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Larry Miller
- Wesleyan University Press
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215 i Larry Miller Larry Miller has mastered the art of portraying annoying and obnoxious characters. In his first film, Pretty Woman (1990), he was cast as a salesman in a women’s boutique. Ad-libbing his lines while sucking up to Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, Miller stole the scene and has been making us laugh ever since with such characters as Dean Phillip Elias in Necessary Roughness (1991), Dean Richmond in The Nutty Professor (1996, 2000), and Paolo the hairdresser in The Princess Diaries (2001). But it’s his witty and insightful stand-up comedy routines on the essential relationships and foibles of life that have most endeared him to audiences. During a lunch break between our interview and photo session, Larry accidentally stained his shirt with a splash of salad dressing. Contemplating the sizable oil stain, he commented, ‘‘Hmm, this is a nice look, isn’t it?’’ Typical Miller. ‘‘Larry, how did you break into the business?’’ ‘‘I started out as a musician playing piano and drums in the New York clubs. One night, I decided to try joke telling and got a lot of laughs. I’m thinking, This is something I can do! The strategy for success back then was to put in around four years in the clubs and develop something to showcase before moving to Los Angeles, the happening place for comedians . I arrived in LA in 1981 and fell into the usual pattern: sleep on a friend’s floor or couch until you could rent your own place and buy a used car. I slept on Jerry Seinfeld’s sofa for about six weeks before moving into a one-bedroom apartment right behind Canter’s Deli on Fairfax Avenue. It was a nice, safe neighborhood—quiet, lots of old folks. The only occasional noise you’d hear was someone yelling, ‘Don’t burn the cabbage.’ ’’ ‘‘You were also trying to become an actor?’’ ‘‘Yes. I went to lots of auditions and eventually landed roles in a number of plays. I was also writing my own material. I loved holding all three chariot reins: acting, comedy, and writing. And even today, I can’t imagine living any other way.’’ ‘‘You’ve been labeled a comic actor. How is that di√erent from being a dramatic actor?’’ 216 The Actor Within ‘‘The comic actor feels funny, not just because of the lines he speaks or because he’s doing a ‘‘comedy’’ but because he’s the kind of person who is always smiling innately. To me, that guy who is always on, always smiling, knows deep within that life is essentially comical. You install a doorbell, push the button, and you end up giving yourself an electrical shock. When something stupid or lousy happens in your life, you have a choice as to how you’re going to react to it. You can get angry, stomp your feet, yell at the dog, or you can laugh about it, if it’s in your nature to do so—as it is in mine. When I do something knuckle brained, I think to myself, OK, potato head, you’ve done it again. The key is being able to see the comedy in everything you do.’’ ‘‘Is that enough to make it as a stand-up comic?’’ ‘‘The first time an audience didn’t laugh made me realize, Oh, there is a craft to this. If you want to be Mr. Universe, you have to start doing pushups. If you want to be a good comedian, you have to get good at speaking to people truthfully and sincerely. In stand-up, the audience knows the second that you walk out on the stage, the second you look at them, whether you’re lying or not. They know everything. If you say, ‘Hey, folks, it’s good to see you,’ and you don’t really mean it, they’ll sense it— maybe not consciously, but they know.’’ ‘‘How do you come up with your material?’’ ‘‘I look at the serious themes in life, like marriage. I’m sitting across from my wife at the breakfast table as she’s slurping the milk from her cereal, and I’m thinking, who is this person? How did I get hooked up with her? Any topic can be comedic. Most people think incorrectly that comedy is somehow frivolous or lighter than drama or a break from the depth of real storytelling. Comedy, if it’s good, has an even deeper wisdom...