FILM INTERVIEW: KEVIN KLINE

Beloved, Acclaimed & Slightly Outrageous, Kline Returns Sharper Than Ever

By: Parimal M. Rohit

July 31, 2010

After breaking into cinema with the 1982 classic Sofie’s Choice and making a name for himself as Harold Cooper in The Big Chill and Otto West in A Fish Called Wanda, the man who also played the President of the United States in Dave and Wild Wild West is now ready to take on his next role as a “poor snob” in the comedy film The Extra Man. In already playing a diverse set of characters throughout his three-decade career, Academy and Tony Award-winner Kevin Kline plays one of his most unique roles ever in the comedic adaptation of Jonathon Ames’s novel that also co-stars Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood), Katie Holmes (Batman Begins), and John C. Reilly (Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby). Directed by Shari S. Berman and Robert Pulcini, Kevin talks to Buzzine about his role as the eccentrically outrageous third-class aristocrat named Henry.

Specifically, Kevin told Buzzine that Henry was one of the most outrageous characters he has ever played, ergo allowing the 62-year-old actor who once played a closet gay high school teacher in In & Out to have rather fond memories of The Extra Man, which actually made its world premiere in Park City, Utah at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

“He’s out there; an aristocrat can piss on the street and it’s okay,” Kline explained to Buzzine about Henry, confirming that his character, indeed, does urinate in public despite advertising himself as high-society. “He has a self-image full of grandeur. He’s a poor snob. He lives the life he wants to live, and that’s the attraction. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being most outrageous, he is a 9.5.”

As if urinating underneath a seemingly expensive raincoat while standing in public were not outrageous enough, there were other characteristics Henry possessed that made him quite the standout personality in The Extra Man, allowing the film itself to have a unique charm and humor rarely found in adult comedy nowadays.

One of those other oddball characteristics included Henry’s ability to discreetly walk around in public with his pants zipper drawn all the way down.

“His fly is always open,” Kline told Buzzine, explaining it was always open on purpose throughout filming, even when the red light was on. “No one notices it and its subtext, but it adds texture to the character.”

Oh, and there is also the driving. In navigating through the streets of New York City in a whale of a vehicle (a 1970s-era Buick sedan with a single-digit miles-per-gallon reading), Kline apparently made waves across the Big Apple as he took to the wheel. Leave it to Kline to blame his driving on the film’s relatively low $6 million budget.

“The movie was done very inexpensively. Usually when you film, you have police escorts, stunt drivers, etc. Here, we didn’t have any of that,” Kline premised. “So I am driving wildly in rush hour traffic. The cameraman in the back seat was fearful for his life.”

Whenever the old beat-up Buick was in motion, Kline himself had an interesting moment while directing the vehicle through the city — a moment he did not fully realize the repercussions of until he met with Buzzine at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills to discuss The Extra Man.

One day, during filming, Kevin and Paul were driving around in the giant vehicle when they randomly met Jeremy Irons, himself taking a casual stroll. After a nonchalant conversation, Kevin and Paul drove off, parting ways with Jeremy without a second thought. However, it had dawned on Kevin that perhaps Jeremy was unaware that the former was merely driving the vehicle as part of filming for The Extra Man, instead leaving his fellow thespian, the one who was taking a casual stroll in New York City, with the impression that the former Dave actor had “fallen upon tough times.”

If Jeremy had only known it was Henry, the fictional character in The Extra Man, who had fallen upon tough times, he would have known why Kevin and Paul were driving a car worth less than a burger combo meal at Burger King.

Impressions left upon fellow actors aside, Kevin said he is still proud of the fact that he took on Henry and associated himself with The Extra Man.

“This role was a no-brainer. It was so outrageous and eccentric and funny, it made it very fun to portray. I’ve always been attracted to outrageous comedy, making what is implausible still within the realm of what is real and humorous,” he explained to Buzzine. “(This film has) that very panache and extravagance and style, just like John Barrymore. It’s probably because I grew up watching those types of films and it influenced me.”

Perhaps one day, after Kevin’s time has all but disappeared, another 60-something-year-old Academy Award-winning actor will look back upon his resume and cites the leading actor of The Extra Man as one of his most influential icons. Until that day comes, Kevin will just have to settle with being proud of tackling a character that is outrageously funny and full of panache, extravagance, and eccentric tenacity.