Robert Patrick

0:01Hello ever Patrick for you fantastic one moment. Thank you Robert you are on with Matt. Hey How are you? Excellent, I'm just gonna get a little level here on the phone so I can turn you up slightly. I think that'll be good So so you're in California. How are things Not as not as chilly as it is up here in Canada, let me tell you Have you ever come up here to shoot anything? Oh have you worked in Canada was X files in Canada? X files was not in Canada when I was doing it. Yes, I have shot in Canada and mostly I believe in Vancouver are shut to Texas Rangers the movie in

0:55Calgary I must shot a movie in Regina, Regina Regina. Yeah. Oh, you've been all over you've been in the prairie lands Yeah been there and I Think uber mostly I think so. I had a shot in Toronto, but my wife's mother are excuse me my wife's father Oh Rosie we got to come up and visit sometimes. You in Toronto. I am yes at the well at the moment. Yeah Yeah, yeah, that's so my wife's family's origin from that area. That's fantastic. Well, uh, well tell her we say hi I guess I don't know what to say to that. Well, I will Well, let's just get into this

1:42Let's start with with identity thief because that I mean it seems like you're constantly working you seem to have something if you're not on TV You're in the theaters like it's just consistent, which is fantastic My career and very happy with the amount of work I have right nothing worse than being an actor that didn't have a job Yeah, well, I hear you. I know all too well sometimes identity thief though So who is I don't know who skip tracer is so why don't we start with that? Tracer is the It's actually an occupation Like a low-grade bounty hunter the guy that is hired by Credit companies go ask the people that it's just out on They haven't paid sort of a little collector kind of a guy but go and he'll

2:37accept people and bring them back to Whoever it is that's got a lean on them and so he's a military guy and Melissa McChaub Jason Bateman characters and About that Jason started to speak matters in their own hands and he travels down to Florida to find this person does and He gets her first and is oblivious to the fact that I'm also on her film and I feel her from him and He and her and it's it's it's really funny. Do you get to play things a little more immediately with this role?

3:26I get to what I'm starting to get to play things a little more comedically or it sounds like it's still kind of a straight hard-nosed kind of Anyway, you just play it straight, but it's all the situations are funny and You know a lot of dialogue. I have it's funny and I think it's funny What what drew you to the role? How come you how come you're an identity thief? Because I wanted to be in a funny movie with funny actors and You know people a lot of the roles I do, you know, they forget that I can do comedy I did strip these with give me more and work on those back in the day and I've done a few comedies and I want to do more and

4:22You know that that's why I'm talking about sorting and directing I said, you know, excuse me I just want to be funny man. I want to be in a funny Make me funny, dude You talk you talk about being a lot of successful movies well you have been but even even Sundance last week like loveless seems to be one of the big ones coming out of Sundance I've had a great as far as movies. I mean it started right around when I did the safe out Washington and and then we did gay man's field car with Bobby Duvall and Billard Bob's Gordon and then I did 20s food and John Goodman and Matthew Lillard and Amy Adams and then

5:18Somewhere in there. I think it was right after we finished gangster squad I actually I remember I was on the set of gangster squad and my agent saw me instead of They were interested in me to play Linda Lovelace its father and I was encouraged to To do it and when I read the script and playing Linda I was very enthusiastic. It's a very very tragic story Relates with a father character. He was a military guy. He was a New York City cop Catholic and he saw he raised daughter one way and then lo and behold she becomes you know the world famous most famous porn star in the history of porn

6:12and you know what what kind of an effect that was what kind of an effect that had on him and I could relate to that in my own life. I mean, you know, I have a daughter and you know these years Things you want to try to keep your daughter from Ever being a host and I was gonna say how do you how do you relate to that? As a human being as a man, I mean, I don't think you really If you're a father, I don't think you really have aspirations for your daughter to grow up to be a foreign star I don't I don't think any I don't know. I I don't know anybody that no no no no. I see what you're saying For their daughter so from that point of view, that's how I relate it to it. How would that affect me and how what? So how do you prepare a role then how do you prepare to go into that? Do you do you talk with?

7:05I'm a Christian. I'm a Catholic. I'm a Christian. I'm a Christian so I can understand where John Bormann's coming from from religious point of view I've played military guys So I understand their point of view I've played cops I understand their point of view and just being around men in general and in those kinds of environments How would that affect you if your daughter? Of course you know what I mean And it was the 1970s and you know it was it was devastating for the guy but even more so The reality is is there no he loved his daughter And he's what what did I do?

7:59I'm wondering if there's something that I did because I don't know who that is And it was a devastating use and and all that that I was telling you that helped me Play this guy. I can't wait to see the face you know, you know the scenes and what I remember with Amanda There was shit. That was very very real

8:49Very quickly are there things you do with her when when you meet her for the first time to get that Relationship going do you hang out offset and treat her like a daughter kind of thing? Well, that's a very good question and no You know you meet each other and you just hope that It's gonna be that way, you know what I mean? just kind of I wonder what kind of a hope I can relate to her and and He from these who want to protect us as a daughter

9:36Being married to Sharon Stone isn't isn't half bad either I would think No being married to Sharon Hill was sort of a What's the great thing? I mean her for years. I mean, I'm a very happily married guy but the federal sexual and Very very attractive lady one of the one of the perks of the business. I suppose Yeah, one of the perks of the business. It was certainly one of the highlights and something I'll definitely always remember She was great work with Sharon is a tremendous actress and You know the two of us have some wonderful scenes together. She has another whole Completely different dynamic with Amanda than I do with her getting into her, you know their story too much. That's that

10:32I'm I'm really I'm very very excited to see the movie. I'm a horrific actress I mean, she's incredible and llamas long miserable and Such a beautiful singing voice. I just There's corresponding with her I do that movie and she really blew me away in that so I can't wait So when would you see it? Do you watch your films or is it just kind of at the premiere you go see it and then and then you're good Well, hopefully I can see it Hope I can see the movie So I'm not I see

11:18You know, I kind of like before the premiere so I know what I'm talking about if I'm talking to the press Sure, I don't like to see it more than once. I think gangster squad. I saw it three times. Oh Interesting You would I kind of like to see what I what I did at least one so I have an idea of Did I achieve what I was setting out to and that particular goal, you know particular scene that I did I accomplish what I want to accomplish I should be used and you know, there's a lot of things to go into film. I I So interesting you say that I spoke to Steven Bishop about safe house a couple years ago when I was in LA and

12:05His scene was basically almost entirely cut out So it must be interesting for you as an actor you work so hard sometimes to prep a scene to prep a role and then parts of it You just never see the lighted day Is that frustrating or is that just a part of the biz you just get used to? Well, let me go back to your question. I didn't mean to interrupt you, but are you talking about safe absolute? Yeah Which Steven Bishop what did he play? He played he played a guard he ends up in the film the only scene he ends up That that is shown is him taking a picture of Denzel After I guess you guys go in and extract him But I guess he had a fight scene with Denzel that got completely cut out. No, it's even baseball player baseball player exactly. Yeah

12:52Yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember that well Let me see how I can comment on this I remember him and he's a great guy And if I'm not mistaken he was at the premiere and that's when he found out Exactly so I'm saying you yeah, you want to see the movie before the premiere So you know what's up there is it frustrating though as a performer when the scenes get cutters That's just something that you it's part of the biz. So you just let it go It's part of business. You got to let it go. I mean I can be Depending on where you are with your career You know when you're young and you're getting started and you know you think everything you do is pretty precious And and you know you you you want it all to be up there on point of view

13:46Movie making form of making the movie is you know all the information is gathers. That's all the film that you shoot That's the information the movies actually made in the editing doesn't mean that I'm not impervious That I think is one of my kind of scenes. It's not in the movie I mean that just happened to me with you know a scene that I did with Kevin Bacon in the movie I did with Bobby Deball and Billy Bob Thornton and there's not what you can do I mean you go wow, you know, okay, that's that cut Damn I thought that was a damn good chain right now Your mind starts to wonder why but you have to look at the story and I learned early on

14:38I mean I did in Terminator 2 way back 25 years ago. That's never made it to the movie and You just have to realize that there's some stuff that They may shoot you know they only intend to have it in the movie but when it comes down to it they don't need it and You have to kind of keep that mind that it's all about the story telling Some things don't make it something to It's easy to say as long as you don't have shit cut out, but if you get something to get stuck out I mean, yeah, you're gonna be pissed off and go like fuck I only had my language. I only had like two scenes Disney in a movie and one got cut. You know, I mean that That's better

15:23You're talking about storytelling there and I'm wondering I'm kind of jumping all over the place, but you're saying things and it's triggering my mind So I'm gonna go to Just with David Mamet and the uniform is Mamet's words is it as good as I hear it is when when you see that script and those words You know you get to speak those words there's something as an actor when you when you see that script that you're just completely mesmerized and flabbergasted these words can come out of somebody's mind and The guys just amazing with dialogue and then you realize No, it's when you can get in the rhythm and learn it, you know and and and learn it and actually get out there

16:14performance But there's a trick to it and you know, you know, you gotta you gotta work at it. It's easy to make great. That's really difficult to make crappy dialogue Those playing a character like that for four four years allow you to Do you feel more comfortable with it? Like I mean you've jumped around from film to tv So you know playing a character for season playing a character for a couple of years playing a character for just a month or two in a film Is it do you are you more comfortable as those years progress? Like do you find a rhythm that that you just is there a typical? I don't know like 20 episodes in that you feel that rhythm and you're at the peak

17:12television You just have to look at it as a long long movie I mean, you're basically same character the episodes whatever it is and you You really get to know that character really well and each week you're presented with a whole new you know, a bunch of situations that that character and and really And print yourself on the dialogue as the dialogue of affecting you. You know what I'm saying? You've got longer You've spent more time with you and you know, um, than anybody else

18:02Does it mean I'm saying nature you just you know where that character is going to go? Yeah, yeah, I mean well, it's not like you it's not like you know where the writer's going to stick You how that character would react exactly and and the writers if they're good writers They can see where you can take that character and they're they're in sync with you Uh, and I've you know, I I've had a great fortune My television work as primarily my series work has all been with So david chasin the fan and david vamice the unit on the x files

18:50and uh again, uh, shan ryan and called the gzax for um and uh I found that all those guys once they kind of realized that You know, I I embody the character and you know that they're pretty convinced they That they'll they have fun just putting me in different situations and can uh, you know and wait to see how I'm in the turf of that minimum You know what I mean? Yeah, that must be fun for you. That must be awesome. Yeah. No, and that's that's very gratifying and it's I'm not kind of Comes in and tries to change things. I I really is um, the thing I need for the for the trail and in

19:48The of that character and so I really do trust in them and I have really been steered wrong that way And now as metaphor television show i'm doing right now. So i'm just having a ball playing Jackson harv of On true blood you know now i'm for me. That's where I was gonna go amazing. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah, alan ball created that and he's a terrific writer and I mean he's just writing some great stuff for me and um You know, I'm I'm just excited where this character is gonna go and having fun playing a werewolf and uh And you know, I've never I've never really I've never really had a showdown. You know the only time I really had a showdown with somebody over dialogue is Is this Is you know a movie that's and i'm doing where i'm you know, it's it's really not that well written or the character is not that well written

20:36And i've had to bring him somebody and work on the dialogue and try to take uh Now you Try to you know, polish it turn basically you're just you know, you're you got to work real hard on uh kind of trying to elevate a project And uh, we're here to bust. So why above the month? No, it's all good. We'll go back to true blood. So you guys are working on See i see him you started shooting now Of i assume you've already started shooting true blood for this year or for next season i guess oh yes If we we started We Got one episode down as soon as uh last and first When a BC cancel last because i was very fortunate today that HBO often Season regular for this particular season. So we're all signed in and uh, we're gonna be working on this in june or july

21:29Are you allowed to say anything about true blood like can i can i i'm a werewolf you're a werewolf. Okay, so we got that and we're were That's gotta be fun. There's gotta be character. How do you prepare to play a werewolf? Do you watch teen wolf with michael jfox? Uh, yeah, so i prefer the people's with Jason base. Oh, yes, of course you would. Yes, obviously i'm sorry I just ran into michael jfox that's uh, it's a golden growth And i should have asked him i should have said i should have just been well You know this funny thing is i'm asking my son uh Go man. That's him quite a bit. You know, like what do we do when we shift? Uh, how does how does that work? That's what he what he's thinking, you know, he's gonna help him down. Okay. Um, what else they want to talk about?

22:17Hello, I mean, you know that that's one of the questions i asked myself. He's what do i say or how does that work? everybody everybody's very um There's like another whole little level of jargon involved with HBO, you know, you got i mean now with true blood where you have to You know, like, uh, you know the vampires they have their way to take Flash this thing and Maleral's had the way that they shift and all Okay, i'm talking about the uso to a real quick too before i let you because we have we've been talking for a while Um, so so you've been doing this for a while. What do you do on the uso to her? What do you what do you do you just go and speak to the soldiers? What do you do out there? I'm saying i think i dance i felt i felt dope uh Like bob hope you know, just like bob hope

23:05It makes that with the with the troop and uh i challenge them to all sorts of physical Challenges like i bet you i can do more pushups in new can here's a hundred bucks because i can do more Have you ever beaten them? I can't introduce them. I induce them to you know All sorts of track events like can you run up to that sperm and a post out there on the outside of fact at the end before i do Uh, you know all sorts of curtains. Have you ever won one of those challenges? I i i've given out a lot of hundred dollars though. That's good Um, but it's all serious I just really go there. You know the the the truth, you know, they have a lot of downtime and they watch a lot of stuff And they've watched a lot of the unit and they watch a lot of movies and they're obviously big terminator fans and and

23:56They're more i would take the time why they're to be with you know what i mean? And uh, you know, we really just more or less would just do that. We just go we shake hands sign autographs Uh, we talk with them. We have lunch with them. They show us what they do we we you know To the stage whatever they you know if it's going to a shooting range and shooting with the special forces and bagg That was one of my favorite things to shoot all sorts of different weapons. I'm just saying it out You know being guys and uh And we have this and we do this

24:51Much more of our profound experience for me than it is them I say with The intelligence uh Commence these individuals that they're in I was in an afghanistan and there was a template out this in the middle of this desert out there. There was Kim horton And that had been brought in by Canadian governments for the Canadian soldiers right next to hockey rink scary rigs and the guys get out there and play

25:41a version of roller state hockey not roller state but like street hockey like you know and shoot You know, they played their version hockey without ice whatever that is Road hockey what we call it up here What do they call it? We call it road hockey Yeah It's hockey and they had like they had like steams and You know, that was really insightful to see that the Canadians have Open in the middle east and and uh And get to meet them and meet the Australians and the British and the French and you know all the troops all over the world and You know it's because of the the popularity of the unit this that you know, the guys the cows and military would like to

26:29Like me to come over visit on it's you know shrills and um, I've been doing since 2006 and uh You know so and the fact that other musicians You know they go over there and these people are willing to Put their life on the line for you and I you know, you know Remind me that you know, hey, I remember when I was in uh, I was in in country and uh and Margaret came to visit

27:19Picture I got with her from you know, in 1977 or whatever, you know, in Vietnam And then and then my buddies will tell me you know, like, you know, you may not think it's much But this is really gonna brighten somebody's tail And uh in there and it's it's kind of hard to fathom. I mean, you know, I mean who am I really? I'm just some guy that makes the living film story Um, that's how you view it you make a living telling stories. That's such an interesting way to put it. That's great Yeah, I'm just what I do, you know and uh What's the love ride which is a big motorcycle event uh here in california and we just uh all the motorcycle enthusiasts in the area

28:10We just raised half a million dollars for uh For the uso so i'm constantly trying to figure out ways to do whatever I can to help In general, you know I could I could go on for hours about about your country's problem with with the uh with veterans and and when they come home, but but I won't Things need to be done and uh and it's nice to hear that you're that you're helping out because it doesn't seem the government is doing it Unfortunately, yes and um, you know, um, I uh appreciate what that's coming from um, I'll keep that out of the piece. Don't worry Oh, yeah, I mean I I I I I I I I would what your country's view is of the way we handle our veterans and um

29:01Well, I just think it's I hear a lot of them are suffering. I hear that they don't get the treatment They do I don't have a lot of comments about your country. I don't want to get into a whole nationalist thing But I mean I I we're the same way though. We don't treat them properly either. No, I don't think many countries do Once they once they done their service, they're kind of forgotten and it's a shame. You know, I don't know that sort of trust me is You know, I I you know, I I love my country and um My wife's Canadian and I love Spanish ships. They can go back and forward I love Canada and I agree with you and they are overloaf

29:54Uh, but you know, we're we're doing what we can to try to help That's and um, you know, that's that's what the u.s. All about it's such a stop on the wars over you know, it's just and um, you know help to read and um Uh, but says uh, memorial do I do a thing called rolling thunder and I'm there with Vietnam vets and we all go back And in the Vietnam vets and I you know, walked to the hospital at wall to read and make sure these guys We appreciate them and and to the Vietnam veterans, you know, they they tell me that you know, I didn't I wasn't welcome back after the Vietnam war and uh, that's a That's a sore issue, but I don't know

30:42I mean if you go with your life on the line for your country and you don't feel like you're welcome home You know, that's not right. And uh, it's one of the that's one of the reasons I do a lot of the work for Field dozens in the my age and in the Vietnam vet You know, it's a it's a big issue, but we're here to talk about acting So So we close Stories so we I close out every interview with something called five questions five quick questions one word answers I don't do those Well, let's see how it plays itself out then Hitchcock or Kubrick

31:28Landon or McCartney It's a funny answer to print that but okay, go ahead answer it Landon or McCartney Your biggest influence as an actor Now a good one roll your most proud of I heard that probably the closest that that's ever come to you on film That you've said that it's the way at least the way I envision myself All right, that makes more sense. Okay, uh and in there you go and in one word robert patrick