Trivia
- Emile was named among Entertainment Weekly's "30 Under 30: The Actors" List of 2008.
- Before he appeared in films, Emile auditioned for commercials but never got hired because he "couldn't summon the inner performer to smile on cue."
- Emile is a hardcore fan of The Matrix and its sequels. He saw the first installment when he was 13 and considers it as one of the most memorable experiences he has had in the theater.
- Emile's first ever car was a blue Ford Festiva. During the time his movie Speed Racer finished filming, he was driving a black Toyota Prius.
- Emile has a collection of 20 to 30 skateboards since he was a kid. He got his first pro new-school skateboard when he was 19 years old.
- If there is one fantasy person Emile could meet and talk to, it would be Marlon Brando.
- Emile is a huge Batman fan. He also liked frog toys.
- Emile's experience with working on the skateboarding movie Lords of Dogtown helped him with his sense of balance in doing the mountain climbing scenes for the movie Into the Wild.
- Emile considers his director in Lords of Dogtown, Catherine Hardwicke, as his ideal director.
- Emile had to go on a diet and do a lot of exercises to lose weight dramatically for the last quarter of the movie Into the Wild. From the time when he got the part to the time when they shot the final scenes of the film, he lost a total of 41 pounds.
- Emile's nickname is Hirschy.
- Awards & Nominations:
2003 - Young Artist Award, Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actor for The Emperor's Club (nominated)
2005 - Teen Choice Award, Choice Movie Breakout Performance - Male for Lords of Dogtown (nominated)
2005 - MTV Movie Award, Choice Movie Breakout Performance - Male for Lords of Dogtown (nominated)
2007 - Gotham Award, Breakthrough Award for Into the Wild (nominated)
2007 - Mill Valley Film Festival Award, Best Actor for Into the Wild (won)
2007 - National Board Review Award (USA), Best Breakthrough Performance - Male for Into the Wild (won)
2008 - ShoWest Award, Male Star of Tomorrow
2008 - Screen Actors Guild Award, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for Into the Wild (nominated, shared with cast)
2008 - Screen Actors Guild Award, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for Into the Wild (nominated)
2008 - Palm Springs International Film Festival, Rising Star Award
2008 - Online Film Critics Society Award, Best Actor for Into the Wild (nominated)
2008 - Broadcast Film Critics Choice Award, Best Actor for Into the Wild (nominated) - Emile attended The Hamilton Academy of Music and The Performing Arts in Los Angeles. He also attended Paul Revere Middle School in Brentwood, California.
- Emile's favorite book is "Wit's End" by Oscar Wilde.
- During the making of The Girl Next Door, Emile turned 18. Before he did, he had to use a body double.
- Emile has competed in free-style rap battles.
- In 2002, Emile made his feature film debut starring with Kieran Culkin and Vincent D'Onofrio in The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys. His television debut was on Kindred: The Embraced in 1996.
- Even before being cast as Jay Adams, one of the best skateboarders ever, in Lords of Dogtown, Emile has been skating since he was seven years old and knew how to do tricks on the skateboard such as grinds, ollies, and boardslides.
- Emile's mother, Margaret Davenport, is a pop-up book artist and a teacher while his father, David Hirsch, is a manager and a producer. His parents are divorced. Emile has an older sister Jenny who lives in Manhattan and is married with two children.
- Emile likes to write poetry. He also enjoys writing screenplays.
- Emile is 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 metres) tall.
- Emile went to school with Lizzy Caplan.
- Emile is good friends with actor Andrew Keegan.
Quotes
- Emile: (on how doing "Into the Wild" changed his life It lit the spirit of adventure inside me, and I hope it never goes away. All the physical aspects stuck with me – I still run a lot, and I never ran before the film.
- Emile: I'm not a ball in a pinball machine. I know what I want.
- Emile: (on the most important thing to succeed as a young actor in Hollywood) I really think it's probably just the courage to take risks. Maybe you will be afraid and maybe you will fail, but the courage to take risks in any part of your life is, I feel, a very worthwhile way to live.
- Emile: The willingness to keep learning is, I think, the most important thing about trying to be good at anything. You never want to stop learning.
- Emile: (on choosing roles) I'm pretty selective. I'm not like a prima donna or anything like that, but if I don't like something I'm not going to do it.
- Emile: I've got really cool parents. Certainly, I would think some of the movies I've chosen to do, people would consider as rebellious for a young actor to do.
- Emile: I think I've always been half out of my shell and half in. Sometimes I can be extremely wild and sometimes I can be extremely shy. It just depends on the day.
- Emile: (on his most embarrassing moment) I was at the movie theater with my girlfriend, and she got tired and rested her head on my lap. I farted, and she shrieked! I was just like, 'Oh, no!'.
- Emile: (about his lap dance in "The Girl Next Door" at the age of 17) They had to put a massive pillow between me and the girl when she was grinding me. It was weird, yet pleasurable.
- Emile: I started acting when I was 10, but I never had a total fascination with it. It was just kind of a fun thing I did. Then I saw A Streetcar Named Desire with Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh when I was 14, and it was like a slap in the face. It was a wake-up call.
