Spotlight Co-star Neal Huff: Why Didn't the Church Treat Abusers As Criminals?

By Jeryl Brunner
The Parade
December 11, 2015

http://parade.com/442927/jerylbrunner/spotlight-co-star-neal-huff-why-didnt-the-church-treat-abusers-as-criminals/


The film Spotlight was nominated for three Golden Globe awards, including Best Motion Picture—Drama. The riveting film unveils the true story of the fiercely intrepid Spotlight team of Boston Globe reporters and editors who exposed a massive cover-up of child abuse by more than 245 Catholic clergy.

The film stars a dream team cast including Michael Keaton, Liev Schreiber, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery, Brian d’Arcy James, Stanley Tucci, Billy Crudup and Neal Huff. Huff plays Phil Saviano, a key figure in the film who was abused by a priest when he was 11 and came forward to the Boston Globe.

Saviano founded the New England chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). He brought names of child molesting priests and evidence to the Boston Globe and was instrumental in helping the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team uncover the scandal.

Huff, who was a series regular on The Wire as Chief of Staff Michael Steintorf and is currently in the film Nasty Baby with Kristen Wiig, took time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions about Spotlight.

When you learned that you were going to play Phil Saviano in Spotlight, what went through your mind?

I have to meet this man.

Why?

One of the great privileges of working on this film was that I was playing a real person in this production. Co-screenwriters Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy (who also directed the film), were in close contact with him. Within days, I was up in Boston and Phil was walking me through his life. Phil’s story alone could fill a book.

What inspires you most about Phil?

He hung in there and didn’t give up. Though Phil is one of the most gentle people I have ever met, when you sit next to him and he’s talking about what’s important to him, there is a focus and life force that he just radiates. It’s almost intimidating. His strength of character is extraordinary.

What is most shocking to you about the story?

This is a story filled with shocking revelations. It’s impossible to say which is most. I’m particularly bowled over by the fact that so many priests used their standing as representatives of God to gain access to children for their own deviant ends. They took away innocence and God for so many. And I can’t fathom why the church refused to treat the abusers as criminals. If you had a house infested with roaches wouldn’t you want to get rid of the roaches? Not move them into other rooms.

How did the experience of doing Spotlight change you?

I think the sense of ethics and justice exhibited by the Spotlight team are a great cynicism-buster. Just talking to any of them makes me feel hopeful.

What touched you about the story?

Thanks to the amazing real-life Boston Globe Spotlight team Sacha Pfeiffer, Mike Rezendes, Walter Robinson, Matt Carroll, as well as [the Globe‘s then editor] Marty Baron, Phil was finally able to get out what he knew was true, through years of investigative work on his own. The church was moving abusing priests around to other parishes and trying to keep it quiet.

What might surprise people about Phil Saviano?

Phil is the only person in the Boston area who had a settlement with the church and did not have to sign a confidentiality agreement. He was very sick at the time and I believe they thought he wouldn’t be around for very long. But this allowed Phil to open the New England chapter of SNAP and become the great advocate that he is.

Is there something Phil told you that helped you get into character?

After our first meeting I asked Phil how, after all he’d been through, he didn’t turn on himself or those around him, why he didn’t get hooked on anything. He told me he got hooked on Judy Collins. Her music became a real balm for him. I listened to a lot of Judy Collins during filming.

What might surprise people about the film?

Even though the subject matter is dark, the story is so inspiring.

After seeing Spotlight, what do you hope people come away feeling?

Speaking truth to power, questioning any institution, is essential for the health of a society.