Aaron Eckhart Visits Harvard, Girls Swoon

Aspiring actors, filmmakers, writers and fans swarmed the Adams Upper House Common Room Friday to hear actor Aaron E. Eckhart of “The Dark Knight” and “Thank You for Smoking” talk about his acting career through an informal Q& A session. The hour-long conversation was presented by the Harvard Undergraduate Television speaker series.

Dressed in casual outfit—black V-neck sweater, khaki pants and suede boots—Eckhart shared insights into his life as an actor, tips on dealing with rejections and advices on pursuing your dream.

“You guys are the future,” he said. “As long as you have something good, who’s going to turn you down?”

At one point, Eckhart gathered laughter from the audience when a student asked for his criteria for choosing a film.

“Who’s the girl?” he said, making the girls sitting in the front row swoon (as a matter of fact, all the seats in the front were occupied by girls).

He encouraged the students to put their personality into every role they play. He added that, while playing the role of Harvey Dent/Two-Face in “The Dark Knight,” he read the comic books to figure out his character and understand what the face (or the faces) represents.

Though he said he enjoys surfing, biking, running and taking photos in his spare time, Eckhart said his true passion lies in movies. He also said that someday he would like to someday write, direct and produce his own movies.

Eckhart is in town for Friday night’s world premier of “To Be Friends,” written and directed by his brother James Lawrence Eckhart.

Photo by Shelby White/Wikimedia Commons.