Chris Meloni

Interview By: Rocco Passafuime
RoccoPassafuime@TheCinemaSource.com

When you think of great actors today, people would most likely think of Russell Crowe or George Clooney or Daniel Day-Lewis. However, one of the many great actors in the Hollywood landscape that is consequently lost in the shuffle is Chris Meloni.

He first generated accolades in 1998 as bisexual sociopath murderer Chris Keller on the HBO series Oz. Chris's biggest role to date is his current one as Detective Elliot Stabler on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

However, Meloni has proven to also adept at doing comedy roles as well. One of his more eyebrow-raising roles was as God-fearing hillbilly Freakshow in the 2004 stoner comedy Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle.

Now, the 47-year old actor has returned to for a second time around, this time as the eccentric Penis Wizard of the KKK, in the new sequel Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay. When asked about what compelled him to return again to the series, Chris claims he deeply enjoyed doing Harold & Kumar the first around and was genuinely shocked when the Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle didn't do initially as well as expected.

'It struck me and I was really shocked when the first one really didn't do as well,' he says, 'And then, on DVD, it really started exploding, and that I got. And I realized, maybe it's a little Austin Powers thing.'

'The kids really weren't kind of familiar with it, so they're like, 'Eh, whatever, I'll just wait for it, that buzz, that word of mouth, because that's what these kids do,' Meloni continues, 'They're like, 'Oh, dude, did you see that'' And it's bam before you know it. That's the economics of this business. If you don't make it, (makes crash noise), see ya!'

Not only does Chris continue to express his confidence that people will enjoy Harold & Kumar second time around, in the franchise's stars John Cho and Kal Penn.

'Oh, fuck, yeah, I don't know if they are on the cusp or over the cusp, but these guys are the real deal. I think they're already to hit, if not already mega-hit. I think they are in the Judd Apatow league. They're there to be one of the main comedic players, to me.'

This time around, writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg have more creative control over Escape From Guantanamo Bay as also producers and directors. We wondered whether Meloni felt at all concerned about having more than one person direct him.

'No, because I worked with The Wachowski Brothers in the movie Bound, which was their first directorial effort,' Chris replies, 'So I've seen it happen before and so my experience has been it works. I think it makes it stronger because then you know these guys understand how they're connected and kind of, sort of what they're strong suits are. They just know how to collaborate and communicate tandem. Actually, I've worked with a third directing team. It's worked every time I've been.'

We wondered still though how the actor felt about having to play a different and much more unsympathetic character in the series second time around.

'I was disappointed, I'm going to be honest. I threw a temper tantrum, to no avail. So they throw me this bone. They came to this guy,' Meloni initially jokes, 'Yeah, you know, very happy. I was very sad that I didn't get to live with them as long as Freakshow.'

Now playing two different characters in the same series of movies, we wondered what it if there was anything that Chris himself personally brought to each of the characters he played.

'[For Freakshow], I added the religious fervor thing, but I got it off them, which is when I tell them, 'Go in there. Have some tea. Raid the fridge. Fuck my wife. Just don't do anything the good Lord wouldn't do.' Chris claims, 'I was in there. I guess it was something outlandish that means something. To me, I have a great time parsing their writing, making it as big and meaningful as I want it to be and it hits for me.'

'So that's what happened with the Ku Klux Klan guy,' he adds, 'The first words out of my mouth, if you seen the movie, you know what they are. It's so outlandish, it's so wrong, I gave the guy Tourette's syndrome, which in so, but instead of barking out curse words, he barks out racial epithets. I don't know if it's in the movie, but it's that sort of thing that it's their writing that helps me build a larger aspect of the character.'

With that in mind, we asked the actor how he prepared for a character like The Penis Wizard.

'Well, I got to tell you, I wrote down all the racial epithets I could think of,' he remarked, 'And I actually even called friends. But there you are in the cold, dark woods of Shreveport and there's a black guy and there's a Chinese dude and they're like surrounded by Jews (laughing). I was like, 'They're going to kick my ass after this.' So it was a lot of fun. It's all in good fun, people.'

As accomplished as he's proven to be with comedic roles, Chris' greatest impact on Hollywood thus far is still his dramatic roles, particularly his one on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. We wondered how it's impacted him personally doing a show based on real-life cases of people on the receiving end of some of the most brutal crimes imaginable.

'Yeah, here are the facts about that,' Meloni says, 'Not shocked, but a little saddened and a little disheartened, especially when I have to deal with things about children, because there's nothing funny about it. And the sad aspect of it is that if you talk to real S.V.U. detectives, they'll tell you shit that will make your teeth fall out. It's really unbelievable. We can't even scratch the surface of the truth. I mean, sometimes we get close. The most terrific stuff you see the stuff, the kind you go, wow, that really kind of took the stuffing out of me, that's the kind of stuff that unfortunately these people deal with.'

However, he also notes that the rewarding part of doing S.V.U., according to Chris, is the tremendous positive impact on people who have been affected by such criminal acts.

'I've had a lot of people affected by sexual or child abuse and our show's done a lot of healing for a lot of people,' he notes, 'And I got to tell you, that's a light that I never thought would be shining in my life. Because I'm an actor and I ain't no hero and I still am not, but my character has become a symbol or a touchstone or an anchor.'

'I had a person who interviewed me who called me back and told me, 'I couldn't tell you that time, but I was a victim of abuse. I wish you'd been there,'' Meloni continues, 'When you're a boy that's being abused, that's a heavy load, but I guess there's an aspect of the show that gives the public healing to people, so I'm very proud of it.'

With so many accolades from his dramatic work, including an Emmy nomination for his role on S.V.U., we asked Meloni why he feels he's not gotten as more recognition for his work as a dramatic actor.

'The dramatic field is a tough gig because it's a big movie and I'm like #50 on the list,' Chris believes, 'You're going to go to Russell Crowe, you're going to go to Brad Pitt. You're going to go to those guys. And then, if it's indie flick, you're going to have to fight it out with Liev Shreiber and it's a tough gig and it's drama, so that's kind of a dicier [sic] commercial proposition.'

'Comedies, they just kind of sell better,' he adds, 'They're easier to market and here's your star. Edgy comedy, that's kind of where my sensibilities lie. I love drama. I just want those sons of bitches to let me in the door (laughing). I'm here, people, and I'm here to tell you!'

However, if you ask Chris is he is happy with where his career has ended up, you find out, as we did, that you got another thing coming.

'Have you seen the fucking movies I've been in'' he jokingly snaps back, 'Why do you think I don't want to be recognized' Put two and two together for Christ sakes! Yeah, I mean that's part of the plan. I like that.'

'I just did a movie for Nickelodeon and I didn't freak out my look, but I wanted a guy that's a little different,' Meloni continues, 'And I directed and starred in the movie National Lampoon's Dirty Movie, which I also play a very charactery [sic] character.'