Interview: Clifton Collins, Jr.

“I don’t like to let people down, and that’s a great fear, like a paralyzing lightning bolt through your body,” explains Clifton Collins, Jr. “I think a fear I had, whether it was taking on a role, auditioning, or whatever, even directing a music video, is that you have a responsibility to those people besides yourself.”

2009 was a huge year for the veteran character actor Clifton Collins, Jr. Appearing in no less than seven major feature films, as well as TV, he has also directed two videos for the Zak Brown Band, and winning a CMT award for Breakout Video of the Year for his video for “Chicken Fried” . That’s not all he won, as this very website granted him our 2009 Actor of the Year (here). “I was floored when I heard that, man, very appreciated. You guys rock!”

Earning Respect in 187

Clifton Collins, Jr. has been on the scene nearly 20 years, but it wasn’t until 1997′s 187 that Hollywood first took notice. In the film, he stared as Cesar Sanchez, opposite of Samuel L. Jackson. The film’s memorable scene was the climax when Sam Jackson’s character of Mr. Garfield played a daring game of Russian Roulette with Collins’ Cesar. While the film earned him a lot of attention for the role, he was also quickly typed-cast as a Chicano gangbanger for years to come. “I got a lot of friends in prison or are gang bangers, like when I did 187 I was offended that I was not being acknowledged by the Latino community, but my Anglo community whole-heartedly embraced me, and put me up for Oscar consideration. I felt the love on that side, but not from the Latino who were mad at the so-called stereotype. It isn’t about the stereotype, it’s about the art of the performance,” Collins explains.

“There’s stereotypes in all forms of work and media.  In the defense of a stereotype, I remind my fellow brethren, that these stereotypes come from things that exist,” Collins continued. “I find it funny that my Anglo brothers can make fun of hicks, rednecks, and white trash all day, and nobody says nothing.” Initially, Collins started turning down a lot of work, due to the type-casting. “The problem with a stereotype is the lack of authenticity, for me. It isn’t about the stereotype, it’s about the art of the performance. Do people get mad at Billy Bob Thornton for his performance in Sling Blade? No! I just wanted to take all of my gang banger friends and point a finger at them and say your a stereotype!”

The Gonzales-Gonzales Effect

It might be subtle to some, but as Clifton Collins continued to get work, Hollywood and the media took note of his strong, deep, warm, and sometimes comedic performances. Each character was different from the last, and without much personal consideration, Collins was getting great character work, devoid of the Hollywood Latino stereotype. Just look as his performance in Capote, opposite of Philip Seymour Hoffman. Maybe it was in his blood, as his grandfather, Pedro Gonzales-Gonzales was an early Latino actor that broke down some early racial barriers in the 1940s and 1950s. After a comedic appearance on the Groucho Marx quiz show, You Bet Your Life, John Wayne took notice and cast him in Rio Bravo, The High and the Mighty, and Hellfighters. “You got to understand, my grandfather grew up in Texas and around cowboys. So the educated Latino might frown down upon the characters he portrayed, but that’s the life he lived. To him, he was portraying people he knew and loved, and if that’s a crime, then they can all go to hell as far as I’m concerned.” Collins is also in early pre-production on a documentary on his grandfather, as he is collecting old CBS reels, but since so many have passed, it’s taking him some time.”Put him in a cowboy movie, that’s where his heart was, and while some people frowned upon that, that’s where his heart belonged.”

Clifton’s 2009

A keen movie goer could have plenty of fun playing “Where’s Clifton?” in 2009, as he appeared in big screen blockbusters, comedies, dramas, and even on the boob tube. Clifton is filled with life and stories, and also one who loves to share them.

On Crank: High Voltage: “It was really funny that you said that Jon”, based on my question of how far an actor could go in a pure gonzo film like Crank: High Voltage was, “because Taylor/Nevedline found out I knew how to tap dance, and they asked me to do that in the movie. They were all excited, and both were looking at me, and I was like, ‘really? Okay, give me a real reason to do it. Why would I tap dance?’ They look at each other, then me, and said, ‘because you’re El Huron!’ That’s not a f*cking reason!

I said: “You sons of bitches, and so during the lunch break I left their trailer and worked up a quick little dance, thinking that El Huron would do something big. I did it with this whole dance and song, just riffing it, and after I landed, and the cast was confused, Taylor/Nevedline looked at me and said: ‘Yeah, that didn’t really work.’ I thought I failed or did not do a good enough job, until the editor got a hold of the footage and thought it was brilliant. He cut it up, and once they saw it edited, they loved it.

So to answer your question, I don’t know if you can go too far with those guys, and that’s what I loved about it and them. They were always game, and there was this beautiful creative freedom, were they would shoot it and see what worked. Sometimes when you just let go, there’s a certain magic that happens, and things just disappear and creative things happen. I just created this thing, and it was the most fun I had in a long time making a film, I didn’t want it to end. The set was fun; [Jason] Statham was great, everyone was just smiling.”

On Extract: “He’s such a humble individual, allows collaboration. It’s like Mike Judge doesn’t know he’s Mike Judge. I like to call him Your Dishonorable Judge, because most judges now days are not very honorable. There’s a lot of laughs, little angst, hard work, and he knows what he wants. He isn’t a screamer. Can’t wait to work with him again.”

On Troy Duffy and The Boondock Saints II: All Saint’s Day: “Troy is a dear friend of mine, I love him to death, and we have both been through a lot. There was (answering my question of trepidation on working with Duffy, based on all the drama from the first film’s behind-the-scenes), because there just is trepidation when one works with a first time or second time director. While Troy isn’t a first time director anymore, he writes some great stuff, he isn’t classically trained in anyway. He started off as a bouncer, who got a great opportunity. He didn’t go to film school, but he’s such a bad-ass and wrote this sick ass script, he got Miramax behind him. So I tip my hat to him. With any film maker you work with, you try to adapt to their style to get the best results. With Troy, since he was out of the game for a minute, I tried to adapt quickly as possible to conform, even though I like to collaborate. Under the circumstances, we had to embrace conformity creatively and quickly to get the best for Romeo.”

“Early on, I tried to get with Troy to work out some stuff. I did get some good improvisations in, but as some directors would light up on ideas, Troy had to sit and think about it, even though he’s been in this world a long time. It was fun to do, and again, my fear was to let down my friends, so I just wanted to make him happy. Luckily, everyone has been really supportive of the film, loving an caring of the film. I’m really happy for Troy, and one gets older and wiser, and handles success better. Nobody trains you to handle it.”

On Star Trek: “My heart started racing, my palms got sweaty, and JJ (Abrams) asked me if I was alright, and I said: “You know, JJ give me 2 minutes.” I stepped away and was like ‘holy f*ck, I’m in Star Trek with JJ for Paramount!” You get so focused on the work, you forget what place it all has. I worked with JJ before on Alias, and his whole company is amazing. A big old functioning family. A mild shocker for me was in the beginning in the scene where I tell the Enterprise to board the Romulan ship. Filming as an actor, with the costume on, with the makeup, staring at myself, it hit me like a huge ton of brick: ‘I really am in a huge franchise’.

Collins also had great roles in Sunshine Cleaning,The Perfect Game, and Brothers.

TV versus film, and what’s next?

“I got to tell you, I always felt TV was the McDonald’s of Hollywood but not on Southland.” The much-praised TV drama is now finding a home on TNT soon, as the show focuses on raw and real look of Los Angeles and the men and women who police it. “I got to tell you my feelings have changed drastically in recent years. I was nominated for an Emmy on Thief, and working on Southland changed me a lot. Working on Southland, with John Wells and the show runner Ann Biderman, are so collaborative, who based the show on real things, using real locations and streets. Friends from prison call me and say how the recognize certain places we’re filming in where they used to hang out on. You tap into this sentiment with Southland with real stories and streets and people feel that sentiment. I can’t believe how fast they work on these shows. We weren’t working full days, but we were getting good work in. I can’t wait to get back to that TV show, and I never say that. Real stories, with true blue heart.”

Never one to rest, 2010 has Clifton Collins in a remake of The Experiment and the next Broken Lizard’s comedy, Freeloaders. Many of the 2009 films he was in, are now out on DVD and Blu-ray. “It’s hard to stop preparing, and you just soak up everything about what the character is, visually, audibly, everything. So I go pretty deep, but without hurting myself. If I had the choice, I would go deep into a character every time.”

Clifton was a pleasure to talk to and is one of the most talented actors working today, so show him some support by checking out all of his flicks and his website here. Feel free to leave a comment below, if you have anything to add.