"Alec’s work reminds me that what gives me the greatest pleasure when watching movies is seeing actors play their parts convincingly—so well that they transmit their characters through the screen. With him, you get a sense that he’s having the time of his life, playing this loser with such great relish. Alec does it brilliantly," said Welch.
ALEC BALDWIN ('Lawrence Quinn'):
What’s your earliest memory of Dr. Seuss?
Reading all those books when I was a kid and now, buying all those books. We didn’t buy all that stuff when I was a kid. Most of the books you had that were children’s books when I was young were in libraries or in the school. People didn’t really collect books for kids on the level that they do now. Of course, now we buy our kids everything. Now we spend tens of thousands of dollars on machines and computers and discs and this and that. My kid’s got a library bigger than any Blockbuster. She’s got more videos and DVDs than you could fit in a whole room. So it’s a lot different than when I was a kid.
You worked with Bo Welch as a production designer on “Beetlejuice.” What was he like as a director?
Bo’s one of the best directors I’ve ever worked with. He was funny and smart and clear, and he’s such a pleasure to be around. I will tell you that in terms of making a movie and having fun, this was the most fun I’ve ever had.
SEAN HAYES ('The Fish' & 'Mr. Humberfloob'):
"The Cat in the Hat" director, Bo Welch, thinks Sean Hayes found the perfect voice to give the family pet, The Fish, that anxious quality evident in the Dr. Seuss book. "I think, in the book, the fish is the most nervous and uptight individual in the house. What occurred to me is that if you are that uptight and afraid, you end up basically living in a jar of water. Sean is an amazing inhabitant of the fish—you can hear how fraught he is. And he also shines as Humberfloob, taking the character and just running with it."
What are your earliest memories of Dr. Seuss books?
I don’t remember (laughing). I’m pretty sure my earliest memory of Dr. Seuss was “The Cat in the Hat,” the book. The other one I also remember is “The Lorax.” I remember that pretty well, and I also remember “Green Eggs and Ham.” That’s the one I remember the most lines from. I haven’t read “The Cat in the Hat” in a long time. I’ll have to do that.
How did you come up with the voice for The Fish?
Well we tried a different character kind of voice, but in the end we just kind of decided on my voice, but it’s really exaggerated. It was a definite collaboration. That was the nice thing about working on it – Bo, the director, and Brian [Grazer], the producer, were so open to suggestions.
Were you able to look at an animated version of The Fish while you did the voice?
I got a drawing of The Fish, at least I had that. I got a little DVD of him moving just a little bit.
And you have to play two different characters in this movie. Was that tough?
It was really fun to play two different parts; I got to be like two different people. Mr. Humberfloob was fun to play because it’s a different kind of energy. It was fun to challenge myself to come up with a different kind of character.
"The Cat in the Hat" Premiere Interviews:
Mike Myers, Kelly Preston, Dakota Fanning, Spencer Breslin and Amy Hill
Additional Resources:
”The Cat in the Hat" Premiere Photo Gallery
”The Cat in the Hat" Production Photos
"The Cat in the Hat" Trailer, Cast List, and Movie News
