Itâs been nearly 20 years since Mick Jagger last acted, but as the new film âThe Burnt Orange Heresyâ shows, his chops have gathered no moss.
In the film, which Sony Pictures Classics will release Friday, Jagger co-stars alongside Claes Bang and Elizabeth Debicki as a devilish art collector who cunningly convinces an art journalist (Bang) to use a rare interview with a reclusive artist (Donald Sutherland) as an opportunity to steal one of his paintings. Itâs Jaggerâs first film since 2001âs âThe Man From Elysian Fields.â And, he says, it might be his last.
âI wish I had done a lot more acting. Iâve just done bits and pieces here and there whenever Iâve been able to,â Jagger said in an interview by phone. Then he chuckles. âYou know, I have another job. I have several other jobs, really.â
When the 76-year-old hasnât been performing with the Rolling Stones, Jagger has carved out a peripatetic but adventurous career in movies. Heâs favored more experimental filmmakers, working with Jean-Luc Godard, Nicolas Roeg and Werner Herzog. Acting a little less than David Bowie but more than Bob Dylan, Jaggerâs film career has been consistently intrepid. Heâs a very good actor, even if his big-screen performances will always be dwarfed by the gyrating spectacle of his kinetic stage persona.
âI always liked the idea of it,â Jagger, speaking by phone from France, says of acting. âI enjoy the change of pace and the change of focus of your performance. When Iâm performing these days, itâs mostly in very large places in front of lots of people, whereas when youâre on a small set, youâre performing much more subtly and not such elaborate gestures. You have to really tone it down.â
Sometimes, fate (and tour scheduling) has intervened. Jaggerâs performance in Herzogâs famously delirious âFitzcarraldoâ (1982) was cut because the original lead, Jason Robards, got sick. When shooting restarted in the Peruvian jungle, Jagger had a conflicting Stones tour. His part was deleted and Klaus Kinski took over for Robards. Herzog has called Jaggerâs departure âone of the biggest losses Iâve ever experienced as a director.â (Bits of Jaggerâs performance be seen in documentaries like âBurden of Dreamsâ and âMy Best Friend.â)
âIt was a pity about that. That was a shame,â says Jagger. âSo Klaus Kinski did the job on that and did it better than I. Nevertheless, it was an experience.â
But the timing and the script lined up for âThe Burnt Orange Heresy.â Itâs directed by Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Capotondi, whose twisty 2009 debut film âThe Double Hourâ proved his talent for conjuring a noirish atmosphere of intrigue and mystery. âThe Burnt Orange Heresy,â based on Charles B. Willefordâs 1971 novel, is an elegant, stylish kind of film seldom made any more, with glamorous actors in a glamorous setting (Italyâs Lake Como).
When Capotondi first met Jagger in London to discuss the part, he was struck by the rock starâs humility. âHe said, âLook, I havenât done this in 20 years. I might be rusty,ââ recalled Capotondi.
Jagger found ways to shape the character, giving him slicked-backed hair and a slightly menacing Chelsea accent from the 1960s. In the film, Jaggerâs art dealer presents Bangâs writer with a kind of Faustian bargain, and things get darker from there. Capotondi considers the character a version of the devil — an apropos role for the writer of âSympathy for the Devil.â
âTo play the devil is something that can appeal to most actors. Itâs such a serpentine character,â says Capotondi. âGiven the Rolling Stones discovery, I think itâs quite fitting.â
Jagger is less sure about the connections between âThe Burnt Orange Heresyâ and the bandâs classic 1968 single, which was partially inspired by Mikhail Bulgakovâs beloved Russian novel about Beelzebub in 1930s Moscow, âThe Master and Margarita,â and a Baudelaire poem. But Jaggerâs art dealer is, for sure, âa man of wealth of taste,â and one that playfully trades on Jaggerâs demonic charisma.
âIt was in my grasp to do this character. I thought it would be fun to do,â says Jagger. âHe basically charms and threatens him to do what he wants. Itâs not a lot of screen time but heâs the one who sets off the action.â
One of Jaggerâs first films remains one of his most celebrated: Roegâs hallucinatory 1970 film âPerformance,â in which he played a drug-addled, gender-bending rock star. Critically slammed upon release, itâs steadily grown a cult following with Jaggerâs performance often ranking among the best by a musician in a film.
He played the title character in Tony Richardsonâs âNed Kelly,â the âbonejackerâ in Victor Vacendakâs cyberpunk âFreejack (1992) and a drag queen in âBent.â He was an executive producer on the short-lived HBO series âVinyl,â and produced the James Brown biopic âGet on Up.â And then there are the many documentaries that have indelibly captured the Stones, including âGimme Shelter,â about the tragic 1969 Altamont concert; Martin Scorseseâs âShine a Light,â Brett Morganâs âCrossfire Hurricaneâ and Godardâs intimate but chaotic doc, âSympathy for the Devil.â
âI used to say to Jean-Luc, âWhatâs the rest of the movie like? Can you explain to me what the rest of the movie is like?â And he really couldnât. I donât think he really knew. It was like: What a genius,â says Jagger.
âWhen I was really young, I used to watch a lot of foreign cinema,â he adds. âI watched early Roman Polanski movies when I was a student and we used to think ourselves great intellectuals and just watch foreign films and New Wave. We were very into that.â
Jagger, who last year had heart surgery, is currently prepping the North American leg of the Rolling Stonesâ âNo Filterâ tour this summer. His day job, again, calls. Jagger is certain to remain a regular soundtrack to cinema; the Stonesâ remain an irresistible score to countless films. (Most recently, âSweet Virginiaâ lent a luminous lilt to the finale of âKnives Out.â) But Jagger acknowledges âThe Burnt Orange Heresyâ could be his big-screen swan song.
âIf I donât get offered another decent role, it might be,â Jagger says. The he laughs. âItâs not planned. If someone offered me something to do in the autumn, Iâm sure Iâd do it if it was a good part.â