BLAST FROM THE PAST:
BRENDAN FRASER INTERVIEW

 

by:  Prairie Miller

 

 

When you meet Brendan Fraser  you see right away why he was the perfect choice for a young man who has spent his whole life in a fallout shelter in Blast From The Past. Brendan has a fascination for each and every moment as if he's, well, discovering life for the first time. The star of the acclaimed Gods And Monsters gave a peek into his behind the scenes enthusiasm for both the Hugh Wilson directed Blast From The Past, and his above ground chemistry with co-star Alicia Silverstone.

PRAIRIE MILLER: Let's say you, Brendan Fraser, were stuck underground and not your character. Would you react in the same way after being released?

BRENDAN FRASER: I would definitely need either a spa or a psychiatrist, ASAP! Oh boy! But I don't know, hmm... With Chris Walken  and Sissy Spacek as my parents, I think I'd probably do pretty well!

Gosh, I think I'd probably have to make sure I bring with me either a really good big book...No, scratch that. Make that an ISDN line for my computer, or at least an Italian chef...No, Japanese. Wait...A lot of food. Scratch that...How about lithium? I'll take lithium. Whew!! And Listerine! Like my mom [Sissy].

PM: Your characters are all so fish out of water. What attracts you to such unusual roles?

BF: These roles I find interesting, because they ask actors to do what they're supposed to do anyway! Which is make discoveries in the moment, on the day, as if for the first time. Not by rote. And it's my theory - dramaturgists beware - that we as audience members are able to buy into the premise of a film more easily or readily, when we see the character on screen a bit at odds with the world that he's in.

And Adam Webber is no exception to that rule of my own concoction in the world of Blast From The Past, because it's such a fantastic premise. A family has grown up for thirty five years underground, and their cultural heritage just halts as the vacuum is sucked out of it in 1962. And when we run out of everything - pipe tobacco, pot roast, yacht batteries, you know, the essentials for survivalist life - I'm sent above ground with a shopping list, three thousand bucks, a cigar box full of baseball cards - vintage quality Yogi Berras - and a couple of stock certificates. And at the bottom of my shopping list is a wife!

That's a fantastic premise, in my opinion. And we can get on with the business of telling the story, which is how does Adam meet Eve. So I look towards fish out of water characters indeed. They're very fun to play, and something I enjoy doing.

PM: It was really surprising to hear Ian McClellan say that he learned so much from you when you two made Gods And Monsters.

BF: That sounds like Ian. He is indeed the most gracious actor I've ever met. And in my opinion, one of the most brilliant ones who walks the planet. And to have worked with him was the fulfillment of an aspiration for myself, and I can imagine any actor.

He's very, very kind, and certainly one who gets back to the basics. Before every take he'd always say, 'Brendan darling, let's say the words.' So we'd sit down and we would just go over the script, and then that way you wouldn't have to act when you get in front of the camera and turn it on.

Because on that film, we only had like three million bucks and twenty eight days, and nothing but airplanes flying overhead. And no money for extra takes. So then every single one had to count, and it was good because it was a labor of love. But at the same time, it just meant you couldn't shoot from the hip. And that film's success is on the shoulders of Ian and Lynn, a very fine work.

PM: Brendan, how do you get to that point where you're not acting, how do you get there? And isn't that the goal of every actor?

BF: It changes, but I think it comes down to just knowing your job, and that you're confident with what you do. And that you try not to make any decisions beforehand. Very often also, you have a fine director, and performances can be created onscreen and in the editing room. It depends on the screenplay itself, and it's also a matter of really paying attention to what is being said to you, than simply listening. Which was my hugest challenge in Gods And Monsters. It was to just listen.

For instance, it's a film that's based on a series of interviews, the way I saw it. Two men get to know each other over a series of portraiture sessions, and through self-disclosure they probably say more about one another than they ever intended to. And realize, as opposite as they are, that they really can truly be good friends. Thankfully it was the voice of Ian McClellan that allowed me to simply listen.

PM: Is it true that a movie like George of the Jungle can be successful if the actors and directors really take it seriously?

BF: It's dangerous to put quotation marks around your own work, I agree. And it's important to commit to what you're doing. It's risky too, but that kind of comes with the territory. Because if it were easy, everybody would be doing it, I can guarantee you.

PM: How did you figure out your character in Blast From The Past, you know, as someone who had never been in the world before?

BF: I had my goof off research period, where I watched a lot of TV and listened to a lot music. And I hacked around on that nineties hammer, the Internet, and looked up as many sort of retro hip web sites as I could classify or find. Perry Como was I think on my play list for awhile. I watched a lot of My Three Sons, Ozzie And Harriet, I Love Lucy, and a personal touchstone was Dick Van Dyke.  I think he definitely typified what we remember.

Or when we look over our shoulder at, like who was that guy from the sixties? And normally we think in terms of television. Nick At Nite was a valuable asset, because I know I could always fall asleep and go to work the next day with it still fresh in my mind. But I think the research was largely media based.

And of course Life Magazine for instance was great. If you flip through it, there's a graphic for a happy construction worker who just got his ninety nine dollar, do it yourself fallout shelter kit that he mail ordered from Sears & Roebuck. And you really could get one of these. I mean, I was surprised to notice (And I've been meeting journalists who are saying, I've got neckties that are older than you!), I was like, did you guys really have fallout shelters in your backyards? And they'd go, let me tell you, when we were in college it wasn't surprising that people had a sort of sense of anxiety about the period. So historically speaking, I think it's accurate.

PM: Do you think a man like Adam could really exist in the nineties, or would he be eaten up alive?

BF: That's the point of the film. We established Adam as a perfect gentleman. He has excellent manners, he's polite, he's a conversationalist. He can dance, he can box, he speaks other languages, he's well educated, and he's a snappy dresser. Maybe a little at a time, but you know he comes up to speed after Troy, played by David Foley takes him on a spree down to Barney's, or something like that!

And above all else, the point of the film is that we are all at our best when we endeavor to bring out the best in one another. Mainly make one another comfortable. And that's the very short definition of a gentleman. So, is chivalry dead? My answer is no. It's just at the dry cleaner!

PM: Hey, I saw you on TV at the Golden Globes.

BF: I didn't see that.

PM: Well you looked like you were just thrilled to be there.

BF: I was!

PM: Was it really fun? You were looking around all dazzled, like all of a sudden it wasn't just a job for you.

BF: It was like, I can't look at all these movie stars! And I've met them, they're real people now. And I've kind of tempered myself a bit towards hopping up and down. But I do that a little sometimes. I did brush shoulders with Jack Nicholson and that sent a very particular chill up my spine!

It was wonderful to be there. I think I was glowing, and I felt proud to be there I suppose.

PM: So how hard was it for you to learn all those swing dancing moves in Blast From The Past, and are you into that now?

BF: There's definitely a swing dancing revival now. I don't know if that's by accident or rote, but our film is definitely retro hip for that reason. I worked with a choreographer for many weeks, and could have used a few more weeks. I have two left feet, the way I see it. He had a big stick, and he made sure I stepped everywhere I was supposed to, when I was supposed to. My dance partners were brilliant. They didn't just decorate me, they carried me through that sequence, quite literally.

We had fun with it , and it's a scene that's not about a dance. It's about Eve getting really angry, because this guy just keeps getting better and better at everything, and she won't admit that she really likes him very much! But like all the lines I've ever learned or every dance choreography, it kind of went out my ears the second the movie was over! So...I could always use a brush up course. We had fun with it.

PM: Alicia seems so wise when you talk to her. What was it like working with her?

BF: That's an accurate description of her. She is one who is, in a word, authentic to me. She has the most spectacularly sparkling emerald green eyes that reveal thoughts that she absorbs through her pores when you speak to her, I find. And that's a good thing to have as an actress when there's a huge Panaflex camera pointed at you in a close-up, because she can say a whole lot more with her ability to simply, again, listen, I think.

In this film Adam's a man of the sixties, and she's very much a contemporary woman. She doesn't have an overwrought sense of that whatever, Generation X angst. But she does have a developed sense of irony. She's been there, she's done that, she's nobody's fool. But at the same time, not unavailable to make a change and follow her heart.

I know just to be personal, that Alicia's very concerned with how people feel. In particular she has a love of animals and fauna, and she has an amazing ability to sort of cut through the fog and just get to the point. Our relationship in the film was very much about Adam just prattling on.

And she just has a way to go to the heart of the matter immediately. It's definitely coming from a place that, again, is authentic. I really enjoyed working with Alicia, and maybe one day we'll do it again. It was great fun, great fun.

PM: Your transformation into a romantic character in the film is one of the sexiest moments I've seen on screen.

BF: Adam turns on a heel when Dave says, you know you're a nice boy but what she needs is a nice man. And because it's the movies, Adam automatically gets a backbone and takes care of the woman without, I think, having an enthusiasm that I would equate to a...hyper kinetic labrador! He's able to pretty much take charge and be a man. Um, thank you for those nice compliments, and if you have any boo boos, I know what to do!

PM: Okay! Now, where are you actually from?

BF: I'm sort of a Canadian. I say sort of, because I have dual heritage. I live in Los Angeles, and I'm kind of happy to be a Los Angelean. But I'll tell you, when that maple leaf comes on the screen before the hockey game, I stand up!

PM: So how does one prepare for your next surprise, Dudley Do-Right?

BF: First of all, one just reads the script! Which was written by Hugh Wilson, who also directed Blast From The Past. I watched as many of the cartoons as I could get my hands on, as part of my goof off research process.

Let's see...There's not that much preparation aside from showing up in the red suit, because it kind of acts itself after that! And it has one of the world class all time best outfits, the Royal Canadian mounted policeman outfit. When you wear that hat, you are the center of attention. You're the tallest man on campus, automatically.

It's a piece that's close to my heart, because my great grand dad was a Royal Canadian mounted policeman! And I hope somewhere he's smiling down on me, as I clip clop around backwards on my horse!

PM: How do you view the whole Clinton thing, as a Canadian?

BF: Oh gosh. From the standpoint of being Canadian...uh, c'est la vie!

PM: Well thank you so much, Brendan.

BF: You're welcome very much. So I'll see you next time, all right? And I really hope you liked the film.

PM: It was great. It was so sweet.

BF: Well, tell 'em all about it!

Copyright by Prairie Miller 1999