Q: Do you think there are a lot of men around like Ben?
MD: That’s a good question. But that’s your job! I do think we all read the papers. And I would be like, “I never see them.” But then I’d think about it, and go to a restaurant and see three of them! You know, just the way they sit, and checking their reflection out in the mirror. All of that.
Q: Did this character make you think about your father Kirk Douglas, and that he was known for playing this unlikable, very cynical and aggressive type of guy?
MD: Well, yeah. But my dad, he did the sensitive young man for about six or seven pictures, before he hit a movie called Champion. Which was a nasty guy he got nominated for. And I had the same thing, until Wall Street. Then all of a sudden, I was playing these darker, edgier guys. And the fun part of this one, was the balance between the tragedy and the comedy. But acting is always listening, that’s something my father used to talk about.
Q: How come your character doesn’t go ballistic on that young girl he seduces, after she busts you by spilling the beans to her mom, who also just happens to be your girlfriend?
MD: What’s to say, the cat’s out of the bag! But it was such a great moment, it just takes the wind out of you. It sucks the air out of the room!
Q: And how did you like doing that party animal college thing with those kids in the movie?
MD: Ha! I loved all the college stuff. That was a great scene, telling them…the ways of life!
Q: How come you’re so good at making your characters seem so real and organic?
MD: Well, without blowing smoke up [co-director] Koppelman’s butt! It doesn’t hurt that you’ve got a really good screenplay. But [producer] Steven Soderbergh introduced me to this project. And I read it through just once and knew, this is great writing. So I think I really always just go with the script. I don’t worry so much about the part. And, if you think it’s a really good story, and the unpredictability. But I feel if you’re going to do characters like this, you really have to be unsure of where you’re going. As opposed to most movies, where you can kinda guess the ending.
But acting is not a natural situation, with the cameras and lights, and all that. So when you have an old friend you’re acting with in a movie like this, like I’m doing with Danny DeVito, there’s a comfort factor that sets in, and makes it easier. And I was amazed, especially by the silences between them, when they were talking. And as fast as this picture moves, you get the sense of these two old friends who know each other. And Danny and I, we met in 1967. We were roommates. And we should have done more of these together. This is our first since War of the Roses. But when we were thinking about my character, I said, “Let me call up Danny.” And what it added, was like a good old robe that you’re wearing. So I enjoyed that. But I look for a good piece of material, not a part. And I’ll be thinking, “That’s a movie that I want to see.”
Q: Since your wife Catherine Zeta-Jones has been doing Broadway, any thoughts about doing that yourself?
MD: I had been having thoughts about that. But after watching her working, I’ve been…reevaluating the situation! I don’t think we’re quite ready for that, as a family unit. And it looks like I’ll be doing Liberace with Steven Soderbergh and Matt Damon, in the early part of 2011. So…
Q: I want to see that one!
MD: I bet you do!
Q: What’s the secret behind the lifelong success in movies, of both you and your father?
MD: Well, I would think it’s stamina. And tenacity. And my father, he likes to give a lot of advice! He’d say to me, “Look son. You do the best that you can. And then fuck it!”
