The double Oscar victor used encrypted messages to communicate with colleagues during the filming of Snowden, which tells the story of how the NSA whistleblower leaked details of mass government surveillance in 2013.
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People familiar with Snowden’s story will know the outcome.
He went on to praise the movie, directed by Oliver Stone, as “powerful” and “inspiring”.
I was very happy to learn Oliver Stone had decided to make a film about Edward Snowden and believe this is a powerful and inspiring film.
“The government lies about it all the time and what they are doing is illegal – and they keep doing it”.
“I was kind of trying to figure out why he did what he did, what was going on in his head”, he said.
Snowden, who has been living in Russian Federation since June 2013, has said he would return to the United States if he was guaranteed a fair trial. It’s a scary world and I didn’t want to live like this and I don’t.
“I completely think it’s worth being very critical of some of these particular actions of the USA government, but I also choose to remain optimistic that we still do live in a country where we still do have the opportunity to raise our voices and try to take control of this”.
Speaking to reporters at the premiere, Gordon-Levitt said: “In reading up on him and really learning about what he did and why he did it, I felt grateful for what he did and honoured I got to play him”. (But) he’s been one of the most efficient managers of this surveillance world.
U.S. President Barack Obama has “been one of the most efficient managers of this surveillance world”, according to Stone, but there is the slim possibility that he could pardon Snowden – “despite the way he’s prosecuted vigorously eight whistleblowers under the Espionage Act”.
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Added Gordon-Levitt: “I know he would love to come home, I hope for that”.
