For Gordon-Levitt role in 'Hesher,' nothing altered character like a filthy wig

Joseph Gordon-Levitt had to de-glam for his role as the title character in "Hesher." Gone is the perfectly coiffed hair and tailored suits of Arthur, the character he played in "Inception." For "Hesher" he has a greasy mop of long hair and is dressed in well-worn flannel.

Hesher is a shaggy-haired misanthrope with a mysterious past, like a crazed version of Clint Eastwood's "Man With No Name" if he had poorly drawn tattoos and lived in the San Fernando Valley.

Hesher encounters TJ (Devin Brochu), a scrawny teen silently grieving the recent death of his mother, and moves in with his family, "The Office's" Rainn Wilson as the semicatonic dad and Piper Laurie as a well-meaning grandmother.

But back to the look. The straggly hair is a wig, a necessary concession because Gordon-Levitt couldn't grow that much hair quickly enough. "Everytime they put it on me, I kept saying 'go dirtier and dirtier,' " he said.

"You want a character to come from the inside out," he continued, but putting on Hesher's hair allowed him to step into the character. "I would put the wig on and I would start to walk differently, to stand differently."

But every detail of Hesher's disheveled appearance, including his many tattoos, was carefully designed. Director Spencer Susser told Gordon-Levitt that Hesher was inspired, in part, by original Metallica bassist Cliff Burton. So on Hesher's right biceps is a skull tattoo, the logo of the punk band the Misfits, matching one that Burton had. Hesher's most-striking ink is on his chest, a stick figure blowing its brains out, and a heavily lined middle finger on his back.

"All of his tattoos have to do with death, except for the middle finger on his back," Gordon-Levitt said. "But I guess f---ing is the opposite of death."

Gordon-Levitt made "Hesher" before he stepped into "Inception." The twisty-turny blockbuster marked the actor's first collaboration with director Christopher Nolan, who is developing the next Batman film, "The Dark Knight Rises." Gordon-Levitt landed the role of John Blake, a beat cop assigned to work under Batman BFF Commissioner Gordon.