I first met Paul Newman in 1968, when George Roy Hill, the director of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, introduced us in New York City. When the studio didn't want me for the film it wanted somebody as well known as Paul he stood up for me. I don't know how many people would have done that; they would have listened to their agents or the studio powers. The friendship that grew out of the experience of making that film and The Sting four years later had its genesis in the fact that although there was an age difference, we both came from a tradition of theater and live TV. We were respectful of craft and focused on digging into the characters we were going to play.
Both of us were fundamentally American actors, with the qualities and virtues that characterize American actors: irreverence, playing on the other's flaws for fun, one-upmanship but always with an underlying affection. Those were also at the core of our relationship off the screen. Paul was very engaged at work. He was there. He liked a lot of rehearsal. But he was fun too. Whenever he'd make a mistake on set, he would enjoy it more than anybody. I'd look at him, and he'd look at me, and I'd say, "You're not fooling anybody. You're not staring at me intensely; you've lost your line." And he'd roar with laughter.
We shared the belief that if you're fortunate enough to have success, you should put something back he with his Newman's Own food and his Hole in the Wall camps for kids who are gravely ill, and me with Sundance and the institute and the festival. Paul and I didn't see each other all that regularly, but sharing that brought us together. We supported each other financially and by showing up at events. And then we'd give each other a hard time. Whatever success one of us would have, the other would knock it down. If you're in a position of being viewed iconically, you'd better have a mechanism to take yourself down to keep the balance. I think we did that for each other.
No comments:
Post a Comment