Empire Magazine
The Kennedy Brothers
April 2001
Thirteen Days' Bruce Greenwood and Steven Culp on playing the world's most famous siblings.
BG: I'm sorry about this (apologizing for the tardiness of his on-screen bro).
He's always late. I always had to cover for him on the set. But don't tell him
I said that.
SC: (blustering in) Hi, good afternoon. OH, here's my favorite person, Bruce Greenwood!
Weren't you wearing a sequined top last time I saw you?
EM: The film has been tremendously well-received. What did you make of it when you
first saw it?
SC: The first time I saw it I just knawed my fist until it turned into a stump --
agonizing over what I'd just seen.
BG: I had the same experience watching your performance.
EM: Would either of you have preferred to have the other's role?
SC: I used to tease Bruce because for him, as far as playing icons go, it was like
playing John Lennon or Elvis. I'm more like Dylan -- a little more wriggle room.
BG: But you should have seen him when he was first auditioning. He was 15 lb heavier
and he had no cheekbones -- there must have been a guy chasing him with a whip.
SC: I worked out with this former Mr. America or something. I was in fittings one
day and looked in the mirror, and saw this skinny little body and was like "That's him!
That's the guy I've been seeing in all the old photo's"
BG: Amazing what you can do with a trick mirror......
EM: How difficult were the Kennedy's Bostonian accents?
SC: There's very much a Kennedy accent', a weird amalgam of things, but Bobby is
higher and more nasal.
EM: Did Kevin Costner live up to his bad press? Did he let his director direct?
BG: The rumors are such a falsity. I never saw any of that kind of interference.
SC: We all just got into the ring and hashed it out. Kevin is full of wonderful
ideas and has real appreciation for complex human behavior.
EM - Was it daunting playing such famous, iconic, historical figures?
BG: It was like jumping into a pool and not coming out for months -- cold at first, but
then you don't ever want it to end.
SC: You walk on set a Kennedy and get the feeling that the waters are parting for you.
Everybody steps back and defers for you -- honestly, I took to it like a duck to
water! But also its very inspiring. I think people are hungry for a movie with
emotional resonance. A movie that makes them think. A movie that's not just a
iece of product. And I'd really like to think that's what we've achieved, just that.