INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN POLLAK ('Lazlo'):
What was your first reaction to getting a script that says you’re playing your character’s dad?
Well, Bruce called me six months before we started shooting the sequel to tell me that he’d just read a script and it looks like we were going to do a sequel. I said, “That’s great but my character died in the first movie. Are you just calling to rub it in?” He said, “No, you’re playing your father.” I said, “I’ve aged that much since we did the first one?” He said, “Don’t be a paranoid Jew, you’ll have fun. Come.” And I’m glad I did (laughing).
Was it as much fun this time around?
Yeah, I would say insane fun. The object was just to make each other laugh as much as possible.
Was it tough to stay on script?
It was hard to stay on script and it was hard not to waste a lot of film. We did waste much more film than we used.
What was working with the prosthetics like for you? Was that a difficult process?
It took 3 ½ hours to put on and an hour to take off.
How did you get that voice? Where did it come from?
It comes from the dark corners of my insane mind.
So there’s no one you actually model it after?
No. I wanted to do a cartoon but also intense.
Would you do another “Whole” movie? Maybe “The Whole 11 Yards?”
That’s up to America and the nations at large, of course, but they’d be very hard-pressed to try and keep us from each other. There’s a ridiculous amount of love on this movie.
What do you think about the four year difference between the first movie and the second? Does that hurt or help the film?
Well, with the proper amount of time… Truly, it was the afterlife of this film on DVD that gave everyone the idea that maybe we should do another one. I mean it did well domestically; it did huge overseas because of Bruce. The DVD was insane, like a cult, so that’s what kicked off the reason to do a second one. I think we went just long enough.
Could it wait another four years before the next one?
No. Now we know (laughing).
Bruce Willis' daughter Tallulah has a small part as a Buttercup Scout selling cookies in "The Whole Ten Yards." Were you on the set when she filmed her scene?
I wasn’t but I’ve known the Willis girls since they were seeds. I worked with Demi [Moore] on “A Few Good Men” and Rumer was about 3, I think. Scout was just an infant, and Tallulah hadn’t joined us yet. And so I’ve been friends with them ever since. I’ve watched them all grow up.
Did you get hooked into buying Girl Scout cookies from them?
I buy cookies from the Willis girls every year, thank you very much, and I don’t have a choice in the matter.
Are you serious?
Yes. Then they send like a ton of cookies to the troops.
What else are you working on?
I’m actually working with Bruce right now on a suspense drama. It’s from the best selling novel by Robert Crais called “Hostage.” Miramax is putting that out. We’re just finishing it up now.
Is there a good behind the scenes story with you and Bruce?
Well there’s one point where he uses me for a negotiation and he has a gun to the back of my head, which you’d think would be enough but he had to tape that to me. So it wasn’t quite as bad as Greg Kinnear and Matt Damon, but Bruce and I did have to go to the bathroom together a couple of times.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Interviews from the World Premiere of "The Whole Ten Yards"
"The Whole Ten Yards" Premiere Photos
"The Whole Ten Yards" Photos, Credits, Trailer and Press Junket Interviews
