Kevin Pollak, one of the busiest men in show business, as certified by Variety, has a few words of advice for aspiring actors.”If you’re going to be a character actor and have a long career, with 100 or more films … you want your first film to really” stink, says the actor, taking a pull on a cigar. “It’s something I achieved, in spades.”
Like too many other young performers, Pollak learned the hard way that it’s easier to adjust horizons at the beginning of a career, rather than attempt a midstream correction. The San Francisco native saw the red flag come out after his debut in “Million Dollar Mystery,” a B-list stinker whose chief marketing device was a real-life treasure hunt and seven-figure prize (the picture only grossed about $925,000).
“It was so bad, it opened up in airplanes, and only played in flights from Los Angeles to San Francisco,” he says with a groan. “It’s an hour flight, so you had to buy a round trip to see the whole thing.”
After more than a dozen years of making movies, the 41-year-old star of Rod Lurie’s debut picture, “Deterrence”–and a wacky Hungarian mob boss in “The Whole Nine Yards”–finally is able to hog the spotlight in a publicity campaign. He managed to make the leap from the comedy circuit to being named one of the busiest and most box-office-friendly actors of the ’90s (No. 20, behind the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, according to Variety).
“Dana Carvey and I worked together 20 years ago in San Francisco and did the same kinds of things,” Pollak says. “He got `Saturday Night Live,’ I got `Avalon,’ and overnight I was stamped as a dramatic actor. Before that movie came out, I was a stand-up comic just trying to get a job in a television sitcom and commercials–just like 500 other people in Los Angeles–but, right after that movie, people started asking my wife where I had trained in New York.
“All the other actors in `Avalon’ were from the stage, and people assumed that’s what my background was as well.”
Two years later, Pollak scored big as Lt. Sam Weinberg in “A Few Good Men.” This was followed by key roles in such high-profile pictures as “Grumpy Old Men,” “L.A. Story,” “The Usual Suspects,” “Casino,” “That Thing You Do!” and, most recently, “End of Days.”
“Even in `Grumpy Old Men’ and `Grumpier Old Men,’ I’m a straight man to Walter Matthau,” Pollak says. “Now directors always ask my agent, `Sure, he can act. But, is he funny?’ I guess the good thing for someone who’s always wanted to be an actor is that my dramatic career in films has completely overshadowed 20 years of stand-up comedy.
“`A Few Good Men’ came out about the same time as my last HBO special. No matter how America discovers you, that is how you’re logged in their memory–and far more people saw `A Few Good Men.”‘
In the claustrophobic thriller “Deterrence,” which will remind everyone over 40 of “Fail-Safe” and “Seven Days in May,” Pollak is effective as a non-elected U.S. president who must decide whether or not to order a nuclear attack on a belligerent Iraq. His decision is made all the more difficult because, throughout the crisis period, he and his staff are snowbound in a Colorado cafe.
Lurie, who was the first film critic at West Point, not surprisingly has modeled the lead character on Harry S Truman.
“Truman was an Everyman who became president by happenstance … and the only one who never went to college,” says the writer-director. “When I gave Kevin the screenplay for `Deterrence,’ I also handed him a copy of David McCullough’s’ Pulitzer Prize-winning biography. There’s an obvious parallel there, and Kevin understood the importance of the topic, as well as the importance of the character to society in general and to his career in particular.”
With Pollak, Lurie adds, “There’s a sense of naturalism and a sense of being able to create realistic small talk. His reactions and instincts are very strong. He also can bring a sense of humor while maintaining that naturalism.”
Pollak intends his President Walter Emerson to be an Everyman, although, not coincidentally, he’s also the country’s first Jewish chief executive. While his ethnic background is significant to the storyline, it mostly is used as just another tool to draw viewers into the decision-making process.
“One of the things I wanted to do in this hawks-vs.-doves scenario was to win over the doves, the people who, under any circumstances, this sort of action was never acceptable,” says Pollak. “I’d be happy if I was able to win some of them over, based solely on them liking this guy.”
Before moving to Hollywood, Pollak’s acting experience was limited to a part in a high school play. He believes that his ability to act, like his skill at mimicking celebrities, is more of a “freak gift” than anything else.
“When I was a kid, I’d come out of a movie and my mother would notice that I’d be taking on the characteristics of one of the leads in the movie,” he says. “I was so impressionable, I’d end up doing an impression of them, just as a way to interact, and it’s carried over. It happens to this day. Sometimes my wife will tell me, `Stop doing Pacino,’ and I don’t always realize I’m doing it.”
Pollack and his wife, Lucy Webb, are partners in Calm Down Productions. Last year at this time, they started getting feelers from CBS about Pollak getting a starring role, opposite Nancy Travis, in a new sitcom.
The more they said “no,” however, the more it seemed the network was willing to pay for Pollak’s services. Finally, they agreed to a deal that guaranteed input on the project, and “Work With Me” was added to the fall schedule.
“From the moment the series was picked up, though, the creator made a complete 180, and it turned out to be the single worst creative experience in my whole life,” Pollak says, refusing to dredge up even worse memories by mentioning the show-runner’s name. “It was a complete business decision, based on a fiscal guarantee that was financially irresponsible for me to say no to. I went in heads-up, eyes-open, and I knew what I was getting into.”
Pollak doesn’t believe this stain on his resume will affect any future choices.
“Every now and then, you’re given an opportunity to cash in on your credibility,” he argues. “There are these tiers, and there is a list that goes from A+ through D. It really exists, so unless you’re at least B+ — or your name is Tom, Gwyneth or Julia — you’re getting crap … compared to the type of material I have access to as a supporting actor.”
