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An Interview with Clancy Brown Conducted by Beth Blighton (CBFC) October 1999

CBFC: What are you playing in "Hurricane"?

Clancy: IÕm a prison guard. ThereÕs two or three real stories that are kind of woven together. One is the story of the people who worked to get him [boxer, Reuben "Hurricane" Carter] out of prison -- which were a group of Canadians -- and one was the story of Hurricane growing up, and the third story is of how he survived in prison. ThatÕs the part that IÕm involved in.

CBFC: Is it a pretty decent sized part, then?

Clancy: No, itÕs pretty small, but... when Norman Jewison is directing, you take what you can get. IÕm jealous of Denzel Õcuz he got to be there every day with Norman, but nobody asked me to play Hurricane.

CBFC: Was it great to be working with Norman Jewison? Clancy: Yeah, you donÕt pass up those opportunities.

CBFC: I read that the CIA recently hosted a reception for the cast of "In the Company of Spies". Did you get to go to that?

Clancy: Nope, I didnÕt even know it was happening until my folks called me up and asked me to get them in... so I called the producers and they were very gracious about letting them be there.

CBFC: Both your dad and your grandfather were congressmen, did that change your perspective on the world a little bit, or was that just like a normal part of your life growing up?

Clancy: Well, of course, it was a normal part of my life when I was growing up, but itÕs only now that I really appreciate the significance and the insight I sort of grew up around. It kinda comes home to me when I visit them in D.C. and go to the Capitol building. My dadÕs the president of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society now, so heÕs sort of the curator, in a sense, of the building and the grounds, and the history of it is prodigious. ItÕs just really moving to me because itÕs also tied up with childhood memories. You donÕt really appreciate exactly whatÕs going on at the time, but looking back... CBFC: It seems like itÕs almost a parallel, in a sense, since you were born into a family that was in the public eye, and youÕre certainly in a profession thatÕs in the public eye. Do you find yourself, now, appreciating things they did for you then, now that you have your own child?

Clancy: Oh yeah. But I had naively thought that Hollywood would be just about as far from Washington as you could get, and all I really did was go three hundred and sixty degrees around. ItÕs so similar to Washington, D.C..

CBFC: Which do you think is tougher, D.C. or Hollywood?

Clancy: I think theyÕre both pretty tough, and thereÕs nothing wrong with tough. The cruelty of it is a little hard to take sometimes. ThereÕs something thatÕs a little bit more base about Los Angeles, because everybody gets revenge in D.C., eventually, the other party always gets in... thatÕs an ongoing thing. That wheel turning, everybody sort of recognizes in D.C.. In Los Angeles, nobody really recognizes that. In many ways Los Angeles is far more brutal than D.C..

CBFC: Did it prepare you to deal with Hollywood any better, do you think?

Clancy: No, not really, because I fancy that I see it for what it is... and nobody likes that! (chuckles) And maybe I really donÕt... Probably the deepest influence was that, when my dad was there, he was a member of the minority as a Republican, so there was a lot of righteous stances you can take when youÕre a member of the minority. If you know your vote is not going to win, you can kind of afford to be an ideologue, and look yourself in the mirror and say, "Well, at least I did the right thing." ItÕs only when you come into power, thatÕs when you really have to search your soul and find out whatÕs true.

CBFC: And you have to maintain that power, also...

Clancy: Yeah, but you also have to be right. I keep thinking of Kasich shutting down the government -- theyÕre having that wrangle right now. And itÕs a righteous argument and, okay, this is what you believe in, but thereÕs the pragmatism of you canÕt have Washington close. You just canÕt. So there are those things to wrestle with, and practical concerns. You know, they want a tax cut but they want to continue to pay off the debt.

CBFC: Pick one.

Clancy: Right, and when youÕre in the minority, then you can very easily say, "Well, this tax cut is the most important thing, and to hell with all the rest of it!" But when youÕre in the majority, trying to achieve what you want to achieve, ideologically, it also has to be with an eye towards whatÕs practical, whatÕs actually workable.

CBFC: How much of your childhood did you actually get to spend in Ohio?

Clancy: A lot. I spent a lot more time there than my brother and sister. I still refer to that as my home.

CBFC: What did living in Ohio bring to the picture? Since thatÕs a totally different scheme of things...

Clancy: I was sort of a fish out of water everywhere! (chuckles) I prefer Ohio. I just love going back there.

CBFC: Do you ever think of going back to raise your family there?

Clancy: Oh yeah, sure, I indulge in that fantasy. But I also know that I really couldnÕt. I couldnÕt go back there til I have completely capitulated... (laughs) until I have no ambitions and I could just go there, get fat, and die...

CBFC: ThatÕs a good retirement plan for you then.

Clancy: Yeah! And I still have friends there, and I consider them, without qualification, they are the best people I know! The most sweetest, most upright, most honest... And I value them and I love them dearly. Maybe thatÕs why I wonÕt go back, cuz I could never be as good as they are.

CBFC: Do you think your family was surprised when you chose acting, or did they always have that inkling that you wanted that kind of creative life?

Clancy: Well, you ask them now and theyÕll say they knew it all along. At the time I think it took my mom a little bit by surprise. She wasnÕt too happy with the decision. My dad, because he really recognized what my situation was, because he was the son of a congressman, he was a legacy, he said, "More power to you... Just go and do what you have to do."

CBFC: Did you get that creative edge from your mother? WasnÕt she a musician?

Clancy: They are both really creative, but she was a pianist. SheÕs composed and led orchestras and stuff like that but... Not to diminish it or anything, but she was never tough enough to make it professionally, and music is a LOT tougher than acting! Music is just brutal... If youÕre not the toughest guy on the block, as well as the best pianist, youÕre out of luck. And if youÕre a woman, besides, youÕre really out of luck. ItÕs very hard.

CBFC: Was it easier or more difficult for you to break into the business than you thought?

Clancy: It was far easier... IÕm the luckiest person I know.

CBFC: Is there anything you know now that you wish you would have known then, when you were first getting into the business?

Clancy: (laughs) Everything! Nothing in particular but everything in general!

CBFC: Was there ever any part that you wanted really bad that didnÕt come your way that you regret not getting?

Clancy: Yeah, IÕm sure there is... Looking back, I donÕt regret not being in them, because most of the roles I covet are good ones and well handled by whoever did do them. And once the movie is made, the movie is THAT movie. ItÕs not the movie I imagined it to be with myself in it, but... A good example of that is Walter HillÕs "Geronimo". When I read the script, it was so obviously a homage to John Ford -- WalterÕs very personal homage to Ford. But I got the script and I did say, "Where are you going to find these guys?" Cuz these guys are all either dead or old. It was basically populated by the John Ford characters: The Duke character, the Ben Johnson character, the Victor McLaughlin character, those guys... I forget which part it was I even wanted to play, but Duvall ended up playing it, so you canÕt complain! (chuckles) Not such a bad choice, I guess... The final product wasnÕt what I had imagined, but it was what it was.

CBFC: Did you ever learn anything about yourself playing a part that you didnÕt expect to learn?

Clancy: Hmmm..... wow. Nothing extraordinary, nothing you wouldnÕt discover in your life if youÕre even the slightest bit introspective. I mean, youÕre always finding out things about yourself.

CBFC: Has it been tough to keep Hollywood from pigeonholing you as a villain or any one specific thing, or is that good because, if they do, then you know youÕve got jobs coming in that venue, at least?

Clancy: You know, itÕs funny, especially as I continue to establish myself as a character actor, that different people recognize me from different things. Early on, it was probably a little tougher to break out and play... Like when I played KirstieÕs husband in "Radiant City", because I had terrorized her nine years earlier in "Shoot to Kill". But fortunately, there was a director who never saw that, who didnÕt see me as vicious. And that was a role I coveted, not for any other reason than I really liked the guy. And fortunately, every now and then, IÕm able to trick people that way, so I think IÕve tricked them enough that I think theyÕre starting to realize that I can play more than one thing. But, you know, youÕve gotta understand that thereÕs a logic in stereotyping, because it is a commercial business. Tom Cruise makes a lot of money when he plays guys that are kinda cocky and against all odds. He does not make a lot of money when heÕs playing a wheelchair-bound guy. So, there you go... We all have trouble imagining Clint Eastwood as Meryl StreepÕs lover in "Bridges of Madison County." Not to say I have Clint Eastwood and Tom Cruise problems! If there was that, it would be difficult. But, fortunately IÕm not, so I do get more accessible treatment when it comes to playing different roles.

CBFC: YouÕve played some pretty ruthless villains and been asked to do some pretty heinous things. Has there ever come a point where youÕve had to say "No, I just cant"?

Clancy: Oh yeah, I had big trouble in "Pet Semetary II", when Gus raped his wife. I also had an awful time with that one brief suggestive scene in "Love, Lies & Murder" with the little girls. It made me physically ill. Yeah, things like that always bother me. And if they bother me too much, when I read the script, I say "I canÕt do this because of that." I donÕt do racists... I just refuse. I have no interest in doing somebody who hates for no reason. They came to me to do a role in "Hoodlum" with Laurence Fishburne and Tim Roth, and it was a police chief who was racist. And I sat there and I thought about it, cuz IÕd really like to work with those guys, but I couldnÕt... Cuz if youÕre gonna do it, you gotta do it.

CBFC: Well, I just have to say, the scene you were talking about in "Love Lies & Murder", IÕve always felt, watching it, that you were very protective of those little girls in shooting it. Maybe itÕs just me reading stuff into it, but I thought you deserved a lot of credit for being protective of those little girls in the middle of this heinous scene that they made you do.

Clancy: I was very uncomfortable, and Mark Woods was very sensitive to that. I told them from the outset, "I really have a problem with this... I donÕt CARE if itÕs true!"

CBFC: On a happier note, what the most joyous or fulfilling moment youÕve had as an actor?

Clancy: I had a lot of fun doing that thing with my sister-in-lawÕs orchestra. That was great fun. The stage is always a fulfilling. I really enjoyed "Starship Troopers"... When I saw that movie I thought "Wow! This is really something!" I was so impressed with that movie, both the work on it and the final product. I just thought it was... I think itÕs a neat film all the way around, though it didnÕt get the recognition.... Although IÕm hearing more and more recognition now. I mean, people are looking back and saying it was one of Paul VerhoevenÕs best... so much more interesting than "Robocop." There was just so much going on, so many levels...

CBFC: I still kick myself for missing the youth orchestra performance in Indianapolis...

Clancy: I wasnÕt very good, it was just sort of nice to be there with those kids trying so hard. I mean, I was as sloppy technically as they were with the music, but there was nothing but heart on that stage... which was really great.

CBFC: Do you like to do Shakespeare?

Clancy: Yeah, sure!

CBFC: Do you get many opportunities to do that?

Clancy: Nah... That would probably happen, but I have a family to support.

CBFC: How long did you get to do "Anthony and Cleopatra"?

Clancy: I think we were down there for about a month.

CBFC: When IÕm drawing, I find that I lose myself into that. Do you find thatÕs what happens to you, when you act? Do you lose yourself in that process?

Clancy: Well, weÕre all searching for that Nirvana, arenÕt we?

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