..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..R.J. Matson
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Michael Wilmington

Father Christmas

The Incredibles, Brad Bird's addition to the Pixar hit factory, was also one of the most critically acclaimed films of last fall. Its family of superheroes seemed much more real than you would expect of the cartoon characters flying about on screen. Leading the charge, in the patriarchal role of Bob Parr (aka Mr. Incredible), was Craig T. Nelson.

The good folks of Pixar sent Nelson the script for The Incredibles cold, hoping to lure his vocal talents to the project. It was when the actor realized that director Bird and producer John Walker were attached that he really became interested.

Being an avid fan of The Iron Giant, Nelson would always try to expose the 1999 film that never got enough attention to those around him. The opportunity to work with the creators of that film was one he couldn't pass up. The result was another powerful father figure in the Disney tradition that includes Pinocchio's Geppetto, The Lion King's Mufasa, and Finding Nemo's Marlin.

A year later, the actor finds himself the head of another quirky and unique household in Thomas Bezucha's The Family Stone, which is being released this week from 20th Century Fox, a delightful holiday film that reveals the tough love and emotional sincerity breaking through the surface of an annual family Christmas gathering, The Family Stone is one of the very best comedies of the year. The inviting and charming ensemble is at once entertaining and enlightening and, at the head of the table, Nelson's performance as Kelly Stone becomes one of the warmest and most endearing portrayals of the season - one that could afford him his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

But he'd still prefer to be on a peaceful back nine somewhere.

Nelson is a man who claims that he "doesn't like to work." Still, he boasts a more than respectable workload, continuing to tackle feature projects in addition to his small screen obligations. To be a part of The Family Stone, Nelson had to work, as he puts it, "eight days a week," splitting time with the hit television drama The District, Nelson was quite appreciative of a working situation that allowed him to do his job and do it well, offering high marks to a helpful rehearsal process.

Nelson could tell from an initial reading of Bezucha's original screenplay that The Family Stone would be difficult to ignore. "Those (quality scripts) come along so rarely that you really welcome the opportunity," he offers. "Even from the table reading, it was like 'Boom - we're off.'"

Heading into the project, the actor was attracted to the sensibilities of Bezucha, a second time director. "If the environment is correct, you can bring what you've got. For me, rehearsals bring the spontaneity. Then you know your guidelines and know where you can move with the character. Tom heard the voices long before anyone showed up. He knew exactly what he wanted and was able to bring that passion and knowledge to this film."

Impressed by the organic process of his youthful co-stars - Sarah Jessica Parker, Claire Danes, Dermot Mulroney and Rachel McAdams among them - Nelson felt the bond between the characters develop in a similar way to the bonds he forged with the cast over the course of filming. "I don't want to say it was surprising, but it was wonderful how professional they were. The chemistry was almost immediate. Everyone knew what they wanted and there were no hurdles in the personality department. That was a neat thing for me. I just love it when actors act."

Joviality on the set even included a friendly little wager with co-star Luke Wilson.

"He's a golfer, so there was an instant connection. And a great putter. He took $200 from me. Crazy, X-Man golf - through the warehouse, off the freezer door - crazy stuff. And he's got a great sense of humor."

On the particular November evening on which he graciously offered his time to discuss his career in the film industry, I immediately felt Nelson's casual sense of things, the disintegration of the interviewer/interviewee wall. Discussion swayed easily from business to breeze shooting. So I took the opportunity to inquire about the actor's experiences working with some of the most celebrated film talents in the industry.

On director Sam Peckinpah:

"A pain in the butt, but a great guy."

On Heartburn collaborator Mike Nichols:

"Wonderful. And he doesn't direct. He just told stories that have to do with what you were doing. Then the point of it would come through. I was just in awe."

On Poltergeist helmer Tobe Hooper:

"Great guy. Funny and energetic. He was willing to hear anything you brought and was so accepting. That was important for me at the time."

On director Rob Reiner:

"Completely different approach. Very serious and passionate about what he's doing, especially with this movie, Ghosts of Mississippi. He was very on top of it. He was a lot of fun, but business."

On two-time co-star Al Pacino:

"I learned a lot from him on ...And Justice For All. And then we worked together on The Devil's Advocate and he was much wiser. He had developed a smaller, more minimalistic way of performing. And there's a guy that loves to rehearse. I'd be in his trailer rehearsing for hours [on ...And Justice For All]."

Also of considerable note is Nelson's long-time friendship with director Barry Levinson, who has interestingly only directed the actor once, in a cameo roll in 1997's Wag the Dog.

"Comedy is what I initially did when I came out here. Barry and I joined up and started writing and performing comedy together. We started working clubs like The Icehouse and The Troubadour, and that's pretty much where I started. And Coach was about revisiting that. But free expressionism, lack of constraint, willingness to experiment, Barry always had that. He's a very sweet man."

Before rounding it out, however, the actor stops me to add that I've "forgotten the biggest one." "Who could that be?" I wondered.

"Brando."

Nelson found himself lucky enough in his youth to grace the same screen as Marlon Brando and George C. Scott in director John G. Avildson's The Formula in 1980. It was an experience he quite clearly cherishes.

"The director told me it was a small part but I said 'I don't care what it is, I get to work with Brando.' I was struck by Marlon's appreciation for the crew. He really cared about the people behind the camera. He had a freedom and brilliance with words and how to texture them, with such a vocabulary, and how he structured a character within them. Brando was an amazing guy, and a great acting legend."

A legitimate star in his own right, Nelson is fully at ease exhibiting genuine awe, not only of legendary collaborators from his past, but of fellow contemporary thespians. Take his thoughts on The Family Stone co-star Diane Keaton.

"She's just wonderful, and so inquisitive. She doesn't settle for the easy way out and she searches for the quality that's going to make her characters live."

It isn't the spotlight Craig T. Nelson demands. It isn't the recognition. One gets the sense that he lives for the experiences he shares with his collaborators, above and beyond the work he produces with them. And as it goes, he continues to bring that distinguished, everyman, strolling-through-life quality to each of his performances, the quality that seems to make his characters live.

The Family Stone opens nationwide this Friday, December 16.

December 13, 2005

Previous Oscartown Columns
11.29.05 - Breakthrough Gents
11.22.05 - Money Talks
11.15.05 - Where Have All The Cowgirls Gone?
11.08.05 - Imitation of Life
11.01.05 - Suggestion Card
10.25.05 - Youthful Digression
10.18.05 - Nothing New, Nothing Old... A Whole Lot of Nothing
09.01.05 - A Brave New 'Wood?

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