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Kris Kristofferson Interview
BY DYLAN BEHAN.
His songs have been played around the world, he's acted in countless movies, and now Kris Kristofferson is starring in Paul Cox's new film Molokai: The Story of Father Damien.
"Well, I was attracted to the script and working with Paul Cox. I had seen some of his films and thought he was a real interesting director. Plus, I live here. I just had to fly one island over."
Filmed on location in Hawaii three years ago, the production has been constantly plagued with difficulties. Australian director Cox was ousted in a coup halfway through shooting, only to be rehired at the insistance of the cast of lepers. Once shooting was completed, Cox was fired again, and has been fighting the Belgian producers ever since to try and save his version of the film. Fortunately for Australian audiences, we get to see Cox's directors cut, highlighted by David Wenhams's amazing performance in the title role.
"I think David Wenham is so perfect in a difficult, difficult role" Krisstofferson admits. "It's so hard to play a saint without making it sappy, and when the film didn't come out, I thought the saddest thing is that this guy is shot. It's like Jack Nicholson doing One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and it not coming out. He was remarkable."
In Molokai, Krisstofferson plays the recurring character of Rudolph Meyer, the administrator to the island who becomes one of Damien's few friends and supporters. Based on a real person, I asked if the character posed any difficulties for the actor. "The hardest thing for me was to speak with a German accent" he concedes, "and if you want to make Paul Cox laugh today, just remind him of a couple of the lines I had to say."
Changing topics, I asked Kriss what he thought about current music stars like Britney Spears and N'Sync trying to cross over into the world of film acting. "Why not? You know, if they can do the job. To me, whether it's up on stage performing songs or acting out a part in a movie, they're one and the same. Frank Sinatra was one of the best actors of his time and today I think Mark Wahlburg is a really good actor."
Having had a show business career spanning five decades of music and movies, I asked the Grammy and Golden Globe winner what his personal highlight is. "Right now, my role as a father. I used to think my songs would be the best thing I leave behind. Now I think now it's these kids."
For the record, Kris was the nicest and most inspiring person I ever interview
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On the phone from Hawaii, my interview with Kris Kristofferson started on a confused note when the bearded one thought "Dylan on the line" meant Bob Dylan. Not wanting to disappoint, I considered doing a vivid impression of my folkie namesake before deciding it would simply be easier to ask Kriss what attracted him to a movie about a 19th century leper colony.