Joseph Gordon-Levitt Talks Meeting Edward Snowden

In the biographical political thriller Snowden, Joseph Gordon-Levitt takes on the role of polarizing figure Edward Snowden, who leaked classified information from the NSA to the press in 2013.

Gordon-Levitt did a ton of work to prepare for the role, which included meeting with Snowden himself.

“I did get to spend some time with [Snowden] personally, which helped a lot,” Gordon-Levitt revealed to BackstageOL’s Dave Morales.

“It was interesting because I think he’s used to people meeting him and kind of grilling him on his politics,” he added. “And that wasn’t what I was interested in because I was going to play him as an actor so I wanted to just get a sense of him as a human being.”

“You can tell a lot about a person just by like how they shake your hand,” Gordon-Levitt said. “But subsequently…I watched everything I could. I listened to him on repeat. I ripped the audio off of Citizenfour, the documentary he’s in, and just put his voice in my headphones while I was sleeping.”

Snowden, which also stars Shailene Woodley, arrives in theaters this weekend.

Watch our interview with Gordon-Levitt below: