411 Movies Interview: Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia Director Tim Matheson
Posted by Tony Farinella on 01.14.2009
411's Tony Farinella sits down with veteran actor and director Tim Matheson for an exclusive interview about his new film, Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia!
Tim Matheson is probably best known for his role as the smooth talking Eric 'Otter' Stratton in Animal House. That being said, he's not a one tricky pony. He has acted in over one-hundred and fifty entertainment projects and has directed and produced a number of projects as well. In my interview with Tim Matheson, we talked about his latest film, Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia, which is currently out on DVD. I hope you enjoy my interview with Tim Matheson.
TONY: As a director, what was it like entering this franchise? Was it pretty daunting?
Tim Matheson: (laughs) You said it. I mean, I'm a huge fan of John Moore and Behind Enemy Lines. I loved the movie. I thought it was about as good as you can do that movie. Good actors, great scale, eighty-million bucks or something. He nailed it. It was a very emotional movie. So I kept looking at that movie and looking at Behind Enemy Lines 2 and I tried to just distill what it was about those movie that made them work. And, to me, the thing that I came away with was the heart and the feeling that you had for the characters and their sense of justice in the world and what they were fighting for. So that's what I tried to bring to it. We could get into the political aspects of the military. I think most all Americans support our troops. We have political issues with the government about the way we use our troops perhaps, but I didn't want to get into that. Here, this was a film about these men who were doing a job because they love their country and that's what they do. And they're betrayed by men and their government, and it was a parallel story with Yancy's character as well, because his government betrayed him and used him as well. I think that the thing that I thought made the first movie so successful and that would make this movie successful was the humanity. It's about humanity; it's not about guns. It's about the humanity and the men who are passionate about doing their job. To me, finding those things and finding those moments in the script, that's what makes an action movie distinctive and work. I've seen a lot of big explosion movies and car wrecks and stuff, and it's boring if you don't care about who's driving the car or why they are being chased or all that stuff. The Bourne Identity is as good as you can do those franchises, and I think the James Bond movies as well, because you care about the people and he's in an awful situation. He's just looking to make it right, yet there are people working against him. In a long-winded way, that was what I was going for, because we were trying to distill those things from the first two movies to honor them and carry them through in the third.
TONY: What was it like working with Mr. Kennedy and utilizing his special talents from the wrestling world?
Tim Matheson: Well, Ken was in the picture from the start. Vince McMahon, who co-financed this movie and co-produced this movie with the WWE, wanted Ken to be in this movie, so it was great. When I came on board, I was very curious and interested to see what level, because some wrestlers are born performers on camera. And they work in a big arena and it's a big, broad performance. The camera doesn't need anything that big. In fact, it doesn't want anything that big. So, my first concern about Ken and one of the things that Mike Lake and Tom Seacrest, that we talked about at length is, as an actor, I can work with Ken. If there's any issues or any problems or any miscommunications, I can help him because I am an actor. So, honestly, he was so great. Ken Anderson, Mr. Kennedy, is a natural. He had to bring it down a lot. But he was so open. And he's so physically imposing and strong, so for any of the action and all that, he was great. After a couple of days, he was so comfortable in front of the camera and relaxed with the ad-libs and the quips and he understood the material and he understood his function in the movie. In a sense, it was a buddy movie between him and Joe Manganiello and Ken was the comic relief in many scenes and he'd throw in the jokes. So then he started ad-libbing jokes and stuff because that's kind of who he is, so it was really a pleasure. Any fears or nervousness I had about, 'Oh my god, what if he's not that comfortable,' were just swept away right away. He couldn't have worked harder or been more cooperative. And that's another great thing about this movie: All of the actors trained hard. We put them through boot camp. My whole mantra is, 'What's the truth here?' And that's always the best way to go about it and the most interesting way to do it. So I trained these guys. We had a great military advisor, and they put him through five days of boot camp so that they learned proper military etiquette and salutes and how to shoot the weaponry and carry a bow. Because, literally, I don't know and any BS I can make up is nonsense. Tom Minder, who was our military advisor, is a former Marine, and Joe Manganiello had made friends with a guy named Jeffrey Reeves who had actually been a Navy Seal, and he came down to the location and was in the movie and advised constantly, 'Here's how we do this. Here's how we do that.' So we would always start with the reality and then go from there, because I think with the first movie, what John Moore did and Owen Wilson and Hackman and those guys did, you really got a sense that this was the real military. So I just wanted that to be there without question and I didn't want anyone to question that, because you don't want to see people acting it. Military people behave a certain way, and it's not usually like actors behavior.
TONY: When you're working on a direct to DVD movie, do you have different expectations? How do you approach it?
Tim Matheson: Well, it's a great opportunity for me because it's sort of a feature. It's more money than most TV movies and you're working on a canvas and a scale that you don't work on with TV movies. And there are expectations that they have. They don't want a TV movie, they don't want a small scale movie, so whoever and wherever possible, they want big and don't care how you get it. My main concerns were always safety and how best can we give them more bang for their buck. It was great with the actors that we had, Ken Anderson, because they're used to it and the guys were in really great shape and we kicked their ass in boot camp. Then, from the second they got together, the stunt team started rehearsing them in the fights, so that even the last fight, which we shot towards the end of the movie, they knew that day one and were constantly working and refining it and playing with it, so when we got time to shoot it, it went really quickly and really fast and as smoothly as you can do it. And usually the stunts and that action stuff is the stuff that takes the longest, because you just need lots of pieces and you have to be safe and anytime you pull a gun out or explode something or blow something up, you have to be really safe. And my mantra is, 'It's just a movie. It's just a shot. There's never any reason for anyone to get hurt.' Balancing that with my mania like, 'I gotta get this shot,' which is the director's mantra, 'I don't care how we get it, just get it!' So being mindful of that, and, again, the inspiration for the first one, which was about these people who want justice in the world and are willing to give their lives to get it, that was what drove us. And everybody was so committed. We all really believed in what we were doing and we all had a lot of fun and liked each other too. It was a great crew. A little bit of a language issue because we shot in Puerto Rico, but the guys were so great and they thought we were nuts as quickly as we wanted to move. And I wanted to move fast, because I don't like to sit around and talk about, 'I want to put the camera here.' I know exactly where I want to put the camera, and we storyboard in advance and do drawings about cameras and positions and I know that well in advance, so I'm very organized. We move really well and it's fun.
TONY: Moving on to some of your earlier work, since you were a part of Animal House, I have to ask you, how do you feel about the state of R-rated comedies today?
Tim Matheson: I think they're great. I must say, for my money, I thought Superbad was one of the best films of the year. I thought it was extremely well done. I love Knocked Up and thought it was great. You know what made Animal House great was we'd never seen that before and the content, at the heart of it, was about something. It was about prejudice. At the heart of it, it was about people who were inclusive or exclusive. People who were generous towards other people and people who weren't and people who were bigoted and racist. So, at heart, it was about something more than just the hi-jinx. And I think Knocked Up and Judd Apatow's movies are similar. Superbad had some very awkward and embarrassing moments about men who were extremely fond of each other. It was uncomfortably awkward yet human and real, and Knocked Up was like that too I thought. I think Judd Apatow is exceptional about that. And the honesty with which they tell their stories, I think, is great. So I applaud that. I thought Pineapple Express was great too. I don't think it's at that level, but Tropic Thunder, I thought, was one of those outrageous films that walked that line between the worst possible taste and tremendously brilliant comedy. And I thought they did an extremely good job with that. So I think the state of comedy, right now, is excellent. I think the problem has been that I don't know that they're making any movies. It's the little independent movies and the variety. They're making the big box stuff. Slumdog Millionaire is my favorite film of the year. I don't see them making a movie like that in America. It's too bad. We used to make movies like that. It remains to be seen how the state of the economy and the business is going to be, but I think the comedy world is in good shape.
TONY: Do you consider yourself a director or an actor first and foremost?
Tim Matheson: Well, it's so weird. I mostly think of myself as a director now, and I've been focused more on that. It's a steeper learning curve. I love acting and I miss it desperately when I'm not doing it, and I'm the most cooperative actor after I've directed especially. What happens is ... directing is so much more all encompassing, and, as an actor, I've always looked for that. I've been on a few projects where you're deeply involved with the director and the creative process and the writers and they use you to your fullest capacity and involve you and engage you in the creative process. Sometimes, not so much. It's great that you think that's the way it should be, but go have a sandwich and go hang out in your trailer. I love the process. I grew up on a set and wanting to make movies. So there's not a bad job on a movie set. And I love it all. There are certain times in your career where you're acting in better parts than others, more challenging, more rewarding parts. And when they're not that challenging and rewarding, it's a good job. The parts that I've done have been very rewarding. I did a spin on Burn Notice that I directed, and they had me act a character, and that was great fun. But you don't often get those opportunities like that. And I had fun on this movie doing that as well. I'm probably a director/actor.
TONY: Finally, how would you describe your place in Hollywood? Actors, for the most part, seem pretty self aware in terms of their place in Hollywood. Would you say you're a character actor?
Tim Matheson: I would say an older leading man or a character actor. And it depends. It changes from day to day in what medium you're working in. But I would say character actor. And that's part of the journey that's so interesting: There's nobody there to tell you when the change occurs: When you're no longer a juvenile lead or you're a young leading man or a leading man or an older leading man or a character actor. Humor helps, and it helps to get a grip on reality outside of what the work is. And directing helps me do that, because once you step out there, you can see everything more clearly. As an actor, you're very subjective and you immerse yourself in this shell and this costume inside your head and don't come out until it's over. At least that's how I work. So it's interesting.
TONY: Alright, Tim, thank you so much for your time. It was great talking to you.
Tim Matheson: Hey, listen, it was great talking to you, Tony.
