MoviesOnline caught up with actor/comedian at the Los Angeles press day to talk about his new film, "Mr. Brooks,” an electrifying suspense thriller directed by Bruce Evans from a screenplay he co-wrote with Raynold Gideon. "Mr.
Brooks” offers a fresh twist in the tale of how one man can lead a double life of both magnificent success and gruesome crime. The film also stars , , , and Danielle Panabaker.
stars as Earl Brooks, a man who has managed to keep his two incompatible worlds from intersecting by controlling his cunning, wicked alter ego Marshall ( ).
But now, as Mr. Brooks succumbs to one last murderous urge, an amateur photographer ( ) witnesses the crime. Suddenly Brooks finds himself entangled in the dark agenda of an opportunistic bystander, as well as hunted by the unorthodox and tenacious detective Tracy Atwood ( ).
Mr. Brooks must outsmart his adversaries and conceal his shocking double life from his wife ( ) and daughter (Danielle Panabaker) or face the very real possibility that his crimes and his identity will be exposed once and for all.
Cook, who is one of today’s hottest stand-up comics, was an unexpected choice for such a challenging dramatic role, but it was a choice the filmmakers thought was worth the risk – especially after he sent them a videotape of himself in character.
"Dane was definitely a wild card,” says producer Jim Wilson. "Nobody knew quite what he would do with this character because he’s never done anything even remotely like this. But when we all saw his videotape, it was a revelation.
He had simply nailed it. I think people will be very surprised.”
Cook doggedly pursued the role because he was ready to break out into something entirely new and different.
"I’m interested in breaking out into cinematic roles of every size, shape and form, so this was really a chance for me to start doing that,” Cook says. "When I got the script, it was a definite page-turner. It was one of those things where I was racing to figure out what would happen next.
”
Most of all, Cook couldn’t resist the challenges of the ordinary-seeming Mr. Smith, who misguidedly sees Mr. Brooks’ sickness and compulsion to kill as merely a game and an adventure.
"As I was reading the lines of Mr. Smith, I found myself already picturing how I would do it,” he recalls. "What excited me about Mr.
Smith is that he is unwittingly on a path of total self-destruction. Every move he makes is the wrong step. I’m a guy who likes to constantly keep myself on the right path so it was really interesting for me to play someone who’s so completely off the path.
”
The key to Mr. Smith for Cook was getting to the core of why he latches onto Mr. Brooks as a mentor.
"I think Mr. Smith accidentally witnessed something and it was like, wait a minute, this might be my calling, this might be who I am. For him, Mr.
Brooks is like a hero. He has all the knowledge that Mr. Smith wants,” says Cook.
"Mr. Smith sees himself as starting off on this great adventure of becoming a killer. But what he doesn’t foresee, is how he’s going to become a part of Mr.
Brooks’ journey.”
Dane Cook is an engaging actor and electric performer who has developed a world wide following. This year he is poised to firmly establish himself as a leading man with notable roles not only in "Mr.
Brooks” but several other highly anticipated, upcoming films including the romantic comedy "Good Luck Chuck,” opposite Jessica Alba and the dramatic comedy "Dan in Real Life” with Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche. He’s also has several film projects in the works through his production company, SUperFInger Entertainment, including a father-and-son road comedy set up with Disney and producer David Hoberman ("Bringing Down the House"); "The Ex-Family,” set up at the Weinstein Company; and a ground-breaking concert film, based on his April 2006 Boston comedy shows, to be released theatrically this year.
Here’s what he had to tell us about his latest film, "Mr.
Brooks”:
DANE COOK: Yeah, it was like auditioning for ‘American Idol,’ or something like that. [Laughs] Actors will tell you, when somebody says, ‘Will you go on tape?
,’ it’s kind of the kiss of death. It normally is just a slow, painful death. You really want to be able to meet the producers and talk about your take on the character.
When you send a tape, you never know if the person’s got a baby in their arms, or what’s going on in their life, so rarely does that seem to work in your favor. But, I did it. I went on tape.
I was down in New Mexico. We were filming ‘Employee of the Month,’ and I literally ran between scenes, ‘cause I had this one day to do it. I set up the camera and I had one of my good friends read the lines.
Acting is reacting, and I was like, ‘God, you suck!’ So, I did these few takes, where I had to stop it, and I finally got the take I wanted. Truly, I had a real epiphany, when reading the script.
I was already pacing. I was already reading the lines out loud. You always hear that, if it’s the right part, it just starts to take a hold of you, and I knew this guy.
I’m an optimistic, encouraging, upbeat, glass is half-full person, and yet, I understood this deviant, lascivious side of this person. I drew from a few people that I’d met in my travels, and spun the wheel, sent the tape and got the call. ‘You did it, kid.
You’re in the flick. You’re heading to Shreveport.’
. . There’s a scene where, after we’ve just come back from one of our dirty deeds, we just started improvising together in the car, and Kevin was so open and available to that, and really encouraged it.
I remember, I was punching the seat and I was just trying to get myself in a place where, honestly, you could do that and feel embarrassed in front of certain actors, who would look at you and be like, ‘What’s going on here?’
You’ve got to say that again.’ We really started improvising and I was like, ‘I’m in a dramatic scene, and we’re improvising about having just murdered this couple.’ It was being able to take the best of what I knew how to do, comedically, and the best of working with somebody iconic, like Kevin Costner, who you just trust and you know he’s not going to let you down, and then the material was solid.
We couldn’t miss. It just felt right, and I know it’s the kind of thing that people will be able to watch and feel moved, in some way, by it.
DANE COOK: William’s line was always in there. I brought a few of my closest friends to see an early screening of the movie, one of my best friends, who knows me and knows my comedy, and knows that I have a good time on stage, I love my life and I love my job, turned to me, right around that part, and said, ‘I fucking hate you. I really do.
’ It was the best compliment I have ever received. I was like, ‘Alright, then I did something right.’ That line just happened to be in the script.
Q: Did you ever imagine that you’d do something this dark?
DANE COOK: I did do a short film about five years earlier called ‘Spiral,’ which I would say is on par, as far as darkness. It’s something I’d written and produced.
It served two purposes. On a selfish or promotional level, it was like, ‘Let me show people what I can do. Let me show people that it’s more than just stand-up comedy.
’ The only way I was going to have that was to do it myself because nobody trusted that I could do it. And then, I’ve done stand-up for 17 years and I needed to explore other things, whether it be doing a voice-over for this other movie I’m doing, or talking about doing this theater project coming up. I just want to be able to challenge myself.
Now, comedy is safe for me. I can perform in front of 20,000 people at Boston Garden and I’m like, ‘I know how to do this. This is what I do.
’ I want to be a little scared.
Q: Can you talk about going from the comedy stage to being one of the biggest stars in Hollywood? What’s that transition been like for you?
’ I was like, ‘I’m not going to go to New York until New York calls me, and I have a purpose to go there.’ That is how I do everything. I don’t just say, ‘I need to do a comedy.
’ I had other comedic scripts come along before ‘Employee of the Month,’ and I had other TV shows, that I just felt weren’t authentic, or didn’t pump my ‘nads. I don’t push. I guess that’s kind of my thing.
I just don’t push. I always have stand-up. I always have a way to make a few scheckles.
I’m not in need. So, I just wait for stuff that makes me go, ‘Shit, that’s kinda creepy. That’s kinda weird.
That’s scary.’ And, I think, on a personal level, who knew with stand-up comedy that I would be able to do that.
But, that’s up to the movie Gods and for the audience to go, ‘Yeah, we’d like to see you do that.’ When I started getting the nod from my fans, and then, some scripts that were actually appealing came in, I was like, ‘I’m not going to push. I’m going to go with the flow.
If this is what I’m meant to do now, I’m going to do it for the rest of my life. If not, I’ll create something somewhere behind the scenes. Wherever I’m meant to be, I’m going to just eat it up.
’ And I enjoy the hell out of it. I’m not going to lie to you. I love my job and I love the art of comedy, but I also love doing these movies.
I really hope that I get to do a lot more.
He’s William fucking Hurt. I’ve pretty much done this, even around comedians, but I like to keep it light on a set and I like to have a good time. I’m not a method person, even though I like to research.
Eddie Murphy once said, about ‘Beverly Hills Cop,’ it all has to be on the script first, and then, I can improvise and go from the spine here. I didn’t know how to approach William Hurt. I didn’t know what his take was, so I just waited.
We did that first scene in the boardroom together, where he’s sitting at the end of the table, and I was feeling him, but I couldn’t. I was trying to get myself into that zone, and I finally figured it out. I was like, ‘Oh, okay, this is what I need to do.
’ Once I got into this rhythm, I lost William Hurt. I think Pacino once said about Chris O’Donnell in ‘Scent of a Woman,’ ‘I never saw you, but I felt that you were great.’
It was kind of weird because I was so used to not having him in my life, or my periphery. And I just remember that he said something very encouraging. He said something like, ‘I shouldn’t say this to you right now because we’re doing this, but you’re doing really great.
’ I just went home and called my whole family and said, ‘William Hurt just told me I’m doing really great, and he really meant it.’ There was that scene in the car, where he leans in between Kevin and I, and I didn’t expect him to do that, and I just had to do my thing, but I could feel him. He’s got the Force.
I feel like he could flick me out of a scene, if he wanted to. He could just omit you from a scene. And Kevin’s got that same way.
And, even Demi. These are the elite. I’m a confident guy and I knew why they were bringing me in and I knew I could hang, but I also knew that I was going to experience things with them, since I’m new to that level, that I was just going to have to shut the fuck up and really listen and learn, and I did that every day.
It was the best course on acting that you could ever, ever ask for.
DANE COOK: I love hecklers because hecklers remind you that you’re a comedian.
I’ve always said that, even though they throw off the whole tempo and the rhythm, and sometimes cut right into the middle of a bit. Being an anti-cynical type person, in the back of my brain I’m like, ‘This guy’s yelling out because I’m a fucking stand-up comic. This is what I do, and it’s the coolest thing ever.
’ So, no, I wouldn’t go after hecklers. I’d go after some club owners that treated me like a douche bag. I’d definitely take on some of those guys, if I could be Mr.
Baffard, aka Mr. Smith, for a day.
Q: Do you have a stand-by line for hecklers, like a lot of comedians do?
DANE COOK: Yeah, ‘Shut the fuck up!’ [Laughs] It just depends on the day. It depends on the heckle.
It depends on the energy in the room. But, I just try to take it on a case by case study. [Laughs]
Q: What are you working on now?
DANE COOK: Getting ready to do another film with Lions Gate. It’s kind of a dark comedy, called ‘Bachelor #2.’ We’re going to start filming that in July, so we’re casting it now.
It’s appealing because it’s like a ‘Bad Santa.’ It’s a comedy, but I’m playing a real prick who seems to have no emotional attachment to anything, so it’s just a different side of my comedy. Whereas ‘Good Luck Chuck’ has a lot of physicality and charisma, this is a guy whose name is Tank and he’s got to roll over everybody.
There’s no filter. It’s almost like how you would treat a heckler, on any given night. Anybody who he experiences in his life, he’s just going to go for the weak point.
If you’ve got a cleft lip, he’s going to be like, ‘You’ve got some shit on your lip.’ You’re in trouble with this guy. So I look forward to getting into the challenge of playing somebody unlike me.
Q: Will you go back to stand-up?
DANE COOK: Always. I’ll do stand-up tonight, if I can.
Stand-up comedy is my baby.
"Mr. Brooks” opens in theaters on June 1st.
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