Gary Cole – Politically Charged

By starrymag | January 12, 2014

Q) What are some of your most recent projects?

 

A) I am finishing up this season of “West Wing” and we’re almost at the end. We just finished the second to last episode and the final episode begins at the end of this coming week or the week after that. I also have a new show on TNT called “Wanted,” but it won’t be premiering until July and it is a cop show.

 

Q) Please tell us about your role in the upcoming filmThe Ring 2.

 

A) It’s fairly brief. It’s a real estate agent. The last time I checked, there was a point where I wasn’t in the film any longer. Now I’ve been told I’ve been reinserted in. It’s just a brief scene where Naomi Watts comes to see the old farmhouse that appears in the first movie. I have the scene with her and then I leave.

 

Q) In the upcoming show “Rush” you will be playing the head of an elite crime fighting team. What made you want to be a part of this project?

 

A) It was a decent script and I wanted to meet on it. The pilot was a good experience and it actually turned out really well. It’s worked on all levels so we’ll see what happens.

 

Q) You have a reoccurring character on the hit show “The West Wing.” What is it like working with such an amazing cast?

 

A) I was a fan of the show even before I got there. I always thought it was one of the best casts and I always thought the writing was strong and the direction was great. One of the things I really liked about it was there hadn’t been a show about that subject matter or with that view in mind of politics. I just think it kind of worked. Any time something works on all levels than it is the best you can hope for.

 

Q) You have worked in front of the screen and done voice work behind the screen, which do you prefer and why?

 

A) Well, they are equally fun. Voice stuff is a laugh and a lot of fun because most of the characters that I have done on voice work has been animation. That’s is fun to do and gets done pretty fast. They are both satisfying in different ways.

 

Q) You played “The Brady Bunch’s” Mike Brady on film. What was it like playing such a TV icon?

 

A) I think that everybody set out, kind of, to do their best imitation of the actors that appeared in the television show, because I am sure that is what everybody wanted to see. With the script that we had, it kind of left them in a time bubble and they were stuck in the 70’s. It was big, goofy, dumb, stupid and a lot of fun because there wasn’t a whole lot to be taken seriously so we had a good time.

 

Q) You have gotten to work with such talented actors like Martin Sheen, Josh Hartnett, Robin Williams, Naomi Watts and so on. Who would you most like to work with in the future and why?

 

A) That would be a lot of people! I don’t know. I’d have to narrow it down to my hero movie stars of the 70’s that I kind of grew up watching when I was 12. That was Al Pacino, Robert Redford, Robert Deniro and Jack Nicholson. People like that.

 

Q) The dramedy Mozart and The Whale is about the story between individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome and you are involved with the organization Canine Companions. Why is this particular subject matter so important to you?

 

A) I have a daughter that has Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Just the subject matter was important to me and the character that Josh plays, Jerry Newport, (an adult with Asperger’s and who I saw speak at a seminar for one of my daughter’s therapies [because she used to take different therapies]). So, for me, it was just great to be involved in.

 

Q) What advice do you have for up and coming actors/actresses?

 

A) I guess what I’d say is be sure that this is what you want and just kind of throw yourself in. Sometimes I think tenacity might be more important than talent, certainly you have to have talent though. For young actors, I’d say concentrate on the craft as opposed to the business. I think sometimes people get too concerned with what kind of pictures I should have, who should I see, what agent should I try to get, what would look good and how am I perceived as opposed to making themselves a good actor. Concentrate on your craft, even if it is acting in a garage theater in front of three people because if you don’t develop a skill at it, then running around trying to fit in the business can leave you kind of empty.

 

Q) What has been the highlight of your long lasting career?

 

A) That I’m still around. That’s the highlight! I would say that. That I’m still working. I’m lucky and grateful about that.

 

Q) How do you select the projects that you are going to participate in?

 

A) I don’t know that I select them as much as basically you are led to what is possible and what is not possible or open doors and closed doors. There are things you don’t really want to do and you have to pass on them if there are things that you think you could bring something too. If you have a chance to be involved in it, then you have to meet on stuff and audition for stuff and let the chips fall where they may. There are very few actors in this town that sit back in their chair and stroke their chin and decide what they are going to do. The reality is, in a lot of cases, you do what is in front of you and if you think you can bring something to it then it doesn’t annoy you to do it. It’s not a lot of mulling over what you are going to try to do, not in my case anyway. I don’t really analyze it that heavily.

 

Q) What do you do in your spare time?

 

A) Well, I’m a parent so that eats up most of my time. That will make sense to parents. I like to ski, run and play the drums a little bit. Nothing that is really all consuming.

 

Q) What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

 

A) Thank you! Thanks for not leaving your seat when you’re watching me, hopefully!