Ben Foster first impressed viewers with roles on beloved programs like Freaks and Geeks and Six Feet Under. He went on to steal scenes in films like Alpha Dog and 3:10 to Yuma, but he does the best work of his career in Oren Moverman’s incredible drama The Messenger, co-starring Woody Harrelson and Samantha Morton.

In the film, Foster plays a soldier who is forced to finish out his service as a Casualty Notification Officer, one of the men who informs next of kin when their loved one has died fighting for his country. Foster delivers a spectacular performance (as does Woody Harrelson) and he recently spoke to us on the eve of the film’s debut at the Chicago International Film Festival. The fascinating young actor spoke about researching a role like this, what it meant to him, and how hard it was to leave it behind.

MovieRetriever: Do you enjoy the film festival experience?

BEN FOSTER: If you're with a film that you care about, it's pretty easy to talk about. I guess I don't show up if I don't....

MovieRetriever: One of the things that struck me about the film is that it's such an emotionally devastating role, that it seems like it would be difficult to leave behind as an actor. What's your process to "leave it there" and move on to something else?

FOSTER: It's tricky. I don't know if I've totally shaken it. What's nice about asking these kinds of questions in the form of a film is that it demands a personal rigor to ask yourself these questions. How do we deal with grief? How do we deal with loss? How do we find ways to connect and celebrate what we do have? If that's hard to shake, that's fine with me. I like those questions rattling around.

MovieRetriever: Is it difficult to change gears so drastically from something like this to something like Pandorum?

FOSTER: Yeah. I finished The Messenger and three weeks later I was in Berlin. The idea was that I'd shake out the ghosts and hang out in Berlin and go to museums and play hard and run around a f**king spaceship. It was a naive concept.

MovieRetriever: I'm sure it was hard work on Pandorum too.

FOSTER: And not rewarding in the ways that ... well ... um, yeah. It serves its own purpose and I'm not going to speak poorly of it but it wasn't what was presented to me at the time. I think I probably should have taken time off. I'm not saying I shouldn't have done it, but ... You don't want to start a project if you don't have anything to give. That being said, The Messenger ... it's easy to get back into that head space and, at least, engage in a dialogue with people about it. It's always interesting to hear people's stories regardless of military relationship. It's a universal experience that we all have, which is loss. We've received those phone calls and we've made them. Someday, people will receive them on our behalf. We're in a culture where we really duck it. We hide it. And, on some level, I believe it's an unhealthy approach to the inevitable. It's not morbid if someone is able to feel what they're feeling – even if it's scary and hard and recognize the delicacy and the gift that we have of just existing right now.

MovieRetriever: I had never made the connection in my head but what you just said certainly resonates with themes of Six Feet Under as well – our dealing with mortality and loss. Do you go back and watch your old films and TV work or do you leave it behind, as long as we're talking about shaking roles?

FOSTER: I've seen The Messenger three times, which is more than I've seen anything I've done before. I'm not comfortable watching myself. The pleasure is the collaboration and experiencing it on the day with the people that you're with. I'm sure at some point, when no one will hire me and I'm back in Iowa living in my trailer, I'll pop some DVDs in and have myself a good cry as to how I would have done things differently. You never know, pal.

MovieRetriever: We already hinted at a variety of choices in your career. Is that something important to you when you choose a role? Something different for you? A new challenge?

FOSTER: Yeah. (Thinks.) I choose each film for a different reason. I'd like to say there's some grand scheme but it's really about what shows up and when and where you're at. I imagine ... just thinking of this out loud for the first time ... as a writer, if you're good at what you do, you're probably only going to be asking one or two different questions. They're going to be variations on a theme. You'll have a question that is important to you and you work through the films or the current project to get closer to some kind of answer. I like to be challenged in different ways, but it depends on who I'm working with. I like all kinds of movies. I'm not a movie snob. I like all sorts of genres. Shaking it up and playing with different environments....

MovieRetriever: Do you have any sort of ten or twenty-year plan as to where you want your career to be or can you not look that far?

FOSTER: I can't really think that far. I know that I want to be working with Oren Moverman.

MovieRetriever: Is there anyone you look at – their career – and go "that's what I want"? Anyone whose decisions you admire more than most?

FOSTER: There's no one I'm attempting to emulate. There are a lot of people I respect and enjoy. I just keep trying to take one job to the next and try to be as present as possible.

MovieRetriever: Let's talk a bit about the preparation for a role like this. You spoke to real casualty notification officers.

FOSTER: Sure. We had the head of the CNO on-set every day. He had performed many. Talking with soldiers ... the extras are the men and women or boys and girls actually who had gotten back days before marching in the background. We took a trip – myself, Woody, Oren – to Walter Reade. We hung out with those kids ... missing pieces. It was very sobering. The way that Oren directed us – his strategy was to serve the piece and not ourselves. He set an example and created an environment where we had to listen to each other and honor these men and women. There was no rehearsal for any scene. We never met those we had to notify until we were actually knocking on the door. He would work the camera in a single move and those that would be notified separately. So, when Woody and I would walk up, we were raw nerves. It created this space where we had to really listen to each other. We didn't know what would happen.

MovieRetriever: That's such a unique experience as an actor.

FOSTER: He put a lot of confidence into his actors and trusted that we would be to each other and react to whatever happened. Just be with each other. Let it roll.

MovieRetriever: How do you develop that sort of trust with him and yourself? Do you do a lot of back story and character development, so you know that it will all be there in the moment?

FOSTER: I came about two months early to work with Oren in New York. We talked to soldiers and watched documentaries. We built a shorthand where, by the time we were on-set, his direction, although incredibly insightful, was very simple and subtle. We just built trust. He's one of those guys – when you meet him ... you can smell a liar. You just know that he's a true humanist.

MovieRetriever: Would you say the same thing about Woody? How do you develop that chemistry?

FOSTER: I had already been a huge fan of Woody's for years. When I heard that he was coming on, I was so excited. Of course, they say never meet your heroes. But it's one of those rare love affairs. I'm so ... I don't want to say proud ... it's not the right word ... blown away to work with him as he's working on such a deep level. He hasn't made the choice to do this kind of work often but when he does, he really swings. He's my brother. I would do anything for Woody.

MovieRetriever: It's his best performance in such a very long time....

FOSTER: If not ever.

MovieRetriever: Did you two spend time together to build the chemistry that your characters eventually developed?

FOSTER: (Laughs.) Play hard, work hard. When you click with somebody, you've got to shake out the ghosts somehow. We found our ways.

MovieRetriever: How do you think your TV experience made you a different film actor?

FOSTER: I've been lucky. Really fortunate. My TV work has been with people who come from a theater or film background. Working with Alan Ball on Six Feet Under – all the writers were primarily playwrights and it was a different film director each week hand-picked from the festivals. Freaks and Geeks was the Apatow crew. And then some guest spots to pay the rent. I've been fortunate to work with people who have a certain kind of rigor.

MovieRetriever: If something like Six Feet Under came along again – a commitment for maybe even a few years – would that interest you or are you committed to film for now?

FOSTER: I'm really not making any plans. What I love about film is that there's a cap on it. You have a limited time. The difficult thing with TV is that very rarely do you have a character arc. It's daunting.