Well, I never thought of it as a musical strictly speaking in the sense that your character does a little dialogue and then bursts into song, because the dialogue is insufficient. That’s what I remember learning in school, that that’s what a musical does. What motivates a song in a musical, you have to burst into song. He never does that. He’s a songwriter. So to me, it was the passion for his work and when I burst into song it’s, “Here’s a song I’m writing.” With the exception of ‘Be a Clown,’ it’s me playing his music. And it’s the context, it’s me playing ‘So in Love’ and singing ‘So in Love’ to Linda having just finally let in the all too obvious fact that she’s not going to be able to come to the premiere. She’s in fact dying, as much as I’ve tried to deny that. And she wants to hear the song. That’s not the same as, “Oh, what a beautiful morning.” So it was an acting thing. And just playing the situation, just trying to play the moment. And I happen to have a wonderful resource, this beautiful music that’s heartbreaking on its own.
Is it hard playing gay?
No. I just think of all the men as women.
Did you learn anything on “In and Out” that applied to this?
Yeah. Don’t kiss a man who hasn’t shaved. This was different because I had the big kissing scene with Tom Selleck, which took about two days to shoot. But this one was different because there was that endless shot in the bar, and I ended up having to kiss some guy in the bathroom, whom I’d just met. We should have lunch or get to know each other. But you know what? It’s really easy.
Was it hard playing old?
That is the real challenge because I’m so young. It’s hard because there are so many clichés that you have to avoid and it’s so easy. I’ve seen old men in their ‘70s come to audition, [and it’s like], “Why are you doing an old man voice? You’re 75 years old. Use your own voice.” Because there are certain conventions and clichés. I’ve seen children actors and suddenly when the camera roles, they start putting on a children’s [voice]. You are a child. You don’t need to play child. So in the same way, playing a homosexual, playing an old man, playing a musician, there’s a zillion clichés that we’re all used to. And I guess any actor’s job is to A, avoid those and B, find an interesting truth about not just being old but being Cole Porter old, looking at your life with some critical removed perspective. What’s that like? And it’s about the specificity of playing the situation and avoiding the realities.
Did you find any Cole Porter song that resonates with you?
There’s a lot of good ones. Because I’ve been asked this question now and so I’ve actually thought about it, someone quoted to me earlier today what Alan J. Lerner said about Porter, which was that of all the American musical writers, no one could write passion like Cole Porter. You could write a love song, but Cole Porter wrote passion. And it’s those passionate [songs], a song like ‘So In Love,’ “Taunt me and hurt me, deceive me and desert me, I’m yours ‘til I die.” That’s like operatic. It’s not ‘Send in the Clowns.’ It’s not ironic, and at the same time, there are hundreds of others that are all along the spectrum of the degrees and varieties of love. I love the, “Most gentlemen don’t like love, they just like to kick it around. A squeeze and a tickle, it’s all just a fickle male.” Funny, brilliant songs about love. Looking at the index of his songs, songs that begin with Love or that have love in the title abound.
How is “Pink Panther” going?
It’s fun. A lot of fun. Steve [Martin’s] very funny.
Who makes who laugh?
We usually go and find a third party to make both of us laugh. We’re just not that funny. No, I think we make each other laugh.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Interview with Ashley Judd
"De-Lovely" Photos, Credits, and Trailer
