By Robert Nesti
Super-stardom would suit Eric Stoltz just fine.
"I would love to be wildly famous and successful," he explained recently, "but I don't know if I have the stomach for it. If I had to rate myself, successfully speaking, I'm a 2 or a 3."
"I'm basically a lazy and hedonistic man," he continued, "and I do what I think will give me pleasure at that moment rather than what would build a juggernaut of a career."
There's little doubt, though, the 42-year-old actor is selling himself short. Since the mid-1980s Stoltz has made more than 70 movies for the big screen and television (including "Pulp Fiction" and a Golden Globe-nominated turn in "Mask"), and has been nominated for a Tony Award ("Our Town") and a daytime Emmy for directing (the children's special "My Horrible Year!").
Now he's returning to the stage in the revival of "Sly Fox," which opens in Boston tomorrow for a pre-Broadway tryout. Stoltz and Richard Dreyfuss star as a pair of confidence men out to swindle as many people they can during the California Gold Rush. (The play, loosely based on the 17th century comedy "Volpone," was a hit in 1976 with George C. Scott in the lead.)
"I don't have a comedic role in this," Stoltz said. "I'm the set-up guy - the straight man who ushers into this world all these wonderful comedians (co-stars Bob Dishy, Rene Auberjonois, Bronson Pinchot, Peter Scolari and 90-year-old Irwin Corey). I have a thankless role, but it's fun, because I get to watch all these great comics."
Stoltz was invited to join the cast by director Arthur Penn, whom he'd worked with on the 1996 television film "Inside."
"What brought me to the project is a chance to work with Mr. Penn once again. He called me out of the blue and asked me if I was interested. We had done a movie together, and I found him to be a great director and a wonderful man. It's rare to find someone you actually respect in the business."
"And," he continued, "the script made me laugh out loud more than a few times. It's nice to read a comedy that's sharp and biting and pertinent."
What does Stoltz love most about performing on the stage?
"The ridiculously high salary, fame, the perks," he said with a sly laugh. "I'm speaking with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek. No, it's the sheer joy of it. And if you get the right people together, a really good time."
Asked what other stage roles he'd like to play, Stoltz was quick to respond: Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth.
"With Elizabeth Berkley (one of his co-stars in `Sly Fox') as Macbeth. She's so lovely. She's much adored. She brings food every day to the company."
Thursday, February 19, 2004