THE DEADBOLT: Are you interested in doing something like that? Writing and directing?

STURGESS: I used to do it a lot more than I do now - on a college level. We would make short films. I actually wrote a one-person show, which I performed. That was how I was approached by someone who recommended me to an agent and took me to a professional level.

THE DEADBOLT: Where do you stand with theater now? Do you want to go back and do more?

STURGESS: It's just finding the right time. I would love to. You try so hard to get a job in a film that when it comes you want to respect it and give it as much attention as possible.

THE DEADBOLT: With SO many movies, are you worried about getting overwhelmed or just exhausted?

STURGESS: No. I don't feel the workloads have gotten much harder, as far as work. I was always busy, whether that was working on being in a band or finding jobs or putting on plays. I've always enjoyed the process of working creatively. It is slightly overwhelming, the stuff that comes with it.

THE DEADBOLT: Like this stuff?

STURGESS: Yeah, and also there's a responsibility which I've never had before. You then have to kind of justify what you've done. But I enjoy the work so much.

THE DEADBOLT: Were you surprised by the incredibly varied responses to Across the Universe?

STURGESS: Not at all. There's so much in the movie. We knew it going in. The beauty of that film is that I was one of the cynics as we stepped in. I thought it was a terrible idea. This is before I knew about Julie being involved. Just the core nature of what that was sounded like a really bad idea. ‘We're gonna make a Beatles musical. Are you f*cking kidding me? That's a terrible idea. Why would you do something like that?’ And then you start realizing the people that were involved. So, I had to shed a certain baggage and, when I did, I realized how beautiful and incredible and fun and how you have every right to do whatever the f*ck you like. There were people that went into it with that [preconception] and they can't shed it. They just go, ‘Oh my God, they're kids. Oh my God, there's a high school musical number. They're singing Beatles songs. This is terrible.’ It's funny that the film has to pan out like it does because you need the innocence and the silliness of coming out of high school to get to where you have to go for the characters. The music was kind of silly, innocent, and bubble-gummy in those early years and then it became more experimental and psychedelic. The film tells that and then it becomes more politically weighted. It's just a dangerous thing to do and it's just going to create all kinds of responses. It was my first time in a film and I was nervous about [the response] and Julie was like, ‘Jim, people are responding to the film. It's so varied, which means we've made an interesting piece of work. It's great. This is really exciting.’ I think if half the people didn't hate it, Julie would have thought she hadn't done her job. If it was 100% approval, she would have thought, ‘Oh God, what have I done? I've let myself down.’”

THE DEADBOLT: What's Julie's working style? Her films are so creative and unique. Is that something that's very precisely planned or is she loose on set?

STURGESS: A little bit of both. She has very strong ideas - the big production numbers and the design - but when you're on-set, she's like a child in the best possible sense. She's like a child with a very creative adult's mind. It's an exciting combination. She works off other artists. She loves creative input and creative people and she surrounds herself with amazing people and she's the master puppeteer. She got such a buzz out of the young actors and young musicians in that film, which is why we had such a huge workshop period before that film. She loves just watching people working and ideas coming out of ideas coming out of ideas. For me, I just held on to her for dear life and dived into this crazy world she created.

THE DEADBOLT: Speaking of her, is Spider-Man: The Musical happening?

STURGESS: It certainly is for her.

THE DEADBOLT: But for you?

STURGESS: I'm not sure. I'm not too sure. We did a two-week workshop. It was me and Evan Rachel Wood. Just the chance to work with Evan and Julie again - two great friends. They're huge in my life. They changed my life so. I just love being around them. She just asked if I would come down and help out and just do the workshop. It was very similar to when we did Across the Universe - just throwing around ideas, doing improvisations. A writer was there and we would discuss [the project]. Bono and The Edge were there. They've written all the music. I'm sitting in a room with Bono writing a song about Spider-Man. You couldn't have gotten more insane than that. It was just one of those things. It was two weeks and the best time. It's gonna be an incredible piece of theater, whether I do it or not.

THE DEADBOLT: For you, it sounds like all that could keep you away is a scheduling conflict?

STURGESS: I think so, yeah.

THE DEADBOLT: If you had an open schedule, you'd say yes?

STURGESS: I think so. It's one of those things, you know? Life is for living, a hundred percent. You shouldn't worry too much. I never have done in the past. I don't worry about what's the "correct" thing to take or what's expected of me. To do something like that would just be the most ridiculous and incredible experience you can imagine.

21 opens in theaters on March 28th.