Plus: his teeth…
The two most quotable lines inDie Hard?
Theres Alan Rickman, chewing over now I have a machine gun.
And then theres the slimey Ellis, the finest bearded supporting character in movie history.
He spared us some time for a chat, so we could find out more.
We also discovered just why his performance as Ellis nearly never made it to the screen…
Were going to come toDie Hardshortly, yet its one small role in a wide-ranging career for you.
Is it true you were discovered byPattondirector Franklin Schaffner?
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He did aPolice Academymovie too?
Yeah, he did a couple.
To choreograph all that energy.
Jerry had this kind of infectious energy.
I was studying film making.
Little boys with baseball gloves, all with their mothers.
And I said, well, I think you should know that Im 18.
And she said yeah.
So I said is this for the same role?
And she told me they were there forBad News Bears!
She said thats a good idea, I shouldnt tell you this but youre going to get this part.
My response was literally, yeah right.
And over the course of the next five months, I had to go in and audition.
I really didnt know what I was doing, a toddler into the deep end of the swimming pool.
It was all instinct.
And I said not really, no.
He said well, my wife was the one at AFI who introduced herself to you.
But all the while, I never really wanted to be an actor.
I always had this love-hate relationship with it.
I started setting my sights on how I would transition into directing.
About 20 years ago I wrote and directed a short film for my buddy Jon Lovitz.
And that got me my first feature at Fox.
And that got me in the directing game.
But in all actuality, acting was the best preparation for directing.
It really was the best preparation.
In a perfect world, I would have stopped acting when I started directing.
I found myself doing these two studio movies, first for Fox and then for Sony.
I found myself in movie jail.
The first one that I did for Fox…
PCU?
But I wanted to be a film maker, I didnt necessarily want to be a gun for hire.
IsJust Add Waterthe purest of the things youve created yourself?
The film youre happiest with?
Well, its really very very difficult to ever feel satisfied with anything, certainly that Ive done.
You have tendency to look at not whats positive.
I made that movie on a shoestring, a little indie movie for $700,000.
Initially my budget was $5.5m.
I said to them, using the Coen Brothers as a template, its moreFargothanRaising Arizona.
Raising Arizonais broader.Fargo, while it has comedic elements to it, is structurally a drama.
And I said thats more along the lines, tonally, of what Im trying to do.
God love Danny, he attached to the movie as well.
That was using every trick in the book that I had developed as a director.
But because I had so little time to do it, its very difficult.
As an actor, I never go back and look at my work anyway.
The satisfaction comes in the doing.
Or perhaps to direct other forms of media instead?
I think its both.
Theres something very satisfying about executing your own vision, and not being a gun for fire.
Its easier also to interpret your own material.
But I love directing more than anything in the world, and I love being in the editing room.
When Im shooting, I cut it in my head anyway.
Its funny, Ive been trying to crack episodic directing for a while.
But as a film maker, Ill speak for myself.
You do whats required.
But also, I havent had an experience where people are waiting for me.
Youre waiting for the crew to set up.
You want to create enough time for the actors so you get what you need.
But its always a question of doing whats required.
My first film I had 45 days, my second I had 58.
My third, I had 23.
The last one, I had to design it in a very simple way.
We settled onFargoandThe Last Picture Show.Peter Bogdanovich created a story with a real simplicity of composition there.
I had to do that anyway to make my schedule.
I had to pare it to the bone to get enough coverage to tell the story.
But you do whats required in the time you have.
How close did you get?
They hired Robert Patrick instead.
Thats just one of those things.
Duchovnys a friend of mine, maybe the producers thought we were too similar, I dont know.
I truly havent thought about it since it was in discussion.
I cant even remember how long ago that was!
The interesting thing that happened to me with acting was after I gave it up to direct.
I gave it up for about eight years, voluntary retirement.
Do you enjoy acting more now, then?
I think every actor should direct at least once and vice versa.
What happened when I became a director is that you understand what a director has to go through.
Its your job as an actor to execute the vision thats put forward by the film maker.
Its very freeing now to come at it from that point of view.
I just went in and did a part in the newCarriemovie.
Yeah, it was a cameo.
It was an interesting scene.
The producer had been my executive at Tri-Star when I made my second picture.
It came to me, and I thought the director, Kimberly Peirce, was an interesting choice.
And I had such a nice experience.
Shes very gifted, obviously.
Shes very highly regarded, obviously.
And its just about having a nice time.
Theres something very freeing about that.
Also, when youre working with someone you respect whos very gifted, you know youre in good times.
She creates the right atmosphere, she casts is just so, and she makes great notes.
And suddenly something comes alive.
We have to get toDie Hard,of course.
A couple of months ago, I did the 25th anniversary DVD commentary.
But youre right on the button.
It was three weeks of shooting.
Initially it was two, and then they went over.
And we basically shot my part in sequence, that never happens.
It was a run of things that helps, because it becomes a linear experience.
I heard the part of Ellis came to you through a friendship you had with producer Joel Silver.
Well, I knew Joel, yeah.
And I had never discussed the role with [John] McTiernan [the director].
McTiernan hated what I was doing.
He loathed it, he loathed it.
The first day that I worked, we hadnt discussed it.
I showed up, and I had the beard.
So I came it at it from its coke behaviour, and the coke masks his insecurity.
And I was doing it very much fast and loose and a bit hyper in the rehearsals.
McTiernan came up to me and said I dont know what youre doing.
Its not what I envisaged for this character.
I want Cary Grant.
He said to me you know what, thats bullshit.
Get rid of it.
I stuck to my guns.
He was not happy.
He rolled his eyes that first day.
And they were laughing.
And he said hold on a minute.
You just never know what youre going to end up with sometimes.
I never thought that that movie was going to resonate.
[laughs]
Its weird.
When we set out, there was no expectation for that movie.
It played all summer, and became iconic.
Again, you just never know.
I have to ask where the line came from: Hans, bubby, Im your white knight.
Can I just clarify it is bubby, isnt it?
Its a Yiddish endearment.
I was on the set, and I was improvising quite a bit.
And I said to Joel Silver during rehearsals, what do you like, do you like bubby?
I like the bubby, do the bubby, he said.
So all that stuff, the Rolex, I just kind of winged it.
And they used what they felt worked, and didnt use what they didnt like.
Again, its an actors job to present options to the powers that be.
I just came up with it.
Its a great scene.
Also, the way Alan Rickman plays against it, too.
The firstDie Hardalways gives the impression of a happy production.
WithDie Hard, though, you could find it all behind closed doors.
What did John Huston say: 90% of a films success is casting the right actors?
And we did have a good time.
In some ways, we were respectfully left to our own devices.
McTiernans a smart guy, and created a great atmosphere.
Do you still have such white teeth and facial hair, then?
[Laughs]
You have amazing teeth in that film!
Since theyve done it on Blu-ray, theyre gleaming!
[Laughs] I dont know!
I just used tons of toothpaste!
I dont know what to tell ya!
As soon as I finishedDie Hard, I went off to do a movie with Colin Firth calledApartment Zero.
I dont think Ive had a beard since.
Moving to now, youre heavily involved in an organisation called the Environmental Media Association.
What have you been doing?
I was acutely aware of the fact that we were slowly but surely poisoning ourselves.
So I resigned from the board and then several years later got involved with EMA to reconceive the organisation.
It was all about content and messaging in feature production.
I also thought we could grow the organisation through deeds as well.
I came up with something in 2004 called the Green Seal.
And I come up with programmes.
For green sets, and environmentally responsible practices on set.
Self-promotion doesnt interest me, because thats so small in comparison to the issues were facing.
Finally, what are you up to at the moment?
Ive been writing quite a bit, and Im trying to get my next movie going.
My representatives have wanted me to write more commercial stuff, so Im doing that.
And theres a couple of TV projects that I wrote.
Ive got a feature now that Ive just done a first draft and got notes from a producer.
Its whatever it takes!
Do you keep them under wraps until theyre a bit further down the line?
Yeah, I keep them under wraps until theyre real.
Firstly, everyones working on something, its the first question you get when you run into someone.
What are you working on?.
For lack of a less crude term, its all dick measuring.
I just go under the radar until Im on a set!
So are you coming to England soon?
Well I was coming this summer.
I was there last year and the year before.
Ive got a bunch of friends over there Colin Firth is a really good friend.
I worked in England quite a bit in the 80s and 90s.
I was coming this summer, but was away working.
If you find an excuse for me, Ill come over.
Even if its to show you that my teeth are still white!
Hart Bochner, thank you very much.
Find more on the Environmental Media Association atwww.ema-online.org.
The Die Hard Quadrilogyis available on Blu-ray now.
