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LAUREN GRAHAM on 'EVAN ALMIGHTY'
Contributed by Michael J. Lee, Executive Editor
for Radio Free Entertainment
June 8, 2007
In the light-hearted comedy Evan Almighty, up-and-coming Congressman Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) is given an incredible mandate from God Himself (Morgan Freeman) to build an ark. Initially skeptical, he quickly assumes the task when he finds himself physically transforming into a modern day Noah. While everyone around him begins to question his sanity, including his wife (Lauren Graham), his wisecracking staffer (Wanda Sykes), and a greedy Congressman (John Goodman), Evan persists in his mysterious labor, only to uncover his destiny to help the greater good.
A spinoff of sorts to the 2003 Jim Carrey vehicle Bruce Almighty, Evan Almighty reunites Carell and Freeman (who is at his advice-dispensing best) with director Tom Shadyac, who helmed both films. Armed with a hefty budget, this family-friendly fare packs a surprising amount of action, and the eventual flood sequence that puts the ark into motion easily goes toe-to-toe with most of this summer's mega-blockbusters.
Lauren Graham, who is coming off a successful 7-year stint on her hit television series Gilmore Girls, doesn't really get enough credit for her engaging sense of humor. But between this interview and another that happened earlier this year in support of Because I Said So, we can tell she's quick on her feet with the funny and has a certain energy in her storytelling. In this interview, she talks about working on Evan Almighty.
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The Interview
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MEDIA: What were the biggest challenges in being cast as the wife in a movie like this? What do you bring to the table in trying to make this character more interesting and comedic and colorful?
LAUREN: Well, I don't try to think about it that way because that's not my job, kind of, in this. I love movies like this and I think somebody has to be the straight man. And also to me, one of the things I liked about this movie was the heart of it, and the sort of emotional, real story of this man who seems to be going crazy, no one believes him, and I think that's an important part of the story. I have had years and years of talking fast and being sassy, and I'm as happy to do something simpler. [laughs] So it's not about trying to turn it into something else, it's just trying to do a good job with what this is. So that's what I tried to do.
If someone you cared about in your life went this nuts, how would you deal with it? Would you stick with them or bail?
Well, I think I kind of go through all the colors in this because you want to believe them, you look for a rational explanation, you finally decide you can't take it anymore, and then Morgan Freeman is your waiter and he tells you what to do. That's pretty much how I hope it would go. I don't know. You can't possibly know. I think the movie raises the question of, "How far will your faith take you? What do you do in the face of doubt? Is the power of love enough to get over what you perceive to be the reality of something?" And I don't know the answers to all those questions. But we ask them here, in this little PG movie! [laughs] It makes you think!
What was it like working opposite Steve Carell, and what did you think of his metrosexual makeover?
I thought that was really funny, because when I saw it...I mean, first of all, I got so used to seeing him in that stuff every day that he would just look weird when you saw him without it. [laughs] And the metrosexual stuff I thought played really well. It was great. I mean, again, we sort of had the more dramatic scenes in the movie, so I wasn't like holding my sides laughing during them because that wasn't the tone of the scene. [laughs] But he's a very funny guy. I really appreciate how he approaches things. He's a real actor, you know? I liked his work in 40-Year-Old Virgin because I thought, "This is so interesting. It's so small and subtle, and he's coming from it from the character. He's not coming from like, 'I'm doing something wacky and big!'" And I just like that. So it was fun.
Did you catch the "Joan of Ark" pun with your character's name?
[laughs] No, it didn't occur to me until somebody said it to me. And then of course, my grandmother, who knows every book of the Bible, was like, [haughtily] "Well, her name was Sarah, so I don't know why they called her Joan!"
In this movie and in Gilmore Girls, you're the sexy mom...
Thanks!
What was your impression of Joan?
You know, we sort of discussed that I didn't think she worked. And so I wanted her to feel kind of casual and natural, especially in opposition to this guy who's very buttoned up and has kind of gotten into this more professional time of his life. I felt like this is a girl who's known him a long time, and knew him before all this stuff happened. And so I just wanted her to be kind of a counterpoint for him.
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What were your encounters with the animals you worked with?
Well, it's amazing to me...Like everything in this movie, one thing that was really striking was how every single person in every single department was the best at what they do. And that's from transpo to props to all the ADs. They work at a level that is so high, so the amazing stuff with the animals was less what was my interaction with them, but watching these trainers get them kindly and very simply to do what they wanted them to do. Because I just thought, "These giraffes have not been training to do Evan Almighty like their whole lives. How do they know to bring him the hammer?" You know, so much of the stuff is real that you see in the movie. So that was really amazing. I mean, we weren't like sitting around petting the lions or anything, but it was cool to watch them walk by. [laughs] You're like sitting drinking coffee, and you just got strangely used to it. But I didn't like sit down and talk to anybody. The animal we dealt the most with was...We've all talked about it, so you probably already heard about Toothy the alpaca, who had an underbite? You didn't hear about Toothy?
No...
Well, he's our favorite! He has this huge underbite, and he was really unattractive. And I think we made the trainers mad because we called him Toothy and that's not his name. But the little boys got really into Toothy as like a mythical figure, even though he was right there. But they'd be like, "Do you think Toothy knows we're rolling? Do you think Toothy knows we're home?" [laughs] And like we'd be at dinner, and they'd like, "What do you think Toothy's eating for dinner?" So he was the one that somehow, became of his unusual appearance, struck gold in our hearts. [laughs] We loved Toothy!
How did feel about doing the action sequences? Was it a brand new experience for you?
It was totally new. I mean, I've been on a show where I walk and talk until the cows come home, and then suddenly, we're doing like...I mean, again, a lot of it was "real enough" that it wasn't like reacting to nothing. It was more that when I see the movie, there are thousands of animals. When I did the movie, there were five. When I see the movie, there's a huge amount of water. When I did the movie, there was a hose. You know? [laughs] But there was enough that you weren't just creating something out of nothing. But this was all new to me.
It's a small moment, but I loved your scene with Morgan Freeman...
I do, too.
Could you talk about working with him?
I loved that scene. And that was the scene in the movie that really struck me as kind of a new way to say something really simple. And I just loved the message of that scene, which is, just because you believe in something and ask for help doesn't mean you get it handed to you. It's still your job as a person to figure things out for yourself. And he's really, he's an impressive person to be around, so you have no problem...because that was a tricky scene in that I'm like "Hi, can I get some more fries?" or whatever, and he's like, "Are you all right?" [laughs] And I just thought, "Who would you open up to in this circumstance?" But with him, it's actually very easy. He is...I have found with the best people that I have worked with that it's the simplest work, in a way, because you're just connected, and it all feels as truthful as it possibly can, and so you just want to keep doing it to try different things or something. But he's just really cool.
He likes to mess with people. Did he mess with you?
Yeah. I forget what he said to me, but I had been warned. And so he sassed me, and I kind of sassed him back, and he was like, he was kind of like, "This one can stay!" And I was like, "Cool, I got him!" But I was like shaking, shaking, shaking. Because, you know, you don't want to like be sassy to someone you respect unless you know that's the only way that they will respect you. [laughs] No, he's funny. He's just funny, and he's really comfortable in his skin, so he's not...he just likes to play around.
Do you feel that your recognition from Gilmore Girls has helped you in getting movie roles?
Gosh, I don't know. I really don't know. What a lot of directors like still is Bad Santa. And I had a small part in that weird movie, but...
And a great line...
...and a great line that my father still is like, "Aigh!" But I'm not really sure. I think this movie, even though it wasn't out yet, helped. And I do think the reputation of the show, of course, has been a huge help. And I'm just glad that the projects don't resemble each other very much, either in tone or...I mean, they're joined by being somebody's wife, but at this age, that's what you're...there are stories about relationships and that's the kind of movie I like anyway. So I feel really lucky. I seriously thought I was going to be planting like an herb garden and be sitting at this junket like, "You guys, at three o'clock in the afternoon, Judge Judy comes on, and she is so great." So I'm happy to be just kind of floating around doing stuff. Although Judge Judy is great.
Is there a pet project you'd like to do?
No. Now that I'm doing more movies, what I really want to do is a musical. [laughs] But no. I'm still just kind of riding this wave. I haven't had time. I had like two weeks off the show and I haven't had time to really think about, even in terms of a TV show, what I would like to do next. So that'll take a little time, I think.
You haven't ruled out television?
No, I love television. No, I would go back for sure. But again, it's like not until I know...because let's face it, the next thing will be a disaster. It'll last three episodes, and that's just the odds. [laughs] I mean, that's just what happens.
What's your favorite musical?
Well, it's probably Anything Goes, but I can't sing that. So I have to find something I can actually do...Funny Girl, or something. I can't sing that either. I need an easier musical. [laughs]
Thanks for your time.
Thanks!
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