Welcome to Random Roles, wherein we talk to actors about the characters who defined their careers. The catch: They don't know beforehand what roles we'll ask them to talk about.
The actor: A master at playing warped characters, beginning with his breakthrough role as Al Pacino's unraveling law partner in …And Justice For All, Jeffrey Tambor has been the go-to guy for anyone needing an officious boob or exasperated authority figure for nearly 40 years. After two decades of memorable turns in everything from Three's Company to Hill Street Blues, Tambor landed his first Emmy nomination for playing loveably dense (yet obnoxiously self-important) talk-show sidekick Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders Show; his second nomination followed in 2003 for his work on the similarly cult-beloved Arrested Development, where he played the Bluth family's slyly manipulative patriarch and his spaced-out twin brother. With more than a hundred roles to his credit, Tambor is still one of the busiest character actors working today. His latest is this summer's Hellboy II: The Golden Army.
Arrested Development (2003-2006)—"George Bluth, Sr./Oscar Bluth"
Jeffrey Tambor: I was only cast as a guest for the first show. I wasn't really going to do the series. But I fell in love with it, and thankfully, they asked me to do more.
AVC: That show had such a dense collection of running jokes. Was it a lot of work keeping track of them all?
JT: Not on my part, but I would imagine the writers had a lot of plates to juggle. There was a heavy rewind factor, which was great. But yeah, there were a lot of strands, which I think really separated the viewers: You either got it or you didn't. I once walked into the office and saw Mitch [Hurwitz] breaking down a story with his people, and it was heavy. There were chalk marks on everything. Mitch is one of a kind, and he's also an old friend. He's impeccable. Carlos Castaneda always said, "If you're going to do something, do it impeccably." And he does.
AVC: What can you say about the Arrested Development movie?
JT: There are rumors that it's going to be done, and everyone just seems to be waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm ready, and everyone's on board, so I hope it really happens. Everybody I talk to is very excited about it. When I talk to people that decry that we're not on, I say, "You know, there are rumors, heavy rumors going around that there's going to be a movie." And they go crazy. A lot of "hurrahs" going on. But I know it's not written. Right now, it's just pure intention. But I think it will happen if the good people at Fox and everybody else just gets their act together.
The Larry Sanders Show (1992-1998)—"Hank Kingsley"
JT: Changed my life. I am so thankful that—I mean, go figure. Most people are lucky to get one good series, but I got two groundbreakers. I just knew when I read that "Hey Now" script that something was afoot. Those were seven of the greatest years of my life. I learned so much, and it affirmed everything I thought comedy was. It was really a tremendous experience.
AVC: Do people still ask you to say "Hey now"?
JT: Yes! [Laughs.] Yes, I actually just said it into someone's computer.
AVC: How was the shooting schedule divided between the "real" backstage world and the show-within-the-show?
JT: Every three or four weeks, for episodes one, two, three, and four, we would do the late-night shows all in one night. They were arduous affairs, with quick changes into other suits and back. But they were held in abeyance until about four weeks in, and then we would shoot it all in one night. And they were wonderful nights. They were so much fun. At the beginning, you know, we were grateful to get guests. At the end, it was as if we actually were The Tonight Show. People would come on, and it had the same sort of imprimatur as if we were on the air. I've been on a lot of talk shows during that time and since then, and people would come up in the dressing room or in the corridors and say, "You guys got it exactly right." Or they would say, "We have Larry Sanders moments every day." Those writers—and Garry [Shandling] in particular—really had the concept. He really knew it, and it was done so lovingly. He would go beyond the joke, and sort of go into the character. His "funny" was very different, and I really appreciated it. And I loved Hank Kingsley. He was very real to me. There was just something about that character. I really believed him. I didn't think he was a buffoon. I understood the inner workings of him, so I sort of felt sorry for him, the poor guy. He was very important to me.
AVC: You seemed fairly comfortable in the role of host or pitchman. Have you ever thought about going down that road?
JT: [Laughs.] Oh, I couldn't do it. It's just such an art. No, I haven't. Well no, I'm not being totally honest. I think once I had a little inkling of it. But, you know: Who wants to tune into a 62-year-old bald guy with a beard asking questions? I mean, I wouldn't.
AVC: Well, Dr. Phil…
JT: Yeah, but he doesn't have a beard. [Laughs.] No. I like Dr. Phil. I think he's great. I was just on a show with him. I actually was a surprise guest on his show early on, because we always used to get the thing that we look alike. And we look nothing alike. Except we have a similar hair profile.
Hellboy (2004)/Hellboy II (2008)—"Tom Manning"
JT: Guillermo del Toro. He's in his pure artist's stroke. He's just hitting it out of the park. I would go anywhere to work with him. He's a real artist. And I hear that [Hellboy 2] is going to be a killer—July 11 it's coming out. It's wonderful. I hope I do Hellboy 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9…
AVC: Most of your work has been in comedy and character-driven dramas. How does working on a big-budget comic-book movie compare?
JT: It's so funny, because you forget it's a comic book. The actor's job is to make it real. There's no wink in it. You approach it the same way you would Death Of A Salesman. And Ron Perlman is a fabulous actor. That's high standards there. He really does a great character. The fact that he's covered in a body suit and has horns has nothing to do with it; it's a real character turn. So it's tremendous. We worked six months on it in Budapest. It was really hard work, and wonderful work. I thought Pan's Labyrinth was one of the greatest films I've ever seen, just pure artistry. [Del Toro] is just really something, this guy. And he's a real mensch: down-to-earth, funny, huggy, and terrific.
AVC: With Hellboy, you've thrown yourself into the world of "fanboys." Have you attended comic-book conventions, or been exposed to any of that?
JT: No. In fact, I think I will try to do some of those this time, because it's a whole other world out there. I wasn't able to last time, but I will do that. I mean, a fan is a fan is a fan. You know, it's so odd, because we weren't even allowed to have comic books when I was a kid. We had to hide them under the bed. They were just a big no-no, and here I am doing a comic-book movie. That's what's so great about being an actor: You get to do Meet Joe Black, and you get to do Arrested Development, and then you get to do Hellboy and Eloise, and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. It's great. You get to play the field.
Brenda Starr (1989)—"Vladimir"
AVC: Actually, Hellboy was your second comic-book movie, if you count Brenda Starr.
JT: [Laughs.] Oh, Lord. Now that was an experience. I remember it was so hot in Jacksonville, Florida, and I would go running all the time. I think I whittled down to just a reed. You know, I don't know if I've ever seen Brenda Starr. I don't know if I need that experience. There are things that come together, and there are other things that don't—and the people were wonderful, and Robert Ellis Miller is a great director—but that little baby did not come together for some reason.
AVC: More recent movies—specifically 300 and Sin City—have succeeded in capturing that blend of live action and comic-book stylization that Brenda Starr attempted. Do you think maybe it was just ahead of its time?
JT: I don't think that was the problem. [Laughs.] Look, I'm trying to be as charitable as possible. But, you know… We had a good time. By the way, Timothy Dalton was in that! In fact, I remember I was standing next to him, and he turned to me and said, [Affects posh British accent.] "Oh, I think I've just been tagged to play James Bond." [Laughs.] I'll never forget that. I went, "Oh! Okay. Well, good for you." And I love Brooke Shields. She's developed into a wonderful actress and a wonderful person. We were all babies then. That's why when people say, "What did you think of that film?" I can't do what people do and say, "I hated it." I can't speak ill of a film, because it's so hard to make a film. Everybody thinks we're sitting by a pool peeling grapes, and this is not the case. It's hard. It's hard to do this stuff—and getting harder!
Superhero Movie (2008)—"Dr. Whitby"
JT: I didn't see it.
AVC: Really? It just came out very recently.
JT: Ohhh… Yes. You mean the [David] Zucker film? Oh yeah. It was great! I was on a break, and I came back from Budapest to do it. I did my whole role in two days. Those guys are funny. I mean, they are funny. There's a wonderful thing about doing that kind of work: You have to be real, but you also have to get the laugh. There you are, your director and the producers are right there at the monitors, and you either get the laugh or you don't. And so you just do it until you get the laugh. I love David Zucker and… Can you remind me of the director's name?
AVC: Craig Mazin.
JT: Yeah! They were great. I was honored to be with them. I mean, those were the Airplane! guys! Give me a break. That's my second movie with David Zucker. You know, it's that Mad magazine, wonderful sort of… I love zany. Zany's hard to do. Silly is hard. Mel Brooks and David Zucker—there are very few people who know silly, and they're usually hugely intelligent, because you have to be intelligent to get it. Like the Marx brothers. I love it.
AVC: Superhero Movie also marks approximately your 100th "doctor" role.
JT: [Laughs.] Oh really?
AVC: Just looking at your IMDB page, almost every other character is a doctor: Article 99, Malibu's Most Wanted, Dr. Dolittle, The Golden Girls, Empty Nest, Doogie Howser M.D.—it just goes on and on. Why do you think you've always been pegged to play doctors?
JT: [Laughs.] Probably because I'm bald. Don't the bald people always play doctors and principals? Yeah, isn't that funny? And lawyers. A lot of lawyers and judges.
AVC: Yes, you've certainly played your fair share of lawyers and judges.
JT: Oh! Yeah. Don't you think that's the reason?
AVC: That baldness conveys authority?
JT: Yeah! That's interesting. Certainly the principal has to be bald. Certainly the school counselor has to be bald. And the driver's ed teacher. And maybe the wood-shop teacher. Mine was.
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