I am pleased to bring you my recent chat with actor Richard Fancy, an immensely gifted man you may recognize as Mr. Lippmann from Seinfeld. He’s also appeared in shows like Mad Men, Ray Donovan, Carnivale, General Hospital, The Mentalist, Crossing Jordan, 3rd Rock From The Sun, Friends, Star Trek: Voyager, Numb3rs, Gilmore Girls and more. His film credits include Being John Malkovich, The Girl Next Door, Species, Oliver Stone’s Nixon, Hollywoodland, Shopgirl, Rob Zombie’s horror films Halloween and The Lords Of Salem, and more. Take a look:)
Nate: I don’t see much of your background or training on imdb. Care to share how you got into acting, what about the craft that appeals to you, and where you trained?
Richard: I knew I wanted to be an actor when I was fifteen. Like falling in love with someone, it’s really impossible to say “Why.” I began studying at fifteen (I was living in LA then) and, when I was twenty two, I moved to New York where I studied for a year with Uta Hagen. I spent a year studying in England, came back to New York and studied with Peter Kass, Uta Hagen (some more), George Morrison, John Lehne, Kristin Linklater, Lee Strasberg, Sharron Shayne and I recently became a professional observer with full working privileges at the Actors Studio here in Los Angeles.
Nate: You have a very mischievous aura to your work, a gleeful vibe that is very memorable (the moment in Ray Donovan when you realize they’re pulling a fast one on you is a perfect example of this, and one of my favourite character beats of your work) ). Is this quality something you consciously developed in your work, or just organically happened out of your personality?
Richard: Thank you for the compliment about my gleeful vibe. I think what you are seeing is just my response to creating a particular character; that response will unavoidably reflect my own personality and whatever glee that gives off:-)
Nate: The Lords Of Salem: what was it like for you working on a Rob Zombie film, especially such an intense one? Fun experience?
Richard: I loved working for him. The films are intense; the set is the most relaxed, supportive atmosphere you can imagine. Rob (I’m sure you heard this before) is a great guy.
Nate: Carnivle: One of my favourite shows of all time. Your role, although brief, was very memorable for me. Did you have a sense of the story when filming that, were you given a lot to go on in terms of that psychiatrist and who he was dealing with? Have you seen the show and do you enjoy it?
Richard: I had a clear idea when I got to the set the way this psychiatrist would walk, talk; I wanted a moustache and spectacles. He should start out in too much control. I wanted there to be a contrast between the very obsessively organized person he is when we first see him and the nut he becomes. Scott Winant who was the director on the first episode I did was wonderfully supportive and collaborative. A splendid director.
Nate: You have a tremendous gift for comedy, as can been seen with your work on Seinfeld. Do you enjoy working in lighthearted, funny stuff like that? How was working laying Mr. Lippmann for you?
Richard: Everything depends on the script and the people you are doing it with. I loved doing Seinfeld; it was unique. But I enjoyed working with Scott Winant on creating the character I played in Carnivale every bit as much. And, I see something funny in almost everything. I guess it’s built into the way I perceive reality.
Nate: If you had to pick a few roles that you’ve played that have been your favourites, what would you say?
Richard: The roles that have been my favorites have been in intimate theater in Los Angeles. . Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, Mr. Prince in Rocket to the Moon, Moe Axelrod in Awake and Sing and–now I’m doing Awake and Sing again, playing Uncle Morty. The intimate theater movement in Los Angeles has been producing extraordinary productions for thirty years now; Spring Awakening, a brilliant Los Angeles intimate theater production, just opened on Broadway to a huge rave in The NY Times. Intimate theater has unfolded here because LA is a place where there are a lot of excellent actors who work in film and TV and, itch to work onstage. If you play your cards right, you can see five brilliant intimate theater productions in this town for the price of a Broadway ticket.
Nate: Any upcoming projects, film or otherwise, you are excited for and would like to mention?
Richard: Right now I’m doing a play in Los Angeles. It’s Awake and Sing at the Odyssey Theatre (odysseytheater.com) and it is really worth seeing. It’s a great American play by Clifford Odets in an extraordinary production. It just got a critics choice in the Los Angeles Times.
My interview with actor Richard Fancy
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