All Photos: Alan Mercer Lighting: Eric V.
Frederic Forrest, the Oscar-nominated character actor, was born two days before Christmas Day in Waxahachie, Texas, the same home town as director Robert Benton. Frederic had long wanted to be an actor, but he was so nervous that he ran out of auditions for school plays. Later, at Texas Christian University, he took a minor in theater arts while majoring in radio and television studies. His parents opposed his aspirations as a thespian as it was a precarious existence, but he moved on to New York and studied with renowned acting teacher Sanford Meisner. He eventually became an observer at the Actors Studio, where he was tutored by Lee Strasberg. During this time, he supported himself as a page at the NBC Studios in Rockefeller Plaza.
His theatrical debut was in the Off-Broadway production of "Viet-Rock", an anti-war play featuring music. He made his uncredited debut in ‘The Filthy Five’ in 1968, a low-budget movie directed by sexploitation auteur Andy Milligan, but he racked up his first credit in the very bizarre screen adaptation of ‘Futz’ in 1969, a satire about a farmer who falls in love with a hog.
After starring in the off-Broadway play "Silhouettes", Frederic moved with the production to Los Angeles, intent on breaking into movies. While the production ran for three months and was visited by agents bird-dogging new talent, Frederic got no offers and had to support himself as a pizza-baker after the show closed. Eventually, he began auditing classes at Actors Studio West, and director Stuart Millar saw him in a student showcase production and cast him in ‘When Legends Die’ in 1972. He copped a 1973 Golden Globe nomination as "Most Promising Newcomer - Male" for the role. For the first time in his film acting career, Frederic Forrest looked like he was poised for stardom.
A small part in "Godfather" director Francis Ford Coppola's ‘The Conversation’ in 1974 would later pay dividends. Except for a small role in the disappointing ‘The Missouri Breaks’ in 1976 and his TV turn as Lee Harvey Oswald in CBS' ‘Ruby and Oswald’ in 1978, Frederic had little to show in the first part of his career. Coppola was about to change that.
Playing "Chef Hicks" in ‘Apocalypse Now’ in 1979 garnered Frederic the best notices of his career, and he parlayed that into Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations as Best Supporting Actor for ‘The Rose’ in 1979, his second hit that year. He was named Best Supporting Actor by the National Society of Film Critics for both films, and once again he seemed poised on the verge of stardom. Like the first time, stardom did not come.
His aspirations were to do quality work and play a romantic lead. "I would like to not have to fit into somebody else's story and have my scenes cut because I'm too strong", he told a journalist circa 1980. "And next time, I'd like to get the girl instead of the horse".
He did get the romantic lead he pined for, but it was a case of "Be careful what you wish for, as you might just get it". Coppola, so instrumental in propelling Forrest into the first rank of character actors, cast him as the romantic lead in ‘One from the Heart’ in 1982, a picture that proved to be one of the great financial debacles of all time. It bankrupted Coppola's studio, American Zoetrope, and engendered a fierce backlash against the director and the film in Hollywood.
In 1983, he played a supporting role in ‘Valley Girl’ in 1983 in an unmemorable performance, a role that could have been played by any actor, something one couldn't say about his "Chef" in ‘Apocalypse Now.’ Increasingly, Frederic began appearing on television and, by 1987, was in the cast of the series ‘21 Jump Street’ in 1987 on the new Fox TV network, lasting only one season before being ignominiously replaced. In addition to an appearance in the mini-series ‘Lonesome Dove’ in 1989, Mr. Forrest's fine portrayal of "Lomax" in ‘Die Kinder’ in 1990, showed the ability which has been too often unrealized.
His theatrical debut was in the Off-Broadway production of "Viet-Rock", an anti-war play featuring music. He made his uncredited debut in ‘The Filthy Five’ in 1968, a low-budget movie directed by sexploitation auteur Andy Milligan, but he racked up his first credit in the very bizarre screen adaptation of ‘Futz’ in 1969, a satire about a farmer who falls in love with a hog.
After starring in the off-Broadway play "Silhouettes", Frederic moved with the production to Los Angeles, intent on breaking into movies. While the production ran for three months and was visited by agents bird-dogging new talent, Frederic got no offers and had to support himself as a pizza-baker after the show closed. Eventually, he began auditing classes at Actors Studio West, and director Stuart Millar saw him in a student showcase production and cast him in ‘When Legends Die’ in 1972. He copped a 1973 Golden Globe nomination as "Most Promising Newcomer - Male" for the role. For the first time in his film acting career, Frederic Forrest looked like he was poised for stardom.
A small part in "Godfather" director Francis Ford Coppola's ‘The Conversation’ in 1974 would later pay dividends. Except for a small role in the disappointing ‘The Missouri Breaks’ in 1976 and his TV turn as Lee Harvey Oswald in CBS' ‘Ruby and Oswald’ in 1978, Frederic had little to show in the first part of his career. Coppola was about to change that.
Playing "Chef Hicks" in ‘Apocalypse Now’ in 1979 garnered Frederic the best notices of his career, and he parlayed that into Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations as Best Supporting Actor for ‘The Rose’ in 1979, his second hit that year. He was named Best Supporting Actor by the National Society of Film Critics for both films, and once again he seemed poised on the verge of stardom. Like the first time, stardom did not come.
His aspirations were to do quality work and play a romantic lead. "I would like to not have to fit into somebody else's story and have my scenes cut because I'm too strong", he told a journalist circa 1980. "And next time, I'd like to get the girl instead of the horse".
He did get the romantic lead he pined for, but it was a case of "Be careful what you wish for, as you might just get it". Coppola, so instrumental in propelling Forrest into the first rank of character actors, cast him as the romantic lead in ‘One from the Heart’ in 1982, a picture that proved to be one of the great financial debacles of all time. It bankrupted Coppola's studio, American Zoetrope, and engendered a fierce backlash against the director and the film in Hollywood.
In 1983, he played a supporting role in ‘Valley Girl’ in 1983 in an unmemorable performance, a role that could have been played by any actor, something one couldn't say about his "Chef" in ‘Apocalypse Now.’ Increasingly, Frederic began appearing on television and, by 1987, was in the cast of the series ‘21 Jump Street’ in 1987 on the new Fox TV network, lasting only one season before being ignominiously replaced. In addition to an appearance in the mini-series ‘Lonesome Dove’ in 1989, Mr. Forrest's fine portrayal of "Lomax" in ‘Die Kinder’ in 1990, showed the ability which has been too often unrealized.
AM: Frederic I love how your character talks about Waxahachie when you first appear in the film ‘The Rose.’ Did you do suggest that?
FF: We wanted a joke for a light moment since the movie was heavy. It was an awkward moment. Someone had just told me that joke so I asked the director, Mark Rydell about saying it in the film. People in Waxahachie got a little upset, but it was just a joke.
AM: When was the last time you were in Texas?
FF: It’s been three or four years now. I was there in the summer and I’d forgotten how hot it can be. I remember going to school and playing sports against all the other teams.
AM: Did you enjoy playing sports?
FF: It was fun but I wasn’t that good at any of it.
AM: What sports did you play?
FF: I played football and ran track. I enjoyed the spring days and running the track and meeting other guys from other places. In those days it was more about sportsmanship and the game. There was less animosity.
AM: Were you always interested in being an actor?
FF: Not consciously, but I would act out movies when I was a kid. All we had was the picture show. There was no television so we’d go see all the movies. We had three movie theaters in Waxahachie. Back in those days, actors would tour with the movies, so we’d get some Cowboy Stars that would come through. B movies were big in little towns because you had the Saturday matinee.
AM: You must have seen all the serial films.
FF: Yes they always kept you hanging. You couldn’t wait to get back the next week to see how they got out of trouble. Movies were great back then! Kids would line up for blocks.
AM: So did you struggle to get in movies or did you fall into it?
FF: I fell into movies. I never thought about it. I didn’t think I was good at anything. I didn’t feel like I had a “so called” talent. I wasn’t good at anything people considered important. I really didn’t know what I was going to do. I felt if I could make a living doing something I liked, I’d be very blessed. I kept going back to acting in Community Theater.
AM: So you were acting for fun.
FF: Yes I thought it was fun, but after I saw James Dean in ‘East of Eden,’ I got the acting bug to go to New York. I knew he was from a little farming town in Indiana so I identified with that. Then all I heard about was the Actors Studio.
AM: What year did you get to New York?
FF: I got some guys to give me a ride to New York in 1957 for my first visit. I remember very vividly standing across the street from the Actors Studio thinking I would see Marlon Brando coming in or out. I was scared to death. I thought, “What am I doing here?”
AM: Did you come right back to Texas?
FF: Yes I had to go into the army. You had to back then. You could get drafted or choose to join on your own and then only do six months, so I did that. A lot of guys in college did that just to get it over with and then you had six years in reserve.
AM: Did you like being in the military?
FF: While you are in it, it’s so mad. The army is so full of life. It’s such a tapestry of human beings. So many different personalities are everywhere. You could think you were in a nut house. It did seem quite surreal, but I did it. We had to do basic training in Fort Knox, Kentucky.
AM: So you did your military time before there was a war?
FF: I was lucky as I got out just before Vietnam started.
AM: So after the army you went back into acting?
FF: Yes I decided I wanted to act more and get my equity card. I went back to Houston to the Alley Theater after being in New York for a couple of years. I got a scholarship so I didn’t have to pay them.
AM: Did you do a lot of stage work?
FF: I did as much as I could. I felt like the more acting I could do the better I would be at it. I would do anything or any character. I actually got stranded in Dallas after Kennedy’s assassination. I would go to the Dallas Theater Center and see all the plays.
AM: How did you get back to New York?
FF: I hitched a ride with an antique dealer who went to Boston routinely. We got to the outskirts of New York City and there was a big snow storm so we couldn’t get in the city. He had to drive me to Albany and I took a bus back into the City. My sister met me at the bus station. I had a big black cowboy hat.
AM: So it took a while before you made it into films in the middle 70’s.
FF: Oh yes I was old already.
AM: You look so young in ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘The Rose.’ Did you always look young for your age?
FF: I did. Hollywood never knew how to peg me. I had to learn to lie and ask them how old do I look? They’d tell me I looked 24 so I’d say no I’m 25 and they’d go, “I thought so.” If I had been honest and said I was 35 they would have told me I was too old.
AM: You have played a few Native Americans. Do you know why you have been cast like that?
FF: I have no idea. I turned down ‘Lonesome Dove’ three times because it was written as a full blooded Native American. I knew I could do the character once I read the novel.
AM: Is that one of your favorite parts?
FF: It is one of my favorites. I got incredible reviews. Better than anything else I ever did.
AM: So you knew you were talented.
FF: That part did change my life. Suddenly I was the new Brando, the new Newman and the new James Dean.
AM: You became a household name.
FF: I was lucky because ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘The Rose’ came out at the same time. People saw me in both films and I got the National Film Critics Award for both of them. It was a strange new era where I was wanted for all the movies.
