I don't think it was because Pollock was a selfish individual, but because he couldn't get beyond his own feelings or perceptions of things.' He was very self-obsessed and painfully self-aware. Some part of me understood some of the stuff he was going through. 'I got drawn into his struggles as a person even more so than his art. Talk long enough to Harris about his motivation to make this movie, and he will admit to a certain identification with its subject. He was emotionally abusive to his wife, painter Lee Krasner (played by Marcia Gay Harden), without whom he might not have survived even to 44, when he crashed his car while drunk, killing himself and a passenger. Eventually, all his friends, supporters and even his family were alienated by his behavior. Pollock is an extreme example of the anti-social artist. Suddenly, he doesn't want to expend the energy it takes to be 'on' for his public. Harris can be wildly charming but spend some time with him, and you can see his mood change. The habit is one indication of his intense nature. He's been puffing on unfiltered cigarettes for 30 of his 50 years. It's nighttime and a bit brisk to be outdoors, but Harris chose the site so he could smoke. It's like asking why you married the woman you did,' Harris said, knocking back a beer on the patio of a South of Market bar. 'It's so hard for me to explain my attraction to Jackson Pollock.
