Billy Crudup
Interview By: Stephen Snart
StephenSnart@TheCinemaSource.com
Upon first glance, Billy Crudup is almost unrecognizable as Tobey in the new romantic comedy Trust the Man. It's not just because of his oddly quaffed hairdo and the unconventional costuming. It's also the nature of the material. His work as the pessimistic, self-absorbed Tobey is unlike anything he's done before. But that isn't really anything out of the ordinary for him. From playing real-life track star Steve Prefontaine in Without Limits to an incendiary guitarist in Almost Famous to an effeminate thespian in Stage Beauty, Crudup has never played the same role twice.
What separates this latest performance from the rest of his work so drastically is the largely comedic tone of the film. For Crudup, this was a long overdue change of pace. 'I'm kind of a class clown at heart. To get a chance to really explore that and be frivolous with some friends was, selfishly, a very happy experience for me.' The friends he refers to are his high profile co-stars Julianne Moore, Maggie Gyllenhaal and David Duchovney, in addition to the writer/director Bart Freundlich, whom he had previously collaborated with on 2001's World Traveller.
'I don't think I would have felt quite as safe being such a buffoon if I wasn't doing it with a friend. Some of the films like Jesus' Son or Almost Famous have some comedic elements that are kind of slapstick or a little buffoonish. But this one is a flat-out silly comedy and my character is the butt of many jokes, so it really helped that it was with a friend.'
His transition to comedy is remarkably smooth. Every single one of his line readings zings thanks to perfect comedic timing. Because of his unpredictability and his fresh approach to comedy, Crudup steals the show away from this exceptionally talented ensemble on several occasions. Even David Duchovney is readily acknowledging this by making several mentions to how funny Crudup is while on the publicity tour. In proper form, Crudup responds to these complements with a deadpanned, 'First off all David is not funny. He's drunk often. Really drunk. And not a funny drunk. [He's] a mean spirited drunk. So, the fact that he would think I was funny' not necessarily a complement.'
After playfully lambasting his friend, Crudup changes tone to talk about something that is important to him professionally: characterization. Crudup is known for getting deep under the skin of the characters he inhabits from film to film.
Unsurprisingly, he's very thorough when it comes to choosing his next character to embody. 'I think a lot. It doesn't mean I'm smart or particularly dexterous at thinking, it's just the way that I'm built. I think a lot about things. So, when I'm involved with something creatively, I don't want to be able to solve it early on because then I get bored. I want something that will continue to stimulate me, continue to puzzle me, that I'll continue to have to answer questions about long into the course of making it. If I commit to doing something simplistic, what inevitably will happen is I'll continue to think about it and I'll create some odd, ornate structure that just doesn't work. I just become some weird caricature when what you need is somebody very simple and refined and easily identifiable. I get too antsy for that. I would have to 'trick' it up with something and that doesn't help anybody.'
Chasing after such complex characters has mostly led Crudup astray from the big-budget Hollywood movies that conquer the box office. But that's fine with him. 'I often like characters that are uncomfortably complicated and you don't find a lot of those characters in movies that appeal to many people. They appeal to a limited number of people, and consequently that's just my taste. I still want the movies to be successful. I've done plenty of movies that aspire to big things: Almost Famous, Big Fish, Mission: Impossible 3. I've never shied away from that, it's just I've never pursued just financial success.'
Given all the thought that he puts into choosing his roles, you'd be surprised to find out that Crudup generally tries not to deviate much from the script. 'It's always been my instinct as an actor to use the text. As a person, you can't help but bring your experiences and the things that you witness in the world, but that's not where I go first. I go first to the script and then I try to use my imagination. I really like that experience. Often, I'm drawing from something real, but it's just not consciously. So, I can't say who exactly I based this [role] upon except the guy in the script. Bart did a very good job of constructing somebody who was fully formed in his infantile self.'
Crudup reports that he had a lot of fun playing Tobey, especially because it was so different from his real life persona. 'For Tobey, the consequences are not so relevant. Things kind of glance off him. Even the thing that he's obsessed about, death, doesn't really penetrate him very deeply. Nothing of consequence is going to happen to him. He's not gonna cry. We're not gonna find him in the corner rocking. He'll just talk about it a lot.' He takes a breath and continues with his in-depth analysis of his character's psychoanalysis. 'He's so unaware of the social constraints. And Bart and I, as people, are very aware of social constraints. We're very careful to try and say the right thing and be generous to people around you. That takes a lot of work. To get to be somebody who's just really selfish' you know, basically he's a toddler. He can say no when he wants. He can throw things when he wants. Occasionally, he gets punished but he doesn't really care. That was awesome.'
He contrasts the experience of playing Tobey with another film he recently finished shooting called Dedication, directed by another one of his close friends, fellow actor Justin Theroux. In that film, he plays a misogynistic children's book author who's forced to work closely with a female illustrator played by Mandy Moore instead of his usual collaborator and best friend played by Tom Wilkinson. 'That's a kind of romantic comedy as well but that character is terrified of the world in a way that could have some very severe consequences on him. That was really exhausting to play, I was so glad when it was over. Tobey, on the other hand, I wanted to play Tobey forever,' Crudup states fondly.
His performance in Trust the Man is so infectious that audiences probably wouldn't object to Crudup playing Tobey for the rest of his career either. However, if his history has shown us anything, it's that he's not content working on autopilot. By nature, he's a chameleon, and who can tell what the future holds in store for him. Whatever it is, we can be sure it'll have grabbed his interest.
