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CraveOnline: What was military training like?

Joseph Gordon Levitt: We slept for like three hours a night. We had to wake up and do an hour watch. It was like two hours outside of Austin just in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

CraveOnline: You had a really big gun, right?

Joseph Gordon Levitt: That's the military's sense of humor for you. They give the big gun to the small guy.

CraveOnline: Was the sergeant on the set?

Joseph Gordon Levitt: Yeah, I guess his credit officially is military advisor, Sgt. Major Jim Dever, as well as Mender and Quay under him. They were basically watching out every move and making sure that everything we did, from the way that we wore our cap to the way that we saluted to the way that we walked to the words that we used, that that was proper and buyable as soldiers.

CraveOnline: Did you do any research on stop loss?

Joseph Gordon Levitt: Yeah, I went to a recruitment office. Guy was really cool, really smart but if he could have gotten me to sign it immediately, he would have. He wouldn't have said, "You know, you maybe want to read that whole thing."

CraveOnline: Just for research?

Joseph Gordon Levitt: Yeah, just to check it out.

CraveOnline: They didn't recognize you?

Joseph Gordon Levitt: No, I'm a master of disguise.

CraveOnline: Talk about a very different kind of war movie, how is G.I. Joe going?

Joseph Gordon Levitt: G.I. Joe is not a war movie. I wouldn't call Stop Loss a war movie so much as a soldier movie because it's about guys coming home. It's not a movie about any political specific message or not trying to convince you. It's not really making any grand statements about the war because, and I think the reason for that is of all the soldiers that I got to know, and I got to know and got close to quite a few guys, they didn't have any simplistic unilateral opinions about "the war" in general. I think when you're actually over there, it changes. When you're getting shot at, all that matters to you is you want to get your buddies home safe and you want to get yourself home safe and that's it. Stop Loss is a story about these human beings. It's not about "the war." But G.I. Joe is just a fun day at the thrill park. That's all it is, and it's so much fun. It really is.

CraveOnline: Kids still play G.I. Joe today. What's it like playing for real?

Joseph Gordon Levitt: It feels a lot like being a kid actually. It really does.

CraveOnline: Is there any military accuracy whatsoever in it?

Joseph Gordon Levitt: It's not aimed at that, no. There's no boot camp, there's nothing military, it has nothing to do with reality in any way. They're shooting lasers.

CraveOnline: Were you a fan?

Joseph Gordon Levitt: No, I was a Thundercats kid.

CraveOnline: Are you giving an eye towards more commercial projects after doing so many indie films?

Joseph Gordon Levitt: To me, what's important is making a good movie and of course I want people to see it. Stop Loss will get much more exposure than some of the smaller movies that I did, but it was made with the same spirit as some of those tiny independent movies that I made. Kimberly Pierce is an artist. She's not doing this to make money. I don't think any of us were there to make money. In fact, I think, well, I don't know if this is exactly a fact, but I do know that none of us were there to make money. We all were doing it because we cared about it, believed in it and that's what matters to me.