Kyle MacLachlan Interview Capone

Kyle MacLachlan Interview: Capone

Screen Rant talks to Kyle MacLachlan about his new film, Capone, a uniquely psychological take on the biopic genre written and directed by Josh Trank.

You Are Reading :[thien_display_title]

Kyle MacLachlan Interview Capone

In the final year of his life, Al Capone was but a shadow of his former self. After unwisely spending years refusing to seek treatment for his neurosyphilis, the disease ravaged his brain and reduced his mental capacity to that of a child. Unsure of when or where he was, Al Capone’s ultimate fate would arguably be tragic… If he hadn’t lived a life of cruelty and built a reputation as one of the most infamous and violent criminals of all time.

Directed by Josh Trank, Capone tells a fictionalized version of Al Capone’s final year, with the walls figuratively closing in on the once-menacing gangster as he struggles to maintain his fleeting grasp on his sanity and basic bodily functions. Tom Hardy delivers a stunning performance as the dying gangster. Actor Kyle MacLachlan plays Dr. Karlock, an unassuming health care provider who has an agenda of his own.

While promoting the release of Capone, MacLachlan spoke to Screen Rant about his work on the film and his career. He talks about Dr. Karlock’s particular wardrobe and how it informs his character, as well as his delight at getting to play a such a mysterious and potentially dangerous figure. He discusses working with Josh Trank and how his love of the film Chronicle made him an instant fan of the director. Finally, he talks about working with David Lynch on various projects and how the iconic director doesn’t necessarily let his actors see all his cards, so to speak.

Capone is out now on Video on Demand.

Kyle MacLachlan Interview Capone

So, how are you holding up in quarantine, if I may ask?

Thanks for asking. I’m well. I’m in Los Angeles. I’ve got a little yard and a garden, so I’ve been spending a lot of time outdoors, just kinda hovering around. I’m really grateful. It’s nice to find gratitude in these situations, and I’m spending time with my family, who I love and adore. My son is eleven, and he’s here with us all day, and my wife as well. We’re just hunkering down and enjoying family time.

So, I watched your movie the other night! It’s just fantastic.

I haven’t seen it yet, so that’s nice to hear!

Oh, okay, so I won’t spoil anything, then! So, right off the bat, how did you get involved? Was it as simple as your agent calling you and saying, “Kyle, you’ve gotta read this script!” or is that not really how these things come together?

It’s kinda like that. Josh Trank reached out and was interested in me for a role, so I read the script and I thought it was a really different way of looking at this American historical figure, you know? So many people have played him, but not like this. And when they said “Tom Hardy,” I thought, oh my gosh, I’m a big fan of Tom Hardy. I think he’s just an amazing actor, and I really liked Josh’s Chronicle. I thought that was an interesting take on the story of, “What do you do with a superpower?” And “How could it really effect you?” And then, of course, you throw into the mix that they were shooting in New Orleans, and I thought, hey, that’s not a bad place to spend a few weeks. It was kind of a combination of all those things. And I also liked the character of the doctor.

He’s a shifty one.

You don’t really know what his motivations were, necessarily. Whether he’s an altruistic nice guy helping out, or if there’s another agenda there. I thought, that’ll be a fun line to walk. So it’s a mix of all that.

Right, I’m thinking of the scene where he’s getting him to draw the different pictures, not to spoil how that scene plays out, but it’s such a great scene.

(Laughs) Just the way he… Always, I say, “Who’s holding the best cards? Who’s got the upper hand?” Is the doc really messing with him with the carrot and the diapers and stuff? Or is he really feeling like this is going to help him as a patient? That question was very interesting to me.

See also  Ron Howard Says Han Solo Gratifying Opportunity

Kyle MacLachlan Interview Capone

I got to interview Josh the other day, and he was an absolute doll. I don’t know if that’s the right word, but he was great. Could you talk about collaborating with someone who, I feel, has a genuine vision for how he wants his art to shake out?

I agree with that completely. I think that’s one of the strengths of who he is. He’s very clear as a director. He has really good ideas. He’s really supportive. His atmosphere on set was a lot of fun and creative. He’s the kind of director who, as you said, has a vision and is able to communicate it and do so in a way that is actually a pleasure to spend time with, you know? He doesn’t yell at people, he doesn’t have an attitude. He’s just a regular guy who loves the process. I really appreciated that. All in all, the experience was amazing.

When I talked to him, he told me that his other movie, Fantastic Four, was something of an elephant in the room for him, that he didn’t want to bring up, but then when it came up with Tom Hardy, he was just like, “What? I don’t follow the trades, man. Who cares?” And that was such a load off his shoulder. Did you have any experience with him on that?

Not at all! You know what, I’m not so dissimilar from Tom. I based my decision entirely on… Well, I loved Chronicle and I thought, “This guy knows what he’s doing.” The other stuff, I’m like, whatever. You never know who to believe in situations. I thought, I’m going to trust what I see with my eyes. I was pretty much like Tom, I think, with my reaction.

Over the decades, you’ve been something of a chameleon as an actor. You haven’t been pigeonholed in any kind of role or style of acting. You’ve done sitcoms, dramas, movies… Agents of SHIELD, and obviously everything with David Lynch. You’ve been around, you know?

Early on, I learned not to be afraid of that. I started off in Dune and Blue Velvet, working with David Lynch. Then he did something on television, so I said, “Yeah, let’s do that!” So now I can do movies and I can do television. I thought, that’s pretty cool. It just kind of started from there. I didn’t, at that time, feel compelled to have to stick with one medium or feed the beast of becoming a movie star or any of that. That’s not the way I was trained as an actor. I studied drama in theater school at University of Washington. I graduated and was intent on going to New York to do theater there. That was kind of my thing. I think that tradition is just how I started. It’s in my blood. I didn’t look at the venue so much as the role. As an actor, you go, “That’s interesting.” For Agents of SHIELD, which you brought up, I thought, that’s a meaty character, something that would be great. Where does it take place? On television. Great! I don’t care about that! I want to get into this character and do this role. That is the thing that drives me.

Kyle MacLachlan Interview Capone

I feel like that’s a positive attitude to have, much better than going, “This is beneath me!”

Yeah, that’s never been (Laughs), that’s never been my way.

Some of the reviews for Capone have compared it to a David Lynch film in some respects. Do you think your appearance in the film is part of that, is a nod? Not that I necessarily agree with that comparison, by the way…

I’m sure Josh, hopefully, would be very pleased with that. I don’t know whether my involvement in it would have anything to do with that, necessarily. I don’t think the character I play has Lynch qualities to him. But I know Josh is a big David Lynch fan.

You’ve talked about working with David Lynch before, especially on Twin Peaks, and that 2017 season… I mean, who would have thought we would have gotten that, right? And so not what we were expecting. It’s like a punch that goes right through your defense. I don’t know what the sports metaphor would be.

That’s a pretty good analogy, yeah.

When you’re working with Lynch, does he let you in on his thought process, or do you have to roll with the punches and play it scene by scene? Do you get the full picture, or does he keep it to himself?

See also  The Mandalorian Every Star Wars Easter Egg In The Premiere Episode

Hmm, it’s… He keeps things pretty close to himself. I think I have an understanding. We have a wave-link that kind of works, somehow. I don’t necessarily always need to know his thought process going in. I see the character, I see what he’s doing, I see what the character should be. I’ll put some spin on it. But it’s pretty clear, the journey of the character, for me, in a David Lynch film. I’ve been fortunate in the movies and television that I’ve done with David, in that I’m usually the main character, so I have a strong through-line that I can see, and that’s helpful. For me, yeah, it’s pretty clear.

Kyle MacLachlan Interview Capone

Let’s bring it back to Capone. I love the bow tie. Are you a bow tie guy, or a necktie guy?

(Laughs) I’m not a bow tie guy. But when the costumers suggested it, I was so happy. I always like to say, everybody contributes in the movies. I don’t come in having every idea. I have extensive stuff and a feel for stuff, but when someone from wardrobe comes in and says, “I have this idea…” and it clicks like that, it just makes the cake better, you know what I mean? It’s just the right thing. In that case, it was a perfect addition for the character. The character is based on a real doctor that existed. Well, the development of the character stopped there. There was a real guy, he was a doctor, he was with Capone towards the end of his life. But there are photographs of him, and he has a regular tie, but they are very colorful. So I thought, okay, this guy’s got a little bit of that. And then when I saw the bow tie, I thought, it’s perfect. It exudes a kind of… It’s unexpected. You’re not intimidated by him. He wears a bow tie. You can dismiss him. But then to see that the guy has an agenda going on, I thought it was a really great choice.

A strategic choice by the character!

Strategic is a really good word.

I’ve got a million different dream jobs, but one of them would definitely be working wardrobe on a movie, especially a period piece like this. Do you get options, or was there one outfit that they gave you? Were you like a kid in the candy store, did you get to play?

We chose from a palate that they had, but there were really cool… They had really great shoes, but you never get to see shoes in movies, sadly. But it’s like, just the whole feel. The hat they had for me, the car I got to drive, I got to really drive this little car. It had this old smell, this semi-moldy smell of an old car, since we were down in New Orleans. And all those little things add these layers to what you’re doing, you know?

This is a question I like to ask different actors to wrap things up, especially for someone whose career goes back… 30, 35 years by now…

Yeah, it’s getting up there, definitely getting higher. (Laughs)

You’re known for a bunch of different roles, but is there anything from your career that you’re particularly proud of that you feel didn’t get the accolade or the appreciation it deserved, that you’d kind of like to shout-out for the Screen Rant audience?

Wow, that’s an interesting question. Hmm… The first thing that came to mind was a movie that I think got a little bit… I worked with Ethan Hawke years ago on Hamlet. I think we filmed it in 2000. And then we worked together again on Tesla just recently, which I think will be out in a few months. But we did a modern adaptation of Hamlet together. And it got some attention, it had an amazing cast. Sam Shepard was in it, Bill Murray was in it. Ethan, of course. And many others. And they asked me to play Claudius in that. I just thought it was such an interesting choice, based upon how it’s historically played. With Shakespeare, there’s a look and a feel and a thing about this guy, and this was a complete change. And I thought, that was pretty great. That’s a role proud of, I guess.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/capone-movie-kyle-maclachlan-interview/

Movies -