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Top 20 Countdown on CMT March 29, 2004 |
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Lance Smith: We're out in Los Angeles, talking with the stars of
the new movie, "Walking Tall". I'm, now, joined by Neal McDonough.
How are you doing? Neal: I'm doing very well, Lance. How are you doing? LS: Good to see you. Neal: Cool. Good to see you, too. LS: Now, we just saw you in a clip and you are the "bad guy". Neal: I am. LS: But, you're not the stereotype "bad guy". You've got blonde hair. You've got that All-American look about you. So, explain your character. Neal: Jay Hamilton's the character's name and the great thing about Jay is that - you're right, he's not the stereotypical "bad guy". Because you kinda really like this guy. Until about three-quarters of the way through, you realize this guy needs a whuppin'. In fact, that's what does happen, of course. The Rock gives me a good one. LS: You get a little whuppin'? Neal: He definitely gets the best of me. LS: Well, I want to talk about the physical stuff in a little bit. But, did you see the original film and did it help you prepare for this role? Neal: Well, it's interesting. The original film was, obviously, a fantastic film and there were a lot of villains in that one. Where this one, they really kinda cut it down to one main villain - me! And it was a blast. I, generally, don't play characters this flawed or this bad. Usually, it's - like you said - a stereotypical bad guy and that's not that fun to play, for an actor. But, this guy was like the guy you went to high school with - who had all the girls, had all the money, had the cars, had everything and you just didn't like him. And you always wanted to see him lose and finally, he loses in this. And it really pays off really well. And The Rock's...he's dynamite in the movie. He's so good, he's always so prepared and he worked so hard. I had a great time! LS: We are back with Neal McDonough who plays Jay Hamilton in "Walking Tall". And, earlier, you were talking about the physical aspect of this film. Now, I know you're actually quite the athlete. You box a little bit. You played baseball at Syracuse? Neal: I did. Yeah, absolutely. LS: So, what did you do to prepare for the physical part of this film? Neal: Well, like you were saying, I've always been a pretty physical guy and a lot of the roles that I do, require me to do that. But, to be physical opposite The Rock was a whole different level. He's so well-trained in using his hands and figuring things out that when it came to choreographing the really big fight numbers, he was always there to help out and make sure everything was going really smoothly. And it did. It was just a ton of fun! LS: Now, did you learn a lot from him? Or did you teach him a thing or two? Neal: Oh, of course, I taught him everything he knows. LS: Plenty! You got him where he is! Neal: Exactly! If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't be The Rock. And that's the truth! He was terrific. The fight scenes were long. We did it for a bunch of weeks and the pay-off was great. I think it's one of the best fight scenes in a film in a long time. Cause there are no special effects. No one's flying through the air. It's fisticuffs. Grab a tree limb, smash it in somebody's face, throw somebody over a ledge of a building. It was really quite dramatic. LS: Yeah, I heard it was really well-choreographed and wasn't a lot of what you said. No CGI. It was all hands-on. Neal: Yeah, there was none of it. Our stunt guys would go there and try things out and we did pretty much all the stuff. And it was tough. It was difficult, at times. But, look, I got to go out in the middle of the woods and fight with The Rock for two weeks and get paid to do it. That's pretty damn good! LS: Sign me up! Neal: Yeah, absolutely. LS: Just don't beat me up. LS: You talked about the characters you've played. In this one, you are the "bad guy". But, you've built quite a resume - the series, "Boomtown"; "Minority Report". So, what drew you to this film? Neal: I love the original "Walking Tall" and when I read the script, it was a villain that I really wanted to play. I'd never played someone like this before. "Boomtown" - he was a flawed character. "Minority Report", "Band of Brothers" and "Timeline" - those were great characters, but this was such a strong "bad guy" and I'd never done it before and I wanted to try it and I'm so glad that I did. I had a great time. LS: So, what about the future? Any more bad guys? Neal: Not so bad. Right now, I'm doing a new series for NBC. It's an untitled medical mystery/drama. Kind of like the character on "Boomtown" - he has his flaws. But, he's pretty much the hero of the show and figures out these mysteries and saves the world. LS: Are you going to throw anybody around? Neal: Actually, I did. I threw somebody around last night, when we were shooting. I'm always getting in fights. I can't help it. It's the Irish in me. LS: Neal, thanks so much for stopping by. |