Kevin Kline Gives Something Extra

While Kevin Kline hails from St. Louis, the Midwestern native is often thought of as the quintessential New Yorker. That image is only heightened by his portrayal of the eccentric Henry Harrison in his latest film, The Extra Man, opening on July 30.

Based on Jonathan Ames’ semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, the film, written and directed by Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman, focuses on the quasi-mentor/protégée relationship between Kline’s flamboyant older character and the much younger Louis Ives (played by Paul Dano), a sexually conflicted English teacher with literary aspirations of his own, a crush on his co-worker Mary (Katie Holmes) and a hankering to give cross-dressing a try.

“Henry is actually like a failed version of Cole Porter,” says Kline, who played the famed songwriter in the film De-Lovely. “He’s a penniless playwright manqué who manages a fairly high-powered lifestyle as an escort for older society matrons.”

Playing the women whom Henry escorts on-screen are three of Kline’s dear friends: Marian Seldes, Celia Weston, and Lynn Cohen. “Marian was my teacher at Julliard, Celia and I were in Michael Weller’s Loose Ends together at Circle in the Square, and Lynn was my Player Queen the first time I did Hamlet,” Kline recalls. “I can’t tell you how delighted I was to be working with all of them again!”

Since his days at Juilliard, Kline had worked with a who’s who of stage and screen actresses — including Patti LuPone, Madeline Kahn, Glenn Close, Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Garner, and Meryl Streep to name just a few — while earning one Oscar, two Tony Awards, two Drama Desk Awards, and three Golden Globes along the way.

“I’ve never had a preference between stage and film,” he notes. “And I’m blessed with having the luxury of going between the two media. Of course, you can do things in one that you can’t do in the other. Camera close-ups can accomplish subtleties which can’t be seen past the third row in the theater. To me, it’s like comparing watercolor to oils in art.”

While Kline hopes to return to the stage soon — in a “hypothetical” project in which he would both direct and act — he is keeping busy in Hollywood. He recently finished The Conspirator, a new film directed by Robert Redford about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, in which he plays the heavily bearded Secretary of State, Edwin Stanton. It will debut in September at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Having been directed by other actors before, Kline has his own take on that particular process. “It’s not as if those of us who do both share some special vocabulary, but I do think, at least I hope, we’re more sympathetic to our actors,” he says. “For me, the best directors encourage actors to explore their own impulses. When I’m directing, I might suggest a possible ‘what if?’ but only if and when it resonates with the actor.”

Although Kline’s wife, Phoebe Cates, retired from acting a few years ago — she now runs Blue Tree, a Madison Avenue boutique — Kline himself doesn’t entertain any thoughts of giving up his craft. “I’ve always envisioned going out the way Moliere did,” he notes. “He died onstage while performing in The Imaginary Invalid.”