Kevin Spacey
speaker
258 appearances
1 recordings
1 series
first heard Jun 2024
last heard Jun 2024
Kevin Spacey’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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Appearances
When I did a series called Wise Guy, I got cast on a Thursday, and I flew up to Vancouver on a Saturday, and I started shooting on Monday. And all I had time to do was watch The Godfather and Serpico, and then I went to work.
Well, certainly, yes. But I also, look, I'm allowed to change my opinion. I can next week say it's Lawrence of Arabia, or a week after that I can say Sullivan's Travels. I mean, that's the wonderful thing about movies, and particularly great movies, is when you see them again, it's like seeing them for the first time. And you pick up things that you didn't see the last time.
And also, I think it's the degree with which directors are daring. I mean, Kubrick decided to cast one actor to play three major roles in Dr. Strangelove. I mean, who has the balls to do that today?
Nicholson's always been such an incredible actor because... He has absolutely no shame about being demonstrative and over the top. And he also has no problem playing characters who are deeply flawed. And he's interested in that. I have a pretty good Nicholson story, though. Nobody knows. You also have a pretty good Nicholson impression, but what's the story?
The story was told to me by a sound man. Dennis Maitland, who's a great, great, great guy. He said he was very excited because he got on Pritzy's Honor, which was Jack Nicholson, Angelica Houston, directed by John Houston. He said, I was so excited. It was my first day on the movie, and I get told to go into Mr. Nicholson's trailer and mic him up for the first scene.
So I knock on the trailer door, and he yes and uh come on in i come inside mr nicholson is changing out of his regular clothes and he's putting he's going to put on his costume and so i'm setting up the mic and i'm getting ready and i said mr nicholson i i just wanted to tell you i'm i'm extremely excited to be working with you again it's it's it's a great pleasure and jack goes
Did we work together before? And he says, yes, yes, we did. And he says, what film did we do together? He says, well, we did Missouri Breaks. Nicholson goes, oh, my God, Missouri Breaks. Jesus Christ, we were out of our minds on that film. Holy shit. Jesus Christ, I wonder I'm alive. My God, there was so much drugs going on and we were stoned out of our minds. Holy shit. Just then.
He folds the pants that he's just taken off over his arm and an eighth of Coke drops out on the floor. Dennis looks at it. Nicholson looks at it. Jack goes, haven't worn these pants since Missouri breaks.
What role did he play in your life? I think it was 1984. I went in to audition for the national tour of a play called The Real Things. which Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close were doing on Broadway that Mr. Nichols had directed. So I went in to read for this character, Brody, who is a Scottish character.
And I did the audition and Mike Nichols comes down the aisle of the theater and he's asking me questions about where'd you go to school and what have you been doing? And I just come back from doing a bunch of years of regional theater and different theaters. So I was in New York, and meeting Mike Nichols was just incredible.
So Mr. Nichols went, have you seen the other play that I directed up the block called Hurley Burley? And I said, no, I haven't. He says, why not? I said, I can't afford a Broadway ticket. He said, we can arrange that. I'd like you to go see that play, and then I'd like you to come in next week and audition for that. I was like, okay.
So I went to see Hurley Burley, William Hurt, Harvey Keitel, Chris Walken, Candice Bergen, Cynthia Nixon, Jerry Stiller. And I watched this play. It's a play, David Ray play about Hollywood. This is crazy. I mean, Bill Hurt was like unbelievable. Unbelievable. It was extraordinary. Chris Walken. So there's this Harvey Keitel. Walken came in later. Harvey Keitel's playing this part.
And I come in and I audition for it. And Nichols says, I want you to understudy Harvey Keitel. I want you to understudy Phil. And I'm like, Phil? I mean, Harvey Keitel is like in his 40s. He looks like he can beat the shit out of everybody on stage. I'm this like 24-year-old. And Nichols said, it's all about attitude.
If you believe you can beat the shit out of everybody on stage, the audience will too. So I then started to learn fill. And the way it works when you're in understudy, unless you're a name, they don't let you rehearse on the stage. You just rehearse in a rehearsal room. But I used to sneak onto the stage and rehearse and try to figure out where the props were. Anyway, one day I get... I'll call.
You're going on today. It's Phil. So I went on. Nichols is told by Peter Lawrence, who's the stage manager, Spacey's going on as Phil. So Nichols comes down and watches the second act. Comes backstage. He says, that was really good. How soon could you learn Mickey? Mickey was the role that Ron Silver was playing, that Chris Walken also played. I said, I don't know, maybe a couple weeks.
He goes, learn Mickey too. So I learned Mickey. And then one day I'm told, you're going on tomorrow night as Mickey. Nichols comes, sees the second act, comes backstage, says, that was really good. I mean, that was really funny. How soon could you learn Eddie? And so I became like the pinch hitter on Hurley Burley.
I learned all the male parts, including Jerry Stiller's, although I never went on as Jerry Stiller's part. And then I left the play. And I guess about two months later, I get this phone call from Mike Nichols. He's like, Kevin, how are you? And I'm like, I'm fine. What can I do for you?
He says, well, I'm going to make a film this summer with Mandy and Meryl, and there's a role I'd like you to come in and audition for. So I went in, auditioned, cast me as this mugger on a subway, Then there's this whole upheaval that happens because he then doesn't continue with Mandy Patinkin. Mandy leaves the movie and he asked Jack Nicholson to come in and replace Mandy Patinkin.
So now I had no scenes with him, but I'm in a movie with Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep. And my first scene in this movie, which I shot on my birthday, July 26th of 85, um, I got to wink at Meryl Streep in this scene. And I was so nervous. I literally couldn't wink. Nichols had to like calm me down and help me wink. But that became my first, my very first film.
and he was incredible, and he let me come and watch when they were shooting scenes I wasn't in, and I remember ending up one day in the makeup trailer on the same day we were working, Jack and me.
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