How do you describe the career of a guy who started as the host of Talk Soup on E! and within five years was Oscar nominated for a role opposite Jack Nicholson? Greg Kinnear certainly hasn't taken the usual career path. He may have starred opposite Tom Hanks in You've Got Mail, but he was also conjoined with Matt Damon, played a sex addict and a meat inspector, guest starred on Friends and voiced a character in the Beavis and Butthead movie. Not to mention leading the SAG-winning ensemble in one of the best indie comedies of recent years in Little Miss Sunshine.
Now he's on screen as the inventor Bob Kearns in Flash of Genius, and he was happy to be playing a real-life character no one's ever heard of. "Well, it's not like everybody comes in with a preconceived idea of who Bob Kearns is," he says. "So it was kind of loose as to how I could portray him. You know, nobody's ever going to stand up in the theatre and say, 'Hey, that's not what I remember the intermittent windshield wiper guy to be like!' It's not like with Clinton or Nixon or some sort of galvanising figure that everyone's familiar with. At the same time, as an actor I felt absolutely obligated to try to, as best I could, make him real."
Later this year he'll be sees in Paul Greengrass' new film Green Zone, about the hunt for WMDs in Baghdad after the American invasion. "Paul is a remarkable director," he says. "He just has an immediacy on the set. He doesn't come in with a prearranged agenda of how things are going to go, and he's always chasing something that's not easily found. It's his own journey as a filmmaker, but I think everybody feels like you want to give him everything you've got, because the thing that he's searching for always translates to the screen, always creates these pictures that feel very vibrant. He has a way of making even smallest moments really big and lifelike on screen. It was wonderful."
When asked about his five favourite films, he looks to the ceiling and comments that he's going through his mental Rolodex...
(1-14 of 14 posts) | Reply
on Mar 17 2009 11:46 AM YES! "SOMETHING WILD" is one of my all time favorites, too! So misunderstood. Ray Liotta was such a terrifying sociopath. Brilliant! It was also the first film for DP Tak Fujimoto. Had an incredible sound track and score. . . (Reply to this) |
on Mar 17 2009 11:46 AM Kinnear's the man, Auto Focus was terribly underrated. (Reply to this) |
on Mar 17 2009 12:20 PM Chinatown is a masterpiece I'm glad someone has it on their list. -MIKE (Reply to this) |
on Mar 17 2009 01:08 PM A lot of five favorite films lately. That's not a complaint. GREAT list. (Reply to this) |
on Mar 17 2009 02:06 PM Just five? What an *******. (Reply to this) |
|
on Mar 17 2009 04:30 PM An excellent list, Chinatown and North by Northwest are in my top 10, from an under-rated actor. I like how he seemningly plays similar roles but from 'Little Miss Sunshine' to 'The Matador' to 'Auto-Focus' the similarity is only superficial and he takes that typical Kinnear character, The 'All-American good guy', to some dark places. (Reply to this) |
|
on Mar 17 2009 05:38 PM Funny, I didn't know he started as the host of Talk Soup. Pretty cool list. By the way, if no one has seen Flash of Genius yet, be sure to check it out. Bob Kearns' story is totally interesting and enthralling and Greg Kinear, as usual, does an amazing job of portraying the inventor of the intermittent wind- shield wiper. (Reply to this) |
on Mar 17 2009 06:52 PM you can scratch greg kinnear off your list of actors who might be a complete tool.....chinatown masterpiece yes (Reply to this) |
on Mar 17 2009 08:48 PM Don't forget Sabrina. He was in Sabrina. Did a great job, sat on some glass, very believable. I know nobody liked that film, don't care. (Reply to this) |
|
on Mar 18 2009 10:55 AM Willy Wonka!, That was very low (Reply to this) |
|
on Mar 18 2009 08:12 PM Guys! Check out the brand new ______ InterracialConnect. C o m ______ Take three minutes find the love of your life. Over millions of profiles from all over the world! No matter where you are or what you are, you can find someone you like. Sign up for FREE and have fun! (Reply to this) |
|
on Mar 20 2009 07:40 AM I met Greg Kinnear at a small restaurant in Panama City. While I was hesitant to approach him, it turned out he is the nice guy you see in the movies. Very friendly and approachable. He's also a great actor who doesn't pick the easy roles. And anyone who likes the Original Willy Wonka is a friend of mine. I watch it at least once a year. (Reply to this) |
|
on Mar 23 2009 01:41 PM the only movie i enjoyed him in and thought he put a lot into was as good as it gets.ghost town was alright but it was ricky whatever his name is that made it funny.good list though (Reply to this) |
|
on Mar 24 2009 05:57 PM He looks so strong and healthy, this is the reason why he attracted a lot of beautiful girls on the rich matrimonial site "W e a l t h y S i n g l e . N e t. ." , this is the only site where I have seen so many beauties, it makes me feel strange. (Reply to this) |
| You must be registered to post comments. Login or Register. |
Related Links
Other News
Related Articles
Latest Features
- Five Favorite Films With Precious' Gabby Sidibe (35)
- Five Favourite Films with Anika Noni Rose (17)
- Five Facts About Alice in Wonderland (70)
- 25 Movies So Bad They're Unmissable (113)
- The Future is Now! 10 Years of Movie Predictions (47)
- Meet the Universal Monsters Starting Lineup! (52)
- The 10 Most Unlikely Kids Movie Stars (34)
- 10 High Altitude Performances (20)
- Critics Choose Must-Sees and Worsts of 2009 (280)
- RT's Best of the Decade! (202)
RSS Feeds
