then pump in cold air so that you could see our breath. This was not a time when people were using CGI for that effect. It was really a freezing temperature. And so something like that, with great material and having, you know, spent a lot of time rehearsing it, it really - a lot of these decisions really came naturally. But a lot of these shots that I think you're referring to, the camera's right up in my face. So there's really no question of whether it's going to capture all the subtleties and feelings. And. You know, you as an actor, you really don't have to to think about projecting that or showing that stuff. As long as you're feeling it, the camera is going to capture it.
DETROW: There has been a lot written about how a movie like this can be so successful. It kind of traps people in a certain way. Like, I think with him, obviously, the plot twist became a big part of his career and something that's, you know, just incredibly hard to keep up movie to movie to movie. And, you know, you're in the situation that so many other actors have faced where you're this breakout child star, and then in many ways, people freeze you in their mind at that age. How did you navigate it over the years? Because it seems like you did it in a way that worked for you really well.
OSMENT: Yeah. I feel very lucky to have been able to play all these different roles that I've done. And yeah, that is something that can happen when you're a part of a project that is a big hit like this one. And if you're a kid, like, you are kind of frozen in people's minds at that age. And I guess, career wise, that can be a challenge. But as an actor, it's - it can be an opportunity because you can find all these ways to, you know, camouflage yourself or, you know, one of the most gratifying things you can have happen as an actor is people go, like, oh, I didn't realize that was you in something, you know, which is - I think actors get a kick out of.
So I'm 36 now. And I feel like, you know, all these new opportunities for roles are opening up to me because of my age. I was, you know, able to play so many different types of roles. And now - I've never been afraid of getting older because it's just - it broadens the horizons of the different types of characters you can play. And if you've had experiences like I've had with these movies, when I was 10 or 12 years old, it's always kind of playing off of those expectations that people have. And that's something that can - I don't know - it kind of motivates you as an actor.
DETROW: I'm going to try hard to continue our streak of not spoiling anything for people.
OSMENT: We've done a really good job, haven't we?
DETROW: Yeah. I'm proud of us. So this is the most challenging question on that front. What do you think - all these years later, what do you think the most powerful scene is?
OSMENT: That's really hard. I mean, there's the most famous scene with me and Bruce.
DETROW: Yeah.
OSMENT: But I - just statistically, the scene that people would come up to me and want to talk about to this - back then and to this day is the scene with me and Toni in the car at the end...
DETROW: Oh, yeah.
OSMENT: ...When I finally reveal what's been going on to her.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE SIXTH SENSE")
OSMENT: (As Cole Sear) I'm ready to communicate with you now.
TONI COLLETTE: (As Lynn Sear) Communicate?
OSMENT: (As Cole Sear) Tell you my secrets.
DETROW: And Toni Collette is such an amazing - especially, like, this is the first time I've seen this movie since I've been a parent. And just the emotion that's coming through...
OSMENT: Oh, yeah.
DETROW: ...Is overwhelming.
OSMENT: It's an incredible performance.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE SIXTH SENSE")
OSMENT: (As Cole Sear) You think I'm a freak?
COLLETTE: (As Lynn Sear) Look at my face. I would never think that about you, ever. Got it?
DETROW: I'm curious. You know, we're talking about 25 years and all the different things that mean. And I'm wondering, to put it in "The Simpsons" terms, 25 years later, do you still deal with people trying to ask you to say the line, and how do you handle that?
OSMENT: That doesn't happen too much anymore.
DETROW: That's good.
OSMENT: But I'm still shocked at how many times I see the line out there. This was a while ago. I remember Tiger Woods rolling down the window of a Buick van in a commercial and saying the line while I was watching golf on TV. That was a surprise. I remember seeing Yasiel Puig say it on the big screen at Dodger Stadium for some player movie quiz that they did in between innings.
Yeah. I mean, the fact that it's on - I believe it's on the AFI list of quotes right behind Peter Finch's I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore, that's - it's a big honor to be attached to something like that.
DETROW: Haley Joel Osment, it has been wonderful to talk to you. Thanks so much for coming on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
OSMENT: Thanks, man. Great talking to you, too. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
