MOVING DAY directed by Mike Clattenburg, written by Clattenburg and Mike O’Neill, with Will Sasso, Gabriel Hogan and Victor Garber. 95 minutes. Opens Friday (July 20). For venues and times see Movies.
Given his mile-long resume, a six-year stint on the mega-hit TV series Alias and a significant role in one of the biggest movies of all time – that would be Titanic – you have to wonder what Victor Garber’s doing in Mike Clattenburg’s small Canuck indie Moving Day.
Turns out the London, Ontario-born actor has maintained his Canadian agent all his working life and wants to do even more pics here.
“I’ve been with my Canadian agent, Michael Oscars, since I started,” says Garber on the phone from New York City. “I specifically asked him to look for Canadian films. I like working up there – I was in Exotica, remember. And I just finished shooting Richie Mehta’s I’ll Follow You Down. When Canadians do something good, there’s always something special about it.”
In the case of Clattenburg’s script for Moving Day, Garber likes the fact that characters who seem unlikable start to grow on you as the film unfolds.
“That’s why I said yes to it. There are twists and surprises, and I didn’t see them coming.”
On why he likes the script:
Another thing he didn’t see coming was the expectation that he’d be doing improv when he got on set. Though he began his career in theatre and never stays away from the stage for long (he performed last year off-Broadway in Present Laughter), Garber hadn’t had much experience going off-script.
“I’m not used to it. Normally, you follow the script, but this was more freewheeling.”
On Mike Clattenburg’s directing style:
He got his first taste of improv action last year when he joined the cast for several episodes of Web Therapy, Lisa Kudrow’s Showtime TV comedy series in which she plays a therapist who counsels via webcam.
“[Until then] I was the actor who learned the lines, showed up and did them as written,” he says. “Web Therapy was the first time I ventured forth into the improv world. Lisa’s beyond smart. I’m in awe of her.”
Garber’s career is divided almost equally between television, theatre and movies. But there’s no question his heart still belongs to the stage.
“When I get up there and it’s all working, there’s no experience that compares,” says Garber. “You can’t go back and start again. You have to be in great form all the time, but the payoff is so much greater.
“The audience participation is everything. They’re a part of the play. People often ask me if I get bored performing the same thing every night. Well, no. Every night is different because every audience is different.”
He works almost constantly, whatever the medium.
On why he moved from stage to TV:
“I’ve been very fortunate that I haven’t been typed as a particular kind of actor, and it helps that I’m always intrigued by doing something different.”
Pretty decent, considering that he got his start in the star-studded, legendary stage production (and subsequent film) as the lead in Godspell.
“Yeah,” he laughs. “I started out as Jesus Christ, and I was kind of worried that there was nowhere to go from there.”
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