'In love with the game': Star Emile Hirsch on his new poker thriller, Dead Money

Hirsch did much of the same, spending months playing in the local LA home games and casinos. Hirsch also consulted with many local pros and personalities, including Hustler Casino Live producer Ryan Feldman and high stakes regulars Nik ‘Airball’ Arcot, Matthew ‘Hanks’ Honig, Dylan Flashner, and Alan Keating (who appears in the movie).

PokerOrg caught up with Emile Hirsch this week to get the lowdown on his research for the film and what he learned about real life along the way.

Watch the full interview above, or check out some highlights below.

Can you tell us a little bit about your background in poker?

I learned to play when I was probably around 18. And I was never very good. I didn't have the patience. I was too impulsive.  I didn't want to play in a way that would make me a winning player. I just wanted to play every hand. I would lose and get mad and quit.

Hopefully you got a more solid handle on the game as you prepared for the movie?

I did. This was my chance to get back into poker and re-explore the game. Maybe I could learn to win. I prepared by playing a lot in casinos and worked to get better. It's a huge learning curve. It still took me a lot to become even close to a break-even player.

What was Josh Wilcox’s vision for the movie, as a screenwriter who is also a very experienced poker player?

I think other poker films, such as Rounders, inspired him. He'd spent so many years playing poker at Hustler Casino that I think he was more excited to tell his own story in the poker world. It’s not necessarily biographical because it's a movie. However, it contains certain elements that are naturally enhanced to make it interesting for an audience.

Did you work with any well-known players on the cash game scene?

I talked with Alan Keating. He also appears in the film during a big game. Dylan Flashner, Charlie Hook, Nik Airball, and Hanks.

Did you put a bankroll aside to play? You would need a big one against that lineup.

I lost my bankroll. Gone. So, I thought I had to do something to regain the bankroll and not going to do a movie to build the roll back. Cause, in my mind, that's almost crazy, right? So, I recently took up painting again and started painting players.

I got to know a lot of these pros. I started painting portraits for these players I had met and having so much fun with the medium. I painted Airball, Charlie Hook, Keating, and Rahul.

Did you play with some locals on the LA poker scene in home games?

I played with Ryan Feldman and random games in the Valley and the Westside. I got to know so many different characters. That's one of the most fun things about the movie; it introduced me to all these different personalities in that world.

They're such characters, and some of them are degenerates. And it's funny because I was talking with someone the other day about the game. There's a certain element of criminality. It’s not a Boy Scout activity. Poker became popular in the Wild West, with everyone drinking whisky and having revolvers on their hip.

What’s the most intriguing thing you learned while playing poker in the LA scene?

I fell in love with the game, and to this day I still love watching it. I like watching Hustler Casino Live and High Stakes Poker on PokerGO. I love watching player vlogs, too. I'll watch Mariano's or Brad Owen's vlog and others. It's one of those things that you can still get entertainment from, even if you're not the one doing it.

Emile Hirsch stars in the new poker movie Dead Money

Do you have a favorite player to watch play?

Hands down, Alan Keating. He makes really good reads and is an absolute beast at the table. He's a lot of fun and entertaining to watch. Alan is an open, handsome face that makes for good poker TV.  He's not a f**king Quasimodo or a robot at the table, you know what I mean?

Did you make any character choices from watching the players on the streams and in the casinos?

I chose to wear a hoodie. I thought of it like this kind of superhero costume for the character. At first, we were concerned it wouldn’t work on camera. But as soon as we tested it out, we loved it. This might be like the first poker movie, weirdly enough, where the hood is used so often in the games.

I just wanted the character to seem natural and to believe me in the part. That was the most important thing to get right. My character, Andy, he’s a good guy. He makes a lot of flawed decisions, and he’s very impulsive and emotional while playing, but he's not a bad guy. At the end of the day, he's not a bad person.

Did you learn anything from immersing yourself in poker that positively affected your life?

It kind of breaks through a certain amount of naivete in life. It teaches you a little about how things are in our lives. You realize sometimes people are lying. Sometimes, people are bluffing. Sometimes I need to bluff, you know?

Sometimes, I need to take risks and do something bold, even when I am scared. I feel like the game does teach a lot of mini-lessons for life. I recently retweeted an article on my Twitter about how many stock traders learn to play poker because it helps them increase their risk tolerance.

Alan Keating is Hirsch's favorite player to watch.

What about your risk tolerance? Any uptick?

Yes. My risk tolerance is higher now, especially regarding financial risk tolerance. It’s a lot greater than I think it was before. Because once you're around people taking risks and seeing that the world doesn't necessarily end if you lose, you become more and more comfortable with certain amounts of risk.

What was the craziest hand you played while doing your research?

It was a really funny hand, but it’s not like I played it well. I had pocket aces versus this annoying college kid at the table. He had been complaining and kind of sh*t-talking.

I raised fairly big preflop. The kid called. The flop comes 6-7-8 rainbow. I bet. He raised pretty big, and I jammed all in. He called and flipped over his cards. He had flopped a straight. The dealer proceeded to put an ace on the turn and the river. Quads. I was like, ‘Oh, my God!’

At that moment, the college dude realized the universe was an unfair, cruel place. He stood up, and he just left. He didn't even say a word. Sure, it was so unlucky for him. But it was the craziest hand. He experienced some instant karma.

That’s poker.

I know. (laughs)

Do you plan on jumping into any games again soon?

I hope to play on HCL again. I’ve talked with Ryan. I’m looking forward to it.

Dead Money is out in theaters on September 13 (and it's just been announced that Emile Hirsch will be on Hustler Casino Live the same day.)