Preparing for his role in “Wall Street 2,” the actor discovered just how addictive Wall Street culture is—and why it’s not as soulless as many believe.

Question: How did yournstudy for your role in “Wall Street 2”?

John Buffalo Mailer: rn It was a fairly extensive rehearsalrnprocess.  I took trips out to LongrnIsland, kind of just got the feel of the town that we had set my rncharacterrncoming from, voice lessons, learning the floor, learning the actual rntrade ofrnWall Street traders.  It was kindrnof an incredible process.  So Shiarn[LeBouf] and myself and several other people, we just spent as many rnhours as werncould shadowing different traders on the floor kind of finding where it rnstandsrntoday, how it’s different from the first Wall Street, how it’s the same.  It was an amazing ride.  I’ll rntell you that.

Question: How has WallrnStreet culture changed since the original film came out?

John Buffalo Mailer: rn Well the numbers are bigger for onernthing.  It’s much more global.  It’srn less centric to whatever arearnyou’re in.  You know, some floorsrnyou go in and when the bell rings it’s silent and all you see are the rncomputerrnscreens starting to light up as people do different trades.  It used to be kind of like a big bangrnwould start off the day.  A companyrnthat was I think the one I learned the most from, just in terms of my rnown characterrnand the kind of firm he worked in, was John Thomas Financial. And there rnit’srnlike, you know, warriors in an arena getting ready for battle.  Thomas Belesis just fires these guys uprnlike there is no tomorrow, and I absolutely got addicted to that rnoptimism andrnadrenaline and that “We’re going to do it, we’re going to do it, buddy” rnkind ofrnattitude that he had, so you know it runs the full spectrum.  His firm is much more like what it usedrnto be in terms of warriors on a mission. rnI think now it’s a lot more relaxed.  You rnsee a lot of sneakers and jeans at places depending onrnwhich firm you’re talking to.

Question: What surprisedrnyou about Wall Street culture?

John Buffalo Mailer: rn I had a lot of preconceived notionsrngoing in.  It wasn’t an industryrnthat I really respected much.  Myrnfeeling was kind of like look, you’re not making anything. rn You’re taking money from one place,rnputting it in another and taking your cut and that’s just not really rnkind ofrnsoul-satisfying at the end of the day, but what I learned is, on a rnlarger scalernis how much the Wall Street industry funnels and fuels so many others rnand wernwould not have a lot of medical research without it.  Wern would not have, you know, educational programs withoutrnit.  There is a lot of good that thesernguys do, and to lump all traders into a category is as insane as lumpingrn anyrngroup of people into one category. rnYou’re going to find the good people and bad all around.  I had a lot of fun with thosernguys.  The laughter is unlike mostrnsettings you’ll find.  The level ofrnintensity, the adrenaline, the stakes are incredible.  Irn mean it is addictive.  I can understand why rnpeople end up spending 23 or 24 hours arnday hitting it.

Question: Is Wall Streetrnfundamentally at odds with Main Street?

John Buffalo Mailer: rn No, not at all.  Not at all. rn I mean I think one of the larger problems going on right nowrnis, debate has replaced discussion. rnAs I say you can’t lump Wall Street into one category.  That doesn’t mean anything.  Everyrn firm has a different attitude andrndoes different things and puts their cherries in certain places and rntheir moneyrnin others.  Some are vicious,rnnasty, I will cut you down at all costs to make a buck, some have a muchrn higherrnmoral standard.  My hope is thatrnthe film will actually serve as a way for us to bridge that gap between rnWallrnStreet and Main Street.  Certainlyrnthat’s dealt with in the film of how it does affect everybody, so, you rnknow, Irnalways find that when you can create a movie or a play or a book that rngivesrnsomebody a safe theoretical place to discuss what is really going on in rnthe dayrnit tends to forward discussion, so that would be my hope coming out of rnthernfilm.

Recorded March 30, 2010
Interviewed by Austin Allen