Joel Edgerton: 'It's easy to lose sight of who you are'

Joel Edgerton realised how easy it is to lose sight of who you are while filming Black Mass.

The Australian actor takes on the role of FBI agent John Connolly in the gangster drama about notorious American criminal James 'Whitey' Bulger, played by Johnny Depp. Despite working for the law, Joel gets drawn into the crime going on all around him.

While it might seem difficult to understand how someone could be swayed so easily, Joel believes it's actually more common than people think.

"There's a situation in life, and I've had it myself, where you're going down a series of events and you look up and look back and go: 'I am that person; how did I become that person'" he explained in an interview with Britain's The Guardian newspaper. "All those events are linked to each other and you're very much in control of that journey, yet somehow you've lose sight of yourself. And I don't think that's stupidity, that's lack of vision in some sense."

Whitey is supposed to be John's informant but as time goes on, John begins leaking classified information to the gangster. Joel thinks it's his character's upbringing and former experiences that shape the way he behaves.

"He sort of blurred the line and started to dance with jumping over that line, from law man to emulating the gangster," he mused. "I think it boils down to a weird little psychology that could be born out of the loyalties of south Boston and a young guy who was once saved from a little bullying incident by the local hood criminal gangsters."

Black Mass is already creating Oscars buzz, with many fans hoping Johnny will finally win his first Academy Award.