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 Christian Slater blows the whistle on William H. Macy's extra-marital infidelity in Emilio Estevez's Bobby. |
To borrow a beat from the movie trailers, in a film where others embrace tolerance and understanding and mourn the death of idealism, one man stands alone in rejecting all that nonsense.
The film is Bobby, Emilio Estevez's paean to Robert F. Kennedy by way of Love Boat-esque ensemble pieces. Starring a small galaxy of stars (Anthony Hopkins, Demi Moore, William H. Macy, Sharon Stone, et al) it tells the story of 22 people in and around the Ambassador Hotel on the day RFK was shot in 1968.
Only one character, however, is painted as an outright villain. That's Timmons, a racist, almost reptilian kitchen manager who is fired when he refuses to allow his mostly-minority staff time off to vote in the California primary (presumably for Kennedy). Furious, he gets revenge by blowing the whistle on his married boss (Macy) who's sleeping with a switchboard operator (Heather Graham).
And who better to wear the black hat than Christian Slater, with all his bad-boy baggage?
"It was kind of fun to represent that part of the population that wasn't thrilled with the concepts and ideas Bobby Kennedy represented. He was a guy with a certain values system and beliefs."
He'd be your classic red-state voter today, Slater says.
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"But even my character gets an arc and eventually gets to display some signs of humanity and compassion and humility, and that's meant to be a testiment to the kind of leader Bobby Kennedy could have been."
Slater didn't have his choice of roles, so he happily accepted the role of the heavy.
"In a movie with this cast, I'd have accepted a job getting coffee," he says.
But does his bizarre off-screen history (drug problems, assault and battery charges, a three-month jail sentence in 1997 for assaulting his then girlfriend and a police officer, an acquittal in New York for an alleged "ass grab") influence the kind of roles he gets offered?
More specifically, we ask Slater if he'd like to reinvent himself now that his life has calmed down these days.
"Y'know, life is a phenomenal journey," he says. "From what I've seen, nobody is able to get through it unscathed. And every experience I've gone through that's been difficult or humiliating or uncomfortable has ended up being, in retrospect, part of the tapestry of who I am today. I wouldn't wish to alter or change anything.
"Of course, over the course of time, the media has created a certain image for me, and I've helped provide material for them. And at times I might have provided material (deliberately) in order to meet that image.
"Today, I'm in this place of extraordinary gratitude. I feel happy and proud of my children and my choices lately."
And he's at a point where he can laugh at himself. As when the Family Guy had him "exposing my butt on the Hitler Talk Show. It was gross and inappropriate and hilarious at the same time. It wasn't me, somebody else was doing my voice. But I would have if they'd asked me to."
These days, Slater is busier than ever -- not least of all because of all the script-trading that occurred on the Bobby set. "I'm in a film called Slipstream that Anthony Hopkins wrote and directed because he passed me a script on the set and asked if I wanted to be in it. And I took the opportunity of handing Bill Macy a script for a movie I was attached to called He Was A Quiet Man, and he came back and agreed to take part. (Both movies have been filmed and are looking at spring releases).
Slater was also in London, starring onstage in a production of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (perfect casting for someone whose voice has always evoked Jack Nicholson). He says he's considering returning to star in a revival of Sweet Bird Of Youth.
And then there was his appearance this month in an episode of My Name Is Earl.
"It was the episode where Earl learns to be a conservationist. I played a total, over-the-top tree-hugger, which was fun. It's nice to put a halo on for a change."
Christian Slater file
Date of birth: August 18, 1969
Birthplace: New York
Birth name: Christian Michael Leonard Hawkins
Height: 5' 81/2
Profession: Actor
- Son of Mary Jo Slater.
- Half brother of actor Ryan Slater.
- Son, with girlfriend Ryan Haddon, Jaden Zach Haddon-Slater, born April 6, 1999.
- Arrested by Los Angeles police and charged with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of battery in 1997.
- Starts three month jail sentence. Released after 59 days for good behaviour in 1998.
- Arrested in West Hollywood, CA. after allegedly leading sheriff's deputies on a car chase in 1989.
- Arrested in 1994 for bringing a gun on a plane.
- Is a major Star Trek fan. His unusual eyebrows are the result of him shaving them when dressing up as Spock for Halloween.
- Chosen by Empire magazine in 1995 as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history.
- Daughter, Eliana Sophia, was born on August 15, 2001.
- Is a green belt in kempo karate.
- Past girlfriends include Winona Ryder, Christina Applegate and Patricia Arquette. He was also engaged to actress-model Nina Huang.
- Made his first theatre debut in The Music Man at the age of 9.
- Film credits include Pump Up The Volume (1990) to the romantic Bed Of Roses (1996) to high-voltage actioners like Broken Arrow (1996).