“I was losing my way,” he says now. “I wanted to find something that had to be said. Something that lived in the more complicated realm of people’s feelings and relationships—things which I’ve possibly expressed more strongly in my acting work.” And it’s true: As an actor, he’s always been particularly good at characters who are torn by contrary tendencies—whether it’s a dictator who tries to liberate his people through genocide or a cop whose livelihood is bringing down other cops. “As human beings, we all have reasons for our behavior. There may be people who have certain physiological issues that dictate why they make certain choices,” he says—and here he sounds like he could just as easily be talking about himself. “On the whole, though, I think we’re dictated by our structure, our past, our environment, our culture. So once you understand the patterns that shape a person, how can you not find sympathy?”

Having been so rigorous about employing this approach with his characters this way, he’s now learning to apply that same philosophy to himself. And he’s feeling a bit better these days. “I’ve done a couple of projects where I feel like my work is progressing,” he says. “That I was maybe becoming a better actor. Because I’ve been trying to get better.” He’s planning to open a new production company, under a new name, this March. He’s proud of his Idi Amin role, and he’s just finished Mary, with director Abel Ferrara, in which he plays a TV journalist who seeks redemption by making a documentary about the life of Christ. Whitaker’s new approach has proved redemptive for him as well, both in his roles and his bolstered sense of self. “I’m always trying to find a connecting factor with everything else and everyone else,” he says. “As a result, even when I play murderers or hit men or whomever, people tend to find some empathy for them. Because I look for that thing. And people can see that, gleaming inside my mind.”

Related:

• Archive: “Movie Features”
• Articles by Adam Sternbergh
• Table of Contents: Jan 9, 2006 issue of New York | Subscribe!