Welcome to Random Roles, wherein we ask actors for memories about roles that defined their careers. The catch: They don't know beforehand what roles we'll ask them to talk about.
The actor: After spending more than a decade as a go-to comic character actor on TV and in movies, Jeff Garlin had a career breakthrough when he convinced his friend Larry David to create the HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm. Garlin's performance as David's morally flawed manager raised Garlin's acting profile, and his efforts as a CYE producer and director earned him the clout to write and direct his first feature film, the sweetly off-kilter romance I Want Someone To Eat Cheese With, which IFC Films is opening in select theaters in September. In October, John Waters: This Filthy World—a Garlin-directed film of Waters' one-man show—will be available on DVD from MPI Home Video.
Little Big League (1994)—"Opposing Little League Manager"
Jeff Garlin: I was cast out of Chicago. I hadn't done a lot of movie roles, so it was fun, even though it was small and there wasn't a lot to do. I just liked being on a movie set. I was there for probably a week. I've never seen the movie. Which is really… I mean, on Curb Your Enthusiasm, I'm an executive producer, so I see all of them, but for the most part, unless it's my project? Something like, where I'm a producer? I don't watch it.
Mad About You (1997-99)—"Marvin"
JG: I had just gotten done telling my agent that I didn't want to do any auditions unless I had more time to prepare. I didn't want to go on any more same-day auditions. So they call me for a same-day audition for Mad About You, and I don't know why I said yes, but I did. It was this pretty big role, and I auditioned. Had a great audition, got the part, and when I went to report for work the first day, the character was down to one line. They said they were sorry, and—you never hear of this happening, but they were more than happy to pay me and cast somebody else, because they didn't want to insult me. But I wasn't any big deal, so I said, "No, I'll stick with it, what the heck." I wasn't doing anything else. And the producers, when they were watching us rehearse, they said, "We feel like we've got some sort of chemistry here, so we're going to come up with more for you." And they came up with a lot more. From this one little part, one line, one time only, I ended up being on the show for the last three years.
The A.V. Club: Did that do a lot for your career at the time?
JG: I was working. [Laughs.] That's really all it did for my career. I gained experience, and it was a very pleasurable experience. But it didn't do much in terms of the industry taking notice, if you will. I didn't get recognized a lot from it.
AVC: Have you found in your career that you have to do more for yourself than others will do for you?
JG: I've never heard that before, but I'd say that's 100 percent true. You gotta make your own bed. You can't wait for somebody else to do it. Agent, manager, friend…it doesn't matter. You really have to do your own thing. But also, the flip side of that is that nobody gets anywhere without somebody sticking out their hand and offering to help. So yes, you are responsible, but you also need luck and help.
Full Frontal (2002)—"Harvey"
JG: Great fun, for the most part. I got to work with Steven Soderbergh, and that was amazing. I remember I got, I think, the only big laugh in the movie. Toward the end, there's a party scene, and we're at a table. We improvised the scene, and Julia Roberts says "Let's play the game where you figure out your porn name." You know, the street you grew up on, and your first pet. And immediately when she said it, I thought of the best joke. And all I'm thinking is, "Please, nobody have this joke." Looking back on it, it was ridiculous, because there was nobody comedic for miles around. You know, David Fincher, he's not going to come up with anything. So when it came around to me, I said my name was "Baron Von Hugecock." Then I said, "What? I grew up on Von Hugecock Avenue, and my dog's name was Baron."
AVC: Did the cast break out laughing?
JG: Everyone laughed! And because we're in this scene where you improvise, it made the cut.
The Michael Richards Show (2000)—"Ed"
JG: That was, ah, not very enjoyable. I kind of clashed with Michael all week, because when you're an actor, you make choices, depending on your part, and I'm a pretty naturalistic actor, and he kept telling the director to tone me down, which I found very strange. Because I was getting laughs, and he didn't like that, I don't think. When we were done with shooting, I remember him getting up and thanking me for coming, and he hoped I'd had a good time. And I was rather shocked by that, and then I found out later that somebody told him to go do that. [Laughs.] Now, that being said, I also want to say that I saw him do stand-up numerous times. I'm a big fan. I was a big fan of his on Seinfeld, and a lot of his stand-up was really, really funny.
AVC: Just not on the night of the infamous rant.
JG: You know, I had stopped playing that club a while before that happened to Michael. I'd been on the same bill with him before at The Comedy Store, and two months before he had his problem—I'm not even making this up—there was a night when the audience was 90 percent underage Korean kids. Now at the time, I'm probably a 43-year-old Jewish man. What living experience do I have to share with a room full of drunk Korean kids with fake IDs? As they say in Sweden, it's just not my audience. I'm having trouble as it is, and then behind me, one of the kids gets up onstage and starts taking pictures of his friends, from the stage. I felt something behind me, I turned around, and I came so close to punching this kid, just out of reflex, you know? But instead of punching him, I did what Michael Richards should have done. I put the mic down, and I walked out, and I never went back. When you allow 18-year-olds in the club, you know there are 16- and 17-year-olds there too, so you know that's not a good place to do comedy. So when Michael went up there, I'm sure he was very frustrated, and thought he was being interesting with his choices. I don't know that he thought he was being funny, but he thought he was being interesting, and obviously said the most ignorant things he could possibly say. And now he's out of show business.
After The Sunset (2004)—"Ron"
JG: I had met Brett Ratner before, and he called and said, "Would you come down? This movie's not as funny as I thought it would be, and I want you to be in the beginning of the movie and try to help to liven it up." That was one of those moments when a director just says, "Do whatever you want, have a good time." Which I completely did. And I was taken aback by what a really wonderful guy Pierce Brosnan is. Really a great guy. Every bit of my comedy—every nuance—he was totally hip to what I was talking about. 'Cause I was really just fucking around.
AVC: Ratner is one of those directors people love to hate.
JG: People love to hate him! Because you know, in honesty, he's a big bowl of enthusiasm. And I think he's probably as good a director as the script you're gonna give him. If you give him a shitty script, he's going to be enthusiastic and do the best that he can, and it probably won't turn out so great. If you give him a great script, I betcha he could make a great movie. He's really fun to work with, as much as people can't stand him. Generally, I'm not going to run out and see Rush Hour 3, but he's really fun to work with. And his movies make a lot of money. Those two things make him completely employable.
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