BEHIND THE MASKS
The highly intense interaction between Spacey's character, Verbal Kint, and Chazz Palminteri's character, Kujan, is pivotal to the story and provided the actors with a rare opportunity. "There's nothing more exciting than going toe-to-toe with another actor in a room for two weeks," offers Spacey. The two had never met until the night before they began shooting but, continues Spacey, "We found a rhythm and a pace that you can't anticipate."
For Singer, working with an ensemble cast brought many unanticipated pleasures. "What was wonderful and uniquely fascinating was that, because all the actors came from very different disciplines and backgrounds (stage, screen, stand-up comedy), their portrayals of the characters and the relationships were infinitely more complex, making for a more interesting movie."
"I tried to create a tension constantly between the characters," continues Singer. "There's the conflict between Keaton and McManus, and between Hockney and McManus. There's Fenster's protectiveness, the confusion about Verbal's role in all of this, the mystery about Kobayashi... these were the things I concentrated on so that when the movie's over, you feel that these were real relationships and you understand why the characters finally end up doing what they do."
The filmmakers were fortunate to have cast a group of actors who were not only gifted, but who had terrific chemistry as well. "All the actors were so giving," notes Singer, "and when you work with actors who put the movie above everything else, then the nuances, the details, the shadings come forward."
Adding to the chemistry the actors had, Singer made certain logistical decisions that created a heightened sense of realism during production. "We were in a small room where they could have removed one wall to make shooting easier," recalls actor Spacey, "but they kept the wall in and, after a while, it became a rather hot and claustrophobic room, much like you'd imagine an interrogation room to feel."
The room used for the interrogation scenes was actually an office in the old downtown "Los Angeles Herald Examiner" building. Art director Howard Cummings, whom director Singer had met through Steven Soderbergh (director of "sex, lies and videotape" and "The Underneath"), was masterful in creating this and other locations. "When we first spoke," recalls Singer, "we knew that the film was very location-driven and, given our budget and time constraints, the locations would have to be very practical. Howard is brilliant at what I call 'practical art direction' -- build the right amount of things to make a location work without going overboard."
The film was shot in just 35 days on location in Los Angeles, San Pedro and New York City coming in on time and under budget, a fact Singer is proud of. "I've been blessed with an enormous amount of creative freedom and control on films. Instead of abusing it, I explore doing things economically, but at the same time, not compromising what I'm going for. 'Public Access' was shot in 18 days and cost around $250,000," he notes.
In addition to its use for the scenes in the interrogation room, the filmmakers also used the "Herald Examiner" building for the police station interior location, and also constructed a restaurant interior in the building's lobby. The film's other key location was the San Pedro piers, where Singer used special effects, stunts and pyrotechnics to stage the bloody shootout that bookends the film. "I grew up in New Jersey blowing up things with fireworks," jokes Singer, "so this was sort of an upscale version of that."
Reflecting on the experience of making "THE USUAL SUSPECTS," Singer notes, "When you completely understand the movie you're making and you have a firm hold on your story and your characters' journeys, you can take a very dense kind of yarn and make it accessible to people. Even if they don't catch every little detail or nuance while they're watching it, the clues are all there and everything pays off and makes sense at the end of the movie. And then it's even more fun on second viewing, when you know how it turns out and you see the things you missed the first time around."
"In the end," concludes Singer, "I hope people will be entertained, that they feel it was time and money well-spent, and that they'll still be talking about it afterwards."
STEPHEN BALDWIN
STEPHEN BALDWIN (Michael McManus) began acting in the off-Broadway production of "Out of America" co-starring Darryl Hannah. Perhaps best known for his role as young Buffalo Bill Cody on the Emmy Award-winning series "Young Riders," Baldwin has easily made the transition to feature films with roles in "Last Exit to Brooklyn," "Born on the Fourth of July," "Crossing the Bridge" and "Posse."
Most recently, Baldwin co-starred opposite Luke Perry in "8 Seconds," in the coming-of-age comedy "Threesome" with Josh Charles and Lara Flynn Boyle, and in "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle." Baldwin is also seen opposite Steve Martin, Catherine O'Hara and Gabriel Byrne in "A Simple Twist of Fate" and will soon be seen with Mickey Rourke in "Fall Time" and in the comedy "Under the Hula Moon" with Christopher Penn and Emily Lloyd. He begins filming shortly on his latest project, "Bio Dome" with Pauly Shore.
GABRIEL BYRNE
GABRIEL BYRNE (Dean Keaton) is not only a gifted and highly acclaimed actor but an Academy Award-nominated producer, as well. He executive produced the film "In The Name of The Father" which earned several Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and also produced and starred in "Into the West" opposite Ellen Barkin.
Beginning his acting career with the Abbey Theatre and later joining the Royal Court Theatre in London, the Dublin born actor made his feature film debut in John Boorman's "Excalibur." Other European films include the acclaimed "Defense of the Realm" and "Hanna K." During this time he worked for several noteworthy directors including Costa-Gavras, Ken Russell and Ken Loach. In 1990, he made his American debut in the Coen brothers' film "Miller's Crossing."
Since then, he has starred in "Cool World," "A Dangerous Woman," "Trial by Jury," "Point of No Return" and most recently, opposite Winona Ryder in "Little Women." Later this year he will be seen in Jim Jarmusch's "Deadman" and "Frankie Starlight" with Matt Dillon.
Lately, he has divided his time between writing, producing and acting. His first book, "Pictures in My Head," was published in Ireland in December where it became a critically acclaimed bestseller. The book will be published in the U.S. in the fall.
Later this year, he will produce "The Dr.'s Wife," based on the book by Brian Moore as well as Patrick McGrath's novel "Dr. Haggard's Disease."
CHAZZ PALMINTERI
CHAZZ PALMINTERI (David Kujan) has earned high praise and an Academy Award nomination for his performance in Woody Allen's "Bullets Over Broadway." His portrayal of Cheech, a gangster with unexpected dramaturgical gifts, also earned an Independent Spirit Award and nominations for a Screen Actor's Guild Award and an American Comedy Award.
Palminteri is perhaps best known for his performance in "A Bronx Tale." Originally written for the stage and performed as a one-man show in Los Angeles, "A Bronx Tale" won Palminteri the Dramalogue Awards for both acting and writing. He then moved the show to New York, where it played for four sold-out months and earned him nominations from the New York Outer Critics Circle for both acting and writing and won the IL Leone Di San Marco Award for Outstanding Theatre from the Italian-American community . While in New York he completed the screenplay of "A Bronx Tale," which became one of the hottest properties in Hollywood. He held out for an offer that would let him star in the film, and quickly found himself starring opposite Robert De Niro, who chose the script for his directorial debut.
For his second play, "Faithful," Palminteri again won the Los Angeles Dramalogue Award for acting. He also wrote and stars in the film version of "Faithful" opposite Cher and Ryan O'Neal, scheduled for release later this year.
Palminteri was recently seen in "The Perez Family," opposite Marisa Tomei and Angelica Huston, and can also be seen in the upcoming "Jade," opposite David Caruso and Linda Fiorentino for director William Friedkin, and "Mulholland Falls" opposite Nick Nolte and John Malkovich and directed by Lee Tamahori.
KEVIN POLLAK
KEVIN POLLAK (Todd Hockney) began his career as a stand-up comedian in his hometown, San Francisco. In 1988, he began his film career in a stand-out role in Barry Levinson's "Avalon." In quick succession, he co-starred with Steve Martin in "L.A. Story, opposite Denzel Washington in "Ricochet" and in Rob Reiner's "A Few Good Men," starring Tom Cruise, Demi Moore and Jack Nicholson. Among his most recent credits are "Indian Summer" with Alan Arkin and Elizabeth Perkins, "Grumpy Old Men" with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, and "Miami Rhapsody" with Sarah Jessica Parker.
Pollak will be seen in the upcoming films "Canadian Bacon" with Alan Alda and John Candy, "Chameleon" with Anthony LaPaglia, "House Arrest" with Jamie Lee Curtis and, finally, in Martin Scorsese's "Casino," opposite Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone.
PETE POSTLETHWAITE
PETE POSTLETHWAITE (Kobayashi) is perhaps best known to American audiences for his role in "In The Name of The Father," for which he received an Academy Award nomination. Other film credits include "The Last of the Mohicans," "Waterland," "Aliens III," "Treasure Island" and "To Kill A Priest."
A veteran theatre actor, Postlethwaite has appeared in numerous productions with The Royal Shakespeare Company including "Every Man & His Humour," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "MacBeth," "King Lear" and "The Taming of the Shrew," among others.
Postlethwaite's television credits include the recent "Martin Chuzzlewit" seen on PBS.
KEVIN SPACEY
KEVIN SPACEY (Roger "Verbal" Kint) most recently starred as Buddy Ackerman in the critically acclaimed feature "Swimming With Sharks," which he also co-produced and was seen opposite Dustin Hoffman in the Wolfgang Peterson film "Outbreak."
Other recent starring roles include "The Ref" opposite Judy Davis, "Iron Will," Alan J. Pakula's "Consenting Adults" and Jamie Foley's film version of David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross" with Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon and Alec Baldwin.
Spacey is a veteran of the New York stage and won the 1991 Tony Award for his performance as Uncle Louie in Neil Simon's Pulitzer Prize winner "Lost in Yonkers." Spacey studied for two years at the Julliard School and made his New York debut as a messenger in Joseph Papp's 1981 production of "Henry IV, Part I" and a year later made his Broadway debut as Oswald opposite Liv Ullmann in Ibsen's "Ghosts." Other theater credits include Mike Nichols' production of "Hurlyburly," "The Seagull" with Colleen Dewhurst, Jonathan Miller's 1986 Broadway and London production of "A Long Day's Journey Into Night" with Jack Lemmon and Peter Gallagher and most recently the New York premiere of Athol Fugard's "Playland", directed by the author.
Next year Spacey will return to the New York stage as both producer and star of Dennis McIntyre's "National Anthems" to be directed by Arvin Brown.
Among his television credits are Mel Profitt on the series "Wiseguy" for CBS, Jim Bakker in the NBC film "Fall From Grace," the Emmy Award winning mini-series "The Murder of Mary Phagan" as well as his portrayal of Clarence Darrow in the American Playhouse production of "Darrow."
Mr. Spacey is currently at work with Al Pacino on a documentary about American actors doing Shakespeare and will begin shooting "Albino Alligator" for Motion Picture Corporation of America in June, which will mark his directorial debut.
SUZY AMIS
SUZY AMIS (Edie Finneran) is an accomplished actress who most recently starred in the film "Blown Away" opposite Jeff Bridges and Tommy Lee Jones. She also appeared in "Two Small Bodies" and received a Best Actress nomination from the Independent Spirit Awards for her role in "The Ballad of Little Jo." Her other film credits include "Watch It," "Rich In Love," "The Big Town," "Rocket Gibraltar" and "Fandango," opposite Kevin Costner.
On stage, Amis' performance in Larry Ketron's comedy "Fresh Horses" earned her the Theatre World Award. She received further accolades for her work in the Los Angeles production of "Hurlyburly" with Sean Penn and Danny Aiello.
BENICIO DEL TORO
BENICIO DEL TORO (Fred Fenster) trained as an actor in New York at the Stella Adler Conservatory and Circle in the Square, and in Los Angeles at the Actors Circle Theatre. His film credits include "Fearless," co-starring Jeff Bridges and Rosie Perez, "China Moon" opposite Madeleine Stowe and Ed Harris, and "Money For Nothing." Other credits include "Christopher Columbus: The Discovery," "License to Kill," "Indian Runner" and the Emmy Award-winning television miniseries "Drug Wars: the Enrico Camarena Story."
GIANCARLO ESPOSITO
GIANCARLO ESPOSITO (Jack Baer), born in Copenhagen, Denmark, began his motion picture career with an appearance in "Taps," starring Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn, Tom Cruise and George C. Scott. Esposito is probably best known for his charismatic roles in five Spike Lee films -- "Do The Right Thing," "School Daze," "Mo' Better Blues," "Jungle Fever," and the acclaimed "Malcolm X," which made him a favorite of many in and out of the close-knit Spike Lee circle. His other film credits include Jim Jarmusch's "Night On Earth," Tim Robbins' "Bob Roberts," "Fresh," "Cotton Club," "King of New York," and many others. Additional upcoming screen performances this year include a starring role in "Kla$h" as well as "Keeper," Wayne Wang's "Smoke" and "Blue In The Face," and "Reckless."
Giancarlo's stage background is one of his greatest strengths. The challenge of the live audience only enhances and enables him to display his true acting abilities, always heartfelt. On stage, Giancarlo has appeared in numerous off-Broadway productions, most importantly, "Distant Fires," an Atlantic Theater Company production, for which he received an Obie Award and a Drama Desk nomination. He has received another Obie Award and Theater World Award for his performance in "Zooman and the Sign." Giancarlo's other stage credits include, the recent "Trafficking in Broken Hearts" also an Atlantic Theater Company production, "Don't Get God Started," "Merrily We Roll Along," "Seesaw" and "Lost in the Stars," among many others.
Esposito's television credits include guest-starring roles on "Miami Vice," and "Spencer For Hire," and he recently starred in his own highly-acclaimed series, "Bakersfield P.D." Esposito has appeared in over a half-dozen made-for-TV movies, including the PBS series "Roanoake" and the PBS movie "Simple Justice."
DAN HEDAYA
DAN HEDAYA (Jeffrey Rabin) includes among his film credits performances in "To Die For," "The Addams Family," "Benny & Joon," "Rookie of the Year," "Searching for Bobby Fischer," "Joe Versus the Volcano," "Blood Simple" and "Wiseguys," among others.
Hedaya is probably best known for the Nick Tortelli character he created on "Cheers," which led to the NBC spinoff series "The Tortellis." Among his other numerous television credits are his Emmy nominated performance in "NYPD Blue."
A graduate of Tufts University with a degree in literature, Hedaya decided to pursue a career in acting after appearing in a Joseph Papp production of "Macbeth." He went on to perform on the New York stage in such productions as "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel" with Al Pacino, and "Henry V" with Kevin Kline.
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