I was very lucky in this that it’s so well written. It was easy to get. It was extremely easy to get but I got that character so quickly it almost scared me. I got it from two words, ‘Doin’ doin’.’ In one of his things, he goes, ‘I was doin’ doin’ that drywall down there…’ So my whole character came from those two words. Later, when we were shooting it, it was third take or something like that, [director John Pasquin] comes up and he goes, ‘You know you’re saying doin’ twice?’ I go, ‘Well, yeah. Of course I’m saying doin’ twice. It’s in the script.’ He goes, ‘Huh. That’s a typo.’”
Helping Come Up With His Costumes: “That was kind of fun, yeah. That was kind of fun. Although, really, Deena Appel had more to do with it than anything. The costume designer had a good idea and really helped a lot. I wanted to stand in a certain way and she sort of watched the way that I stood and took…that and ran with that a little bit.”
On Working in Vegas: “This is my first time working in Vegas and my first time sober in Vegas, and that was horrible. Working in Vegas is not anything that I would recommend anyone to do. It’s an extremely bizarre town and will give you probably the most cynical look on Americans that you could possibly take. It was really eye-opening.”
Changes in Sandra Bullock Since the ’89 TV Movie, “The Preppie Murder:” “…She is exactly the same. Though my career has not been hers, but I’ve watched a lot of people change over the years. I’ve known a lot of actors for a really long time and she is exactly the same. Down to earth, nice, sweet, knows everybody’s name, knew all her lines, was really the boss, was in charge. I like that very much, respected her very much. And I liken fame to Othello because it takes place on an island. They intentionally put it there because nobody comes in to give him any perspective. Otherwise they would go, ‘Desdemona’s crazy about you. What are you, crazy?’ Fame is a lot like that because you get isolated. So you become more of who you are in a very heightened environment. You’re kind of allowed to do a lot of things that normal people would tell you to shut up, or you can’t do that. This is a long way of saying she can be whoever she wants to be. She would behave however she wants and she’s a gem.”
Any Reluctance to Filling Michael Caine’s Role?: “No. No, I had no reluctance whatsoever. I’m not afraid to do much. I don’t know if people made comparisons between this character and the Michael Caine character. I myself described it as, ‘Remember Michael Caine in the first one? It’s kind of like that.’ I was paid significantly less than Michael Caine was, but other than that, I guess the comparisons really end. No, this is a far broader character than what Caine did, because Caine is a star. He plays Michael Caine and I like to change myself, so it’s just natural, inherent that they’re going to be different.”
Analyzing Diedrich Bader’s Career: “I have no perspective on my career whatsoever. I really don’t and I try not to and I don’t have any entourage and I don’t have a manager or a lawyer or anybody telling me anything other than, ‘You have an appointment at 11:30.’ I just want to work. I’ve never wanted to do anything else in my entire life except be a spider monkey. So I just hope that this leads to more work for me.
I’d love to stay on sitcoms. They’re really the perfect media for me. I go in for three hours a day, I get to be funny all day and there’s an audience. I love it. I would love to stay in sitcoms. I’m trying to now. My agents are saying, ‘You should wait and see what happens with the movie, blah blah blah.’ This was a fantastic opportunity. I hope it leads to more roles, but I would love to stay in television.
Two things I don’t understand about actors: they’re trying to get out of sitcoms and they don’t want fans to talk to them. Those two things that I just don’t understand because it’s like if you could walk through the airport, and this happens to me, this will sound egotistical, wouldn’t you want 10 people to come up and tell you that they love you before you get on the plane? Wouldn’t that be great? Well, that’s what happens to me. People come up and go, ‘I love you.’ ‘Thank you very much. Thank you.’ Then 10, 15 yards later, ‘Oh gosh, I love you and blah blah blah.’ ‘Oh, thank you, wow.’ By the time you get to the plane, you’re feeling pretty good."
