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‘I always have a moment of confession’: Peter Sarsgaard on truth, ethics and the quirks of family life

Peter Sarsgaard’s calm authority has brought depth to a huge range of roles, from Dopesick to Batman. He talks about his dismay at Trump’s victory, trying to do the right thing, and raising his daughters with Maggie Gyllenhaal

Sarsgaard will soon appear in September 5, a film that recounts the 1972 Munich massacre, during which members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage by Palestinian terrorists, as broadcast by an ABC sports crew who covered the episode live. He considers himself no longer a practising Catholic, though “I still cross myself when I move from one side of the church to the other; I still take holy water; if I take communion, I have a whole moment with myself about transubstantiation.” At high school he attended mandatory confession once a week. I think it comes down to ignorance, a lack of education, the government not caring about the issues affecting a lot of the people in our country who are living in a way that is more hand-to-mouth.” In Trump, supporters see “somebody who is promising something significant,” he says.

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