Do you think your character is a hero?
No. Honestly, this feels so much like my brother, this character. He has two children. He has a wife. He works with me. He chooses to stay in New Hampshire because he wants his kids to grow up in the school they started with. He doesn’t want them to lose friends. He is his family’s hero. When I was in Florida when we had Thanksgiving, the last image I saw was my brother with his two kids and his wife. [He] was hanging out on the beach and they were swimming in the water. It reminded me of “Spanglish,” just the fact that this guy gave me a wave, he said, “Love ya,” but he was like, “These are my kids and I want to make sure they have a great day in Florida.” I admire that. That’s how I got to grow up and that’s how I plan on raising my kids.
Can you speak Spanish?
How do I speak Spanish? Not too well. Paz [Vega] taught me a few words that, if people weren’t nice to me, I could tell them a few things.
How are your cooking skills?
I got to study with [Chef] Thomas Keller who we all love as a guy. He’s one of the nicest guys ever, and Jim had a relationship with Thomas. What happened, you ate up there at [his restaurant], the French Laundry. In the script it said, “[My character] will make a sandwich that everyone in the audience would want to eat at home,” or something like that. And I gotta tell you, just from the commercials, I have been walking down the street and had people say, “Make me that sandwich, man!” But Thomas Keller really did go so out of his way. I got to work in his kitchen at the French Laundry and his whole staff taught me and gave me their time. Most of all, I needed confidence [as a chef]… At home we practiced over and over making that BLT and making a bunch of other stuff, that in my life before this movie, I must say I’d probably never even eaten.
Do you have a specialty?
No, I’m excited about the BLT. I keep staring at visitors at my home and [asking], “BLT?”
Your character is really close to his daughter and knows what to say to help her out. Did you get any similar advice from your family growing up?
I never had a speech from my father: “This is what you must do or shouldn’t do.” But I just learned to… He led by example. My father wasn’t perfect. He had a temper. I took some of that. He would snap but the older he got, he started calming down. He learned about life, also. But the thing that he taught my whole family was just that family is the most important thing. And, no matter what, through our life, if a family member needs you, you go and help out and you get there. He just made us feel comfortable, and my mother also, made our family just feel comfortable and respectful to other families.
Did you get your sense of humor from your dad?
Well, part of my father having a temper led to me developing a sense of humor trying to calm the old man down.
Do you know what do audiences want?
I don't know any formulas but I do know that - I don't know. I watch this movie. I gotta say, when I first saw “Spanglish,” first night I watched it, I had no idea the audience was going to laugh as much as they did. I read the script and I laughed, but I didn’t know it was this funny. And I didn’t know it was going to be an experience for an audience to be kind of a roller coaster, laughing and emotional. So I can’t tell you what works and doesn’t work, but I do know it was nice to see a crowd of people having an experience like that.
How was working with Paz Vega, Tea Leoni, and Cloris Leachman?
I like hanging out with them. I love seeing them on the set. They’re just good people. Cloris, what can you say? [She’s] just incredibly funny and alive. And the fact that Paz didn’t speak English that well, and was laughing every time Cloris just would walk on the set.
They each represent very different types of characters.
I think Deborah, Tea’s character, all I see is we had a backstory. We were in love since we were young, and we fell in love for a reason. We connected and we happen to be at a place in life right now where it’s not feeling right. Tea’s character is just off, and my character wants to get her back on track. She’s a strong, smart woman who is just not feeling right right now. I’ve seen people going through this and she’s just looking for answers. And Flor and her children, everybody’s characters, that’s what’s great about the script. Everybody’s characters are affecting everyone else’s characters and learning about themselves. Cloris’s line, “You learn that you love your husband.” What’s that line? [It’s not the worst thing in the world to find out you love your husband.] Yeah, that’s an amazing line that makes Tea’s character realize that I want to get back. I was off track, I want to get back on track and get my family back.
PAGE 3: Adam Sandler on Dramatic Scenes, Being Creative, and Directing
