Daniels makes smart move in ‘Dumb And Dumber’ role
Actor hopes to prove versatility, gain popularity
By Lael Loewenstein
Daily Bruin Staff
His new movie may be titled Dumb and Dumber, but Jeff Daniels is
definitely no fool.
Still, the question persists: what would compel Daniels, a
classically trained actor known for his work in off-beat artsy
films, to take a role as half of the dumbest comedy team since the
Three Stooges?
"Basically," says Daniels, "I want to be around for a long time.
And in order to do that, you have to be in movies that are popular.
Maybe not every time, but every once in a while. It’s a fact of
life in this town, one I denied for years and years."
Co-starring the very popular Jim Carrey, Dumb and Dumber seems
poised for exactly the kind of mass appeal Daniels is talking
about. His newly practical career philosophy also drove him to
accept a part in Speed. And he was right: the movie was a monster
smash.
Daniels’ statement reflects some unsuccessful films, such as the
critically praised historical epic Gettysburg. Daniels also
appeared in The Purple Rose of Cairo and Something Wild, cult
favorites of Woody Allen and Jonathan Demme fans, but two films
that eluded a wide audience. He has also made a number of low
budget independent films.
"I’ve been in some movies where I liked the script, or I wanted
to work with a certain director, and they were better than what I
was getting offered," he says. "But enough people didn’t go see
them, and they went straight to video. And suddenly, your
bankability drops."
Before Speed, Daniels’ most popular films were the spider attack
chiller Arachnaphobia and the comedy-melodrama Terms of Endearment.
But Arachnaphobia came out in 1990 and Terms in 1983. And studio
executives have very short memories.
That may change with Dumb and Dumber. When he saw the script,
Daniels knew it might be risky for his critical reputation. "I
thought, there are a lot of actors who wouldn’t do this." But when
he heard that Carrey was attached to it, he jumped aboard.
In the film, Carrey plays Lloyd Christmas, a limo driver, and
Daniels is Harry Dunne, a traveling dog groomer who lives in
Providence. Together they trek to Aspen in pursuit of a beautiful
babe. To play the hapless Harry, Daniels gained about 20 pounds and
grew his hair into a scraggly mane.
"It was a chance to do the De Niro thing, but to a totally
comedic effect," says Daniels, once again slimmed down and
clean-cut.
Working with the manic, inventive Carrey was a professional
challenge. "Jim ad-libs, he’s a hundred miles an hour, he’s
outrageous. To try to stay with him, you run the risk of being
blown off the screen." He smiles. "But I hung with him, and that
was the big victory."
Aside from wanting to work with Carrey and increase his
bankability, Daniels also chose Dumb and Dumber to prove his
versatility. The movie’s comic style is very broad, unlike anything
he had done before. He explains, "I’m showing (Hollywood) that I
can also do this, after Speed and Gettysburg. It’s just another
quest to establish range."
With such vastly different films, Daniels hasn’t had to worry
much about typecasting, although a vaguely similar persona emerges
in a few of his roles. He has often played essentially smart guys
who nevertheless make a stupid, sometimes fatal error. In Speed, he
was a bomb specialist undone by an even smarter Dennis Hopper. And
in Terms of Endearment, he was a college professor whose affair
with a co-ed destroyed his marriage.
Of that persona, he says, "It kind of follows you around. Once
you get established in Hollywood, you’re supposed to ‘do that thing
that America loves.’"
Daniels assumes the voice of a studio executive.
"’You know, do that thing that was so good in your last movie
that made $100 million.’ So you do it again and again and suddenly
you’re playing yourself."
If Daniels seems somewhat cynical about Hollywood, he maintains
his distance by living in Michigan, where he has established a
nonprofit theater company for which he currently writes and
produces plays.
Surprisingly though, Daniels says he would give up the stage for
the screen if forced to choose.
"I still like theater," he says. "But I love the time between
‘Action’ and ‘Cut.’"
As to whether he has attained true movie star status, Daniels
admits that his unconventional choices may have kept him from
reaching the A-List.
"When people tell me, ‘You have to do something in a particular
way,’ I say, ‘No, I don’t.’" Daniels seems content with his record.
"I’ve broken the rules, I haven’t followed the ‘track to stardom.’
It’s cost me money, it’s cost me a lot of things, but I’m still
working."