Tim Roth on 'Tin Star,' Tarantino and triumph over abuse

— -- Tim Roth is taking on dual roles in Amazon Studios’ newest thriller, "Tin Star," in which he plays British detective Jim Worth and his alter-ego. Roth stopped by ABC News’ “Popcorn With Peter Travers” to talk about the challenges of taking on the characters.

In the film, Worth tries to make the move from his gritty past in England to the Canadian Rockies.

“His past is so dark and so bleak. And he’s a recovering alcoholic. And he’s a blackout alcoholic. And he’s a mess,” said Roth. “And he’s trying to keep his family together. So they go to this idyllic little beautiful spot in the middle of nowhere. Meanwhile, oil companies are surging in and his past is catching up with him. And he can’t remember his past at all.”

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Roth added, “The specifics of his condition are quite unusual or certainly new to me in that respect So there’s two characters, and who remembers what and who’s in control of what. We had to make a little bible for me but also for Genevieve [O’Reilly], who is playing my Mrs. and for Abigail [Lawrie], who is playing my kid. And they know him. They’ve seen him in this state. But what does he remember when he’s back. So it got quite confusing.”

Of course, Roth is no stranger to playing a plethora of complicated characters. He might be best known for the string of roles he’s played in several Quentin Tarantino films, including “Reservoir Dogs,” "Pulp Fiction" and most recently “The Hateful Eight.” Roth spoke highly of Tarantino.

“What he did for me, that’s enough. It was ridiculously wonderful what he did for me,” Roth, 56, told Travers.

Roth has also taken a turn behind the camera, directing the 1999 film “The War Zone.”

“That was the best experience that I’ve ever had in the film world,” Roth said.

The film follows the story of a British teen, who discovers an incestuous relationship between his father and older sister. The story hit close to home for Roth, who told Travers he wasn’t looking to tell a story about his own experience. But his experience helped to him to tell a better story.

“The thing is once you talk about abuse, when you start talking about abuse, it’s over. Because otherwise it’s just cramped and bottled up in resonates inside you. But I’ve been talking about it,” Roth said. “My father was the one that got me talking about it before he died. I think it was the last conversation I had with him face to face. He said, ‘Did my father ever f--- with you’? I went, ‘Yeah.’ He went, ‘Yeah, me too,’” Roth said.

Roth said he understood why his father waited until he was on his deathbed to talk about what had happened.

“He wanted to say it. It took him that long to say it. I give him that. And I think you’ll find a lot of actors have been through some various trauma. So they’re acting out. And I think that’s what I was doing. So I went to make the film.”

Be sure to watch the full interview with Peter Travers and Tim Roth in the video above.