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Zahn leads in film, interview

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by Michael Merline

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Throughout his 17-year career in the film industry, Steve Zahn has seen his fair share of roles as the lovable, dopey sidekick. But with his upcoming film, “Strange Wilderness,” Zahn minds the wheel as Peter Gaulke, the host of a struggling nature television program who embarks on a journey to find the elusive Bigfoot and, who Zahn said, “is a complete idiot.”

Last Friday, Zahn spoke with The Badger Herald and discussed this latest role, the pressures of leading an ensemble cast, the merits of comedic versus dramatic roles and his take on the entertainment industry.

More than anything, though, Zahn emphasized how much he loved “Strange Wilderness” and its script, which, according to Zahn, is “brilliant.”

But the writing wasn’t the only facet of the film Zahn deemed worthwhile; the actor also praised the cinematographers’ innovative incorporation of vintage television footage into the film.

“During the movie you actually see animal show segments with actual footage taken from shows in like the ’70s,” Zahn said, “I’ve never seen that kind of vehicle in a movie before, … you’re going to actually see like a lion and it doing all this stuff. And then I’m going to narrate a bunch of bullshit with it that doesn’t make any sense. That, to me, was genius.”

Genius or not, for Zahn, the film was truly brought to life by a talented cast of contemporary comedy standouts.

“I turn down things that I don’t think are funny. This thing, I laughed my ass off. And then Jonah [Hill] and Justin [Long], and Kevin [Heffernan] and all those guys coming in, those guys made me laugh so hard — truly. I was — it was embarrassing how much I laughed at those guys,” said Zahn. “I swear I’ve never had more fun on a movie.”

Even Western legend Ernest Borgnine (“The Poseidon Adventure”) joined the cast playing an aged cinematographer. Zahn described the experience saying, “The guy is 88 years old, but he totally got every bit, every pause, which I thought was just remarkable. It was a thrill for me to work with him.”

But what really makes “Strange Wilderness” significant for Zahn is the picture’s juxtaposition with one of his most recent projects, the POW film “Rescue Dawn.” The emotional drama, which stands in stark contrast to some of his past roles opposite the comedic likes of Jack Black and Eddie Murphy, featured a dark performance from Zahn that rivaled the acting chops of co-star Christian Bale.

According to Zahn, though, the transition between similarly serious roles such as his TV miniseries “Comanche Moon” and comedies like “Strange Wilderness” is a welcome experience.

“It was so nice to go from that which was so intense to something that was light and fun and funny.”

“Even if you go from a comedy to a comedy, sometimes they can be — they’re so different. Every job is just so different. … And I love it because I’m actually at a point now — just because I’m older — where I’m getting more variety and it’s sometimes a lot of fun to go to work and … tell a story in a completely different way.”

Zahn’s leading role in “Strange Wilderness” proved to be a somewhat new experience for the often typecast performer. Playing the “serious” character, Zahn “had so much dialogue to learn.” He continued, “I kind of had to think — I had to … push the story through. That was my job, so I had to kind of like play racquetball with 10 different people at once.”

Allowing his fellow cast members to supplement his more scripted part with improvised material, Zahn explained, “I’m just the most sane, I think, but [my character is] still like the complete idiot, which I found extremely funny. He’s the through line. He’s the story. He’s the one that makes all the stupid decisions.”

And Zahn seemed to favor shedding the image he claims studios have attached to him as an actor. “The [stoned college] sidekick is funny at 20. But at 40, it’s bad, you know?” he said.

Not surprisingly, Zahn’s thoughts on business are pretty simple. He claims to be “hands off with that stuff.”

As for his take on today’s comedies, Zahn stated, “Lately you have these R-rated movies that are made for adults, that are so much fun to make because you don’t have that kind of pressure to make sure that someone who is 13 isn’t going to be offended, which is ridiculous anyway because we all saw those movies anyway when we were 13.”

So, did Zahn have any final words on “Strange Wilderness”? Only to emphasize “there is absolutely no moral, and there’s absolutely no lesson in this movie.” Still, the actor dubbed the seemingly farcical film as “higher comedy.”

“I thought it was funny, and I’m 40 years old. You know what I mean?”

Audiences can see Zahn’s leading performance when “Strange Wilderness” hits theaters Friday.

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Anonymous (January 30, 2008 @ 1:49pm):

I love his work

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