It takes a special kind of actor to emerge from films like “Sahara” and “Saving Silverman” unscathed. Steve Zahn is that man. I recently got a chance to sit down with the always affable character actor on a quick publicity swing through New York (he makes his home on a farm in Kentucky).
In between liberal use of profanity and a rigorous self-examination of his career, we talked a bit about his reasons for co-starring with Christian Bale in “Rescue Dawn,” a film earning Zahn some of the best reviews of his career.
MTV: Do you enjoy doing these publicity tours?
Steve Zahn: Yeah, I like doing this stuff. I think it’s because I live on a farm. You wake up in the morning and feed the goats and horses and then all of a sudden you’re in New York or L.A. talking to somebody. It’s just f**king weird. Tomorrow I’m back to the farm. Back to not being important. Back to not being recognized.
MTV: The goats need to be fed.
Zahn: I am ruler of the goats and that’s about it. But it is nice. It’s easy to think you’re really something walking around New York, having people recognize you. But the interesting thing about recognition, it’s not like an actual opinion. It’s not like: you’re awesome or you suck or I want to f**k you. But that’s the instinct, to think everyone loves me! Everyone is looking at me! It really f**ks with you.
MTV: So the endless interviews never annoy you?
Zahn: I don’t do jobs for the wrong reasons, so I don’t mind doing press for them. I’ve done jobs for money.
MTV: That can be a good reason too sometimes.
Zahn: S**t, yeah. Of course it is. I’d be an idiot if it wasn’t.
MTV: So what’s the reason here for “Rescue Dawn”?
Zahn: I was so blown away by the story. I had seen the documentary ["Little Dieter Needs to Fly"] years ago. I woke up at five in the morning and went down to make coffee, threw the TV on, and it was on HBO. I just sat there and watched the whole thing. I woke up my wife and told her I had just watched the most incredible documentary. I bought it and I would bring it on long gigs where I was away for months. It was just one of those staple things I’d watch. So when they were finally making this I just pounced on it because it meant so much to me. It was more so that than me wanting to change things up.
MTV: A lot of critics seem surprised by this portrayal. Do you buy into the hype that it’s going to change the kind of career you’ve got going?
Zahn: I could do prisoner-of-war movies for the next three years and somebody still is going to run from across the street and go, “F**king ‘Saving Silverman’! And that’s great. It’s just that as I get older and change as a person, there are other things I’m interested in along with being the crazy sidekick funny guy. I love that s**t, but I’m also forty now and that funny pothead escaped convict isn’t as funny at forty.
MTV: Have you noticed any difference in the scripts you’ve been getting lately?
Zahn: Yeah, but I think it’s just cause I’m getting older. I don’t get ‘Dude, Where’s my Car’ whereas I used to get those scripts. Now I’m getting the cop and the dad and the P.O.W. Luckily there’s not a slew of 40-year-olds coming out of the “acting school for middle-aged men”. It will be interesting to see how things evolve. I’m still jazzed that people think of me, period.
MTV: You seem awfully content. Don’t you ever get frustrated?
Zahn: F**k yeah, dude. I’m human. I get frustrated sometimes feeling that I’m left out. Being on a farm, I’m sure I miss out on things. I’m sure I could have a different career if I were in the scene in New York or L.A. Sometimes it’s frustrating, but it goes away because I really don’t know. I have a life that I’ve chosen that I love. It involves my family and my hobbies as much as it does my professional life. I could be more fulfilled on that level but I’d have to give up other things, wouldn’t I?
