Living in the limelight

Kelsey Grammer talks about the message of his new film, 15 Minutes, the loss of privacy that comes with fame and what it’s been like to portray Frasier Crane on TV for 17 years.

By: Kam Williams

Kelsey Grammer stars as a tabloid journalist with questionable fact-gathering methods in 15 Minutes.

   Born on the island of St. Thomas in 1955, Kelsey Grammer was raised by his mother in New Jersey following his father’s murder in the Virgin Islands.
   Misfortune has continued to haunt his family. His brother was eaten alive by a shark and his sister was raped and murdered outside a Red Lobster restaurant.

   After studying at the prestigious Juilliard School, the 6-foot-2-inch stentorian dedicated himself to Shakespearean acting, eventually mastering Macbeth and Othello on Broadway. Grammer joined the cast of TV’s Cheers as Frasier Crane in 1984. He’s had an enduring career playing the self-important psychiatrist on the spinoff, Frasier. The impressive showman is the only person to win Emmy Awards on three different shows (Cheers, Frasier and Wings) for playing the same character.
   In film, Kelsey has lent his distinctive voice to such animated features as Toy Story 2, Anastasia, Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas and Runaway Brain, as well as the homicidal Sideshow Bob on The Simpsons.
   But after his inspired portrayal of an unscrupulous, ratings-driven TV reporter in 15 Minutes, expect to see much more of Mr. Grammer on the big screen.
Time Off Did you have a sense about 15 Minutes as you made it?
Kelsey Grammer In terms of the shooting process, you start to develop a third eye that tells you, "This is working, this is pretty good." But there are so many other elements after that moment that come into play: editing, post-production, and all that can change what you thought was a good performance into something quite unrecognizable. In this case, however, I’m actually pleased.
TO You’ve had your share of lurid headlines over the years. Was this film a chance to get even with journalists?
KG I didn’t set out to attempt to characterize the entire media as something less than human. But the media has responded in a way that’s a little surprising. It’s possible, as Shakespeare taught us in Macbeth actually that, "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely." I think the media may have a little too much power at times. I think my character certainly had too much power. And he took his mandate from the people, basically, as license to create a story, even if there was none there. That’s where he goes wrong and his boundaries break down.
TO So, you didn’t have revenge in mind in taking this role?
KG There was absolutely no revenge, though I am not above recognizing a little poetic justice, perhaps. Yet, I would also defend Robert Hawkins’ [his character] actions to the end, based upon his belief system that he has an obligation to tell the story, to impart to the public how important this event has been. It’s all the journalistic banners that are waved about the dignity of the profession. And he would defend himself based upon those precepts.
TO Are we at a point, then, that we no longer have standards of decency?
KG Decency? I think we’re well past that. I believe the jury has been out on that for a long time.
TO Who was your character in this film based on?
KG I didn’t try to do any kind of deliberate or active homage to a tabloid show. I really drew on an amorphous, general impression of everyone in the position of anchorman, from the most respected to the least.
TO The title of the film, 15 Minutes, comes from Andy Warhol’s dictum about fame. How do you feel about being famous?
KG To me, the idea of life in the public eye, is kind of surreal. "Fame," the word itself, fails to conjure up the actual image. It just doesn’t. What actually happens when you achieve fame doesn’t relate. "Fame" seems like a good word, but it is actually a four-letter word.
TO Was it rewarding working with Robert DeNiro?
KG Yeah, because I respect his work, but still not as rewarding as when a stranger comes up to me and says, "Mr. Grammer, I was in the hospital for six months, and the only thing that gave me any hope was watching your show." Moments like that are pretty incredible. Nevertheless, I always say "Wow!" when I have a chance to work with a good actor. Oddly enough, there aren’t that many of them. Acting is still an art form even though we don’t think so. And being on television does not mean you’re an actor. There are plenty of people who prove that everyday.
TO Hasn’t becoming a celebrity impacted your ability to act because you can no longer walk the streets and observe human nature?
KG Well, it does impact my ability to move freely through America. In Europe, it’s not so bad.
TO Do you resent being fair game once you’re famous?
KG I don’t object to the profile. The only loss that is clearly an unfortunate loss is the loss of privacy. But I don’t know how to get out of it. The right to privacy, once you’re in the public eye, is that you don’t have it anymore. And, unfortunately, your rights as an individual do not outweigh the abuses that are conducted under the guise of defending the First Amendment.
TO I suppose that’s the price you pay to become a Hollywood star.
KG Yes, but it does take a real toll, mostly on the people you care about, rather than yourself. I’m willing to accept it for me. I am. My wife [Camille], for instance, who was abused pretty savagely in the first couple of months in our relationship, there were things said about her which were clearly lies. We discussed it with lawyers, who said, "What are your damages?" Well, I don’t know. Her damages were the fact that she couldn’t sleep for a month. That she would collapse in tears sometimes after hearing a stranger repeat a lie that was told about you in the press. But apparently, when there are no clear damages, you have no recourse. That, to me, is criminal.
TO What do you do, then, to give your life some normalcy?
KG You cling to your relationships. You cling to them in as responsible a way as you possibly can. I nurture my life at home and make that where I find comfort, solace, community. I don’t go out a lot. Even when I supposedly was a big partier, I didn’t actually go out much. It was nice to sound like I did. But I didn’t.
TO What do you think of reality TV shows like Survivor, Big Brother, The Mole and Temptation Island?
KG I don’t watch them, so I can’t give you an informed opinion. But I do have an opinion based on the fact that real people are not as interesting to me as actors. I prefer to enjoy art as opposed to mere behavior. If I want to see behavior, I could watch somebody’s home movie. Now, how boring is that? I understand that reality TV is set up as game shows, and there’s some secret glee we all have in watching people turn on one another and getting voted off. If that’s something to glorify, I’m not interested.
TO How far do you think reality TV will go?
KG You can go a lot further, I think. In terms of Temptation Island, if what someone really wants is soft-core porn, why don’t they just rent it?
TO What’s your idea of romantic?
KG It’s not wrapped up in the exuberance of lust or obsession. It’s gentler than that. I still have great moments of passion and desire, but that’s only a part of a deeper sense of romance which comes from a lifetime of caring for another person. My vision of romance has been tempered by age. Love for me is to be cared for by my wife as I care for her.
TO You’ve done Frasier on TV for 17 years now. Are you ready to make a shift into movies now?
KG I’ve been offered movie roles, through the years, several characters which were basically Frasier, asking me to do the same thing, only giving him a different name. I’ve never been that desperate for a film career. The reason I took this role is because it was a departure.
TO So, we should expect to see more of you on the big screen?
KG No, I’m directing more episodes of Frasier in preparation for the time when it goes off the air. I figure my future will be more directorial, because I think I’ve achieved something in front of the camera that I’ll never achieve again. So, why bother?
TO What is it like being Frasier?
KG It’s a presumptive joy. He’s the most fascinating, wonderful, non-person I know. He’s a projection of my own image, I suppose, but also of a responsible approach to making him human, which is to make him universal in the best way I can. I think that’s why he’s still around.
TO Plato warned against enjoying plays too much and squandering our empathy on people who don’t exist. Do you think this film is echoing that message?
KG I suppose. Theater was a part of Greek religion and designed to reawaken what is universal between us. Theater is meant to help people get in touch with our humanity, rather than to alienate us from it or to defuse it. If this film is truly successful, it may help people at least buy into the hype a little less. But I certainly don’t expect the media to announce, "You’re right! We had better clean our own house before it gets too out of hand." I don’t think that’s going to happen.
TO What’s the film’s message?
KG I think there’s a message, but it’s more of a question than a message, and it’s up to you to let it resonate how it will.