In the film you play the patriarch Royal Tenenbaum. How would you describe the character?
Basically, he's a selfish guy who, at some place along the line, eventually realised that his family were more important to him than what he was doing with his life. He decides to devote himself to his family but goes about it in a very strange way. In the end he makes the point that he loves them and I think they love him too, regardless of what he did to get there.
What made you decide to do the film?
Well, I've been very lucky in life and I've done just about everything that I would want to do as an actor. I don't know that I do them all very well but I like a lot of variety though. At this point in my life and my career I feel like I can back off and do the odd picture like "Tenenbaum" and feel good about it. That's really the main reason.
You've been making films for 40 years now. Did you always want to be an actor?
I suppose I wanted to be and actor from the time I was about ten, maybe even younger than that. Recollections of early movies that I had seen and actors that I admired like Jimmy Cagney, Errol Flynn, those kind of romantic action guys. When I saw those actors, I felt I could do that. But I was in New York for about eight years before I had a job. I sold ladies shoes, polished leather furniture, drove a truck. I think that if you have it in you and you want it bad enough you can do it.
