Monday, May 27, 1996
From ‘Boys of St. Vincent’ to ‘Clear and Present Danger,’ Henry
Czerny’s made a career of embodying evil. Now, he’s menacing none
other than Tom Cruise in adventure thriller ‘Mission:
Impossible.’By Michael Horowitz
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
The film "Mission: Impossible," currently raking in box office
cash nationwide, has two characters derived from the small screen
spy show.
The show’s central character, Phelps, is back, but also Phelps’
employer, a voice named Kittridge.
As Kittridge was widely heard, but never seen on television,
Henry Czerny had an interesting predicament when asked to portray
the character in the movie.
"I tried to match his voice," he says, "but then I realized,
‘Let’s say we do this…’"
He alters his voice to match the "YOUR MISSION…SHOULD YOU
CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT" tone. It’s forced, but dead on.
"…and then we do the scene," he finishes. "What do you do
then?"
"There had to be a little bit of artistic license."
Originally offered the role of Barnes, Kittridge’s yes-man
second in charge, Czerny passed. The role he played in "Clear and
Present Danger," Ritter, was too similar. Then the "Mission" team
offered him the CIA’s head honcho and Czerny accepted. For the
Canadian actor recently relocated to Santa Monica, Brian DePalma’s
adventure thriller was a logical step in a so-far stellar acting
career that Hollywood noticed with his disturbing "Boys of St.
Vincent" a few years ago.
"(Kittridge) had a little more of an arc," he says, "and still
derivative of Ritter, which was something I felt comfortable going
in and doing."
Yes, he’s slightly worried about having played beaurocratic
villains too many times in a row, yes he’s afraid of typecasting.
"It is a concern of mine," he says, "because people like to see
black and white, especially in Hollywood films."
The perks of working on a project like "Mission" are obvious.
Czerny was contracted for 23 weeks, of which he shot 9 and spent
most of that time in London and Prague. This type of shoot provides
better than the independent films he usually undertakes.
"It’s all relative to the amount they expect to make," he says
of the status of shooting. "If they expect to make 60 million
dollars on that movie, then as a participant in that movie you have
a right to expect a certain level of the luxuries that they are
going to enjoy."
"Mission" made that 60 million dollars in the first weekend’s
release.
"At the same time, what is required of you is different. You
can’t really do a lot of experimenting on a 60 million dollar
movie. You better know what the fuck you’re doing."
Czerny finds a common thread in many of his roles, where
characters on the periphery of society search for a truth in their
lives. Two of his upcoming films played at the Sundance Film
Festival, the dark "Notes from the Underground" and "Jenipapo," to
be released in the United States as "The Interview." He’s currently
filming Ang Lee’s "Ice Storm" in Connecticut with Kevin Kline and
Sigourney Weaver.
Czerny works to convey the film’s themes at all costs, and
considers himself a servant to that goal. Even for smaller roles,
he participates in as much research as he can.
"Usually people see the particulars of a situation and assume
they are not interesting to the audience, when in fact they are the
most interesting thing," says Czerny. "Sitting in the courtroom, as
we learned time and time again and for far to long about O.J., the
particulars are absolutely fascinating. Presented properly and
chosen with discretion, they can be absolutely riveting, and most
people just want to turn it into kitchen sink drama – they want to
avoid those particulars."
He tried this approach with "Mission" as well, although the part
wasn’t up for as much interpretation as his smaller films. Czerny
met the deputy director of operations for the CIA and talked about
international espionage, but his suggestions to the filmmakers
weren’t entirely incorporated in the blockbuster now unspooling
before audiences.
"One of the things they told me was that agents, they’re not
called agents for one thing, they’re called officers, they recruit
people from the country in which they are engaged in operations.
They do not generally bring people over from the United States to
infiltrate the country on disgruntled nationals who feel their
government or company or whatever it is is not servicing them well,
and then they get information from these people."
"Of course that would be a major change in the film," he laughs.
"My job is not to force it, my job is to provide it. They can use
it as they choose."
As his career has grown in depth and breadth, Czerny has left
native Canada for his career in Southern California, but ironically
never worked in the United States for a day last year.
"I’m still a nomad," he says, "seduced by script and
professionals."
At this point, his aims aren’t to escape those beaurocratic
villain roles as much as to keep interesting projects headed his
way.
"I do have an arc," he says, "and it isn’t necessarily geared
toward fame, it’s geared towards opportunity. If I can keep doing
what I’m doing, I’ll be happy."