By Christina Radish
|
|
Dane Cook at the premiere of "Mr. Brooks" held at the Grauman's Chinese in Hollywood, Calif. on May 22, 2007. |
Mr. Brooks is the perfect man. He’s a successful businessman, generous philanthropist, loving husband and father, and a pillar of the community. But, he also harbors a sinister secret -- he’s an insatiable serial killer, so clever that no one has ever suspected him, until now.
The gripping suspense thriller Mr. Brooks, from MGM, tells the story of an otherwise exceptional man, driven by his unbearable need to kill. Academy Award winner Kevin Costner stars as the charming, widely admired Earl Brooks, whose shocking private life is about to unravel. His loving wife (Marg Helgenberger) and devoted daughter (Danielle Panabaker) have no idea that he is the notorious serial murderer branded as the Thumbprint Killer.
Though recently inactive, Mr. Brooks’ pathological compulsion is inflamed once again by his cunning, wicked alter ego (Academy Award winner William Hurt). When he succumbs to the urge to murder an unsuspecting couple, Mr. Brooks is observed by a peeping Tom photographer (Dane Cook), who chooses to blackmail him with a demand to teach him what it’s like to kill. At the same time, a tenacious detective (Demi Moore) is in furious pursuit to solve the identity of the Thumbprint Killer.
Boston native Dane Cook, one of today’s hottest stand-up comics, was an unexpected choice for such a dark, dramatic role, but the 35-year-old was ready to be challenged by something entirely new and different. Cook spoke to MediaBlvd Magazine about how, even though he has no plans to give up stand-up, he wants to continue to take on different roles that allow him to stretch as an actor.
MediaBlvd Magazine> Can you talk about submitting your own audition video to get this part?
Dane Cook> It was like auditioning for American Idol, or something like that. Actors will tell you, when somebody says, “Will you go on tape?,” it’s kind of the kiss of death. It normally is just a slow, painful death. You really want to be able to meet the producers and talk about your take on the character. When you send a tape, you never know if the person’s got a baby in their arms, or what’s going on in their life, so rarely does that seem to work in your favor. But, I did it. I went on tape. I was down in New Mexico. We were filming Employee of the Month, and I literally did it between scenes because I had one day to do it. I set up the camera and I had one of my good friends read the lines. He was awful, too. He’s not an actor at all. I kept stopping because I would tell him how to act. Acting is reacting, and I was like, “God, you suck!” So, I did a few takes, and then I finally got the take I wanted. Truly, I had a real epiphany, when reading the script. I was already reading the lines out loud. You always hear that, if it’s the right part, it just starts to take ahold of you, and I knew this guy. I’m an optimistic, encouraging, upbeat, glass is half-full person, and yet, I understood this deviant, lascivious side of this person. I drew from a few people that I’d met in my travels, and spun the wheel, sent the tape and got the call saying, “You did it, kid. You’re in the flick. You’re heading to Shreveport.”
MediaBlvd> What has the transition been like, going from the comedy stage to being one of the biggest stars in Hollywood?
Dane> When I was in Boston, all of my comedic friends were going to New York. I said, “I’m not going to New York.” They were all like, “You’ve gotta go!,” and I told them, “I’m not going to go to New York until New York calls me, and I have a purpose to go there.” That is how I do everything. I don’t just say, “I need to do a comedy.” I had other comedic scripts come along before Employee of the Month, and I had other TV shows, but I just felt that they weren’t authentic, or they didn’t pump my ‘nads. I don’t push. I guess that’s kind of my thing. I always have stand-up. I always have a way to make a few scheckles. I’m not in need. So, I just wait for stuff that makes me go, “Shit, that’s kinda creepy. That’s kinda weird. That’s scary.” And, who knew, with stand-up comedy, that I would be able to do that. I hoped that stand-up would lead me to everything, but that’s up to the movie Gods, and for my audience to say, “Yeah, we’d like to see you do that.” When I started getting the nod from my fans, and then, some scripts that were actually appealing came in, I was like, “I’m going to go with the flow. If this is what I’m meant to do now, I’m going to do it for the rest of my life. If not, I’ll create something somewhere behind the scenes. Wherever I’m meant to be, I’m going to just eat it up.” I enjoy the hell out of it. I’m not going to lie to you, I love my job and I love the art of comedy, but I also love doing these movies. I really hope that I get to do a lot more.
MediaBlvd> Coming from the world of stand-up comedy, did you ever imagine that you’d do something this dark?
Dane> I did a short film about five years earlier, called Spiral, which I would say is on par, as far as darkness. It’s something I’d written and produced that served two purposes. On a selfish and promotional level, it was like, “Let me show people what I can do. Let me show people that there’s more to me than just stand-up comedy.” The only way I was going to have that was to do it myself because nobody trusted that I could do it. And then, I’ve done stand-up for 17 years and I needed to explore other things, whether it is doing a voice-over for the animated Horton Hears a Who, or talking about doing a theater project coming up. I just want to be able to challenge myself. Comedy is safe for me now. I can perform in front of 20,000 people and feel like, “I know how to do this. This is what I do.” I want to be a little scared.
MediaBlvd> How was it to go from writing your own material to having to stick close to the script?Dane> For the most part, 95% of the time, it’s the writer and the director’s vision, and you’re a piece of their puzzle. It’s the polar opposite of comedy, where you’re in such control, as writer, director, producer and, sometimes, bouncer. The other 5% were scenes with Kevin, where we just started improvising together, and Kevin was so open and available to that, and really encouraged it. It was a combination of being able to take the best of what I knew how to do, comedically, and the best of working with somebody iconic, like Kevin Costner, who you just trust and you know he’s not going to let you down, and then the material was solid. We couldn’t miss. It just felt right, and I know it’s the kind of thing that people will be able to watch and feel moved, in some way, by it.
MediaBlvd> What was it like to work with William Hurt? How were you able to shut him out entirely, when you were in scenes with him?
Dane> You can’t ignore William Hurt. He’s William fucking Hurt. I like to keep it light on a set and I like to have a good time. I’m not a method person, even though I like to research. I didn’t know how to approach William Hurt, so I just waited. I started doing this thing where I didn’t feel William Hurt in the scenes, and then, he walked up to me, on the second day of shooting, and it was weird because I was so used to not having him in my life, or my periphery. He said something very encouraging, like “I shouldn’t say this to you right now, but you’re doing really great.” I just went home and called my whole family and said, “William Hurt just told me I’m doing really great, and he really meant it.” He’s got the Force. I felt like he could flick me out of a scene, if he wanted to. And, Kevin and Demi are that same way. These are the elite. I’m a confident guy and I knew why they were bringing me in and I knew I could hang, but I also knew that I was going to experience things with them, since I’m new to that level, that I was just going to have to shut the fuck up and really listen to and learn from, and I did that every day. It was the best course on acting that I could ever ask for.
MediaBlvd> Is there a certain type of person you’d like to scope out for a victim, if you were looking for someone to kill, like maybe hecklers at your stand-up shows, or someone else who was really asking for it?
Dane> I love hecklers because hecklers remind you that you’re a comedian. I’ve always said that, even though they through off the whole tempo and rhythm, and sometimes cut right into the middle of a bit, being an anti-cynical person, in the back of my brain I’m like, “This guy’s yelling out because I’m a fucking stand-up comic. This is what I do, and it’s the coolest thing ever.” So, no, I wouldn’t go after hecklers. I’d go after some club owners that treated me like a douche bag. I’d definitely take on some of those guys, if I could be my character, for a day.
MediaBlvd> What are you working on now?
Dane> I’m getting ready to do another film with Lions Gate. It’s a dark comedy, called Bachelor #2. We’re going to start filming that in July, so we’re casting it now. It’s appealing because it’s like Bad Santa. It’s a comedy, but I’m playing a real prick, who seems to have no emotional attachment to anything, so it’s just a different side of my comedy. Where my character in Good Luck Chuck has a lot of physicality and charisma, this is a guy whose name is Tank and he’s got to roll over everybody. There’s no filter. Anybody who he experiences in his life, he’s just going to go for the weak point. You’re in trouble with this guy. So, I look forward to the challenge of playing somebody so unlike me.
