Gary Cole
Gary Cole
Gary Michael Coleis an American actor. Cole began his professional acting career on stage at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. On television, he had starring roles in the series Midnight Caller, American Gothic and Crusade. In film, Cole has had lead and supporting roles in The Brady Bunch Movie, One Hour Photo, Office Space, Dodgeball and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Cole is also known for voicing the title character of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTV Actor
Date of Birth20 September 1956
CityPark Ridge, IL
CountryUnited States of America
Improv is not something I had a lot of experience with, because for a long time, my only experience in front of a camera was all television, which is pretty rigid script-wise, except for the occasional scene where you toss in an ad-lib just to elongate something.
I like the fact that this kind of family has been seen in a movie a million times: teenage kids, the family is a bit strained and they don't have enough money, but in the background the guy used to be a Gene Simmons type.
I will confess I did none of my own singing. I did all my own costume and makeup, though.
If you're onstage and you're improvising and nothing's happening, people are racing for the door. But the director can go shopping later and pick up pieces and moments and insert them.
But for me, you also have to be conscious of what is going to play. And that includes playing with. Sometimes it's just a vibe. It's what's going to make this scene work. And sometimes there may be something that restricts you that has to do with something that maybe is historically accurate. And then you have to weigh that decision and give up something for a scene to work.
I look at it scene-by-scene. Whether it's a historical character or not, whatever, on the page is one thing and delving into the history or somebody is one thing, but making something work for an audience in front of a camera is another exercise and you bring whatever authenticity you can to it.
To be in a movie directed by Wolfgang Petersen, and a movie that had a large budget... I got a taste of what really good filmmaking could be.
A show that's been successful that been on a while, chances are it's going to stay that way. At least it's going to maintain some kind of standard. But when a show begins, there's no telling. Even after 13 shows or a whole year, you don't know what will become of it.
The one nice thing about doing a character for a long time is, you begin to feel more comfortable, and you are thinking less and behaving more.
We've had a look at it and the area where we have the least experience is midfield. Our target is to find the right person at the right price and the right kind of character.
We cannot understand the behavior of this individual.
We're no more than a neighborhood block watch.
We're happy to see them. We hope they're here for a long time.
We're going to find the best fit for us.