Borealis star Kevin Pollak offers a kinder, gentler kneecapping
Tubby Finkleman, as portrayed by actor Kevin Pollak in director Sean Garrity’s Borealis, is not your average loan shark. Sure, he lives off the avails of usury, and he’s not averse to the odd kneecapping or two—but when it comes to small-time hoods, the asthmatic Tubby is a layered and credible step up from the usual cinema heavies.
In advance of a special screening of Borealis—as well as a Skype Q&A—at the Rio Theatre this Sunday (May 29), the Straight caught up with Pollak to discuss both the movie and his long and varied career.
“I’ve only had a few opportunities to give dramatic depth to a sociopath on film,” he says, on the line from his home in Los Angeles, “but in Tubby’s defense, he has a good heart.”
At its core, the Manitoba-shot Borealis is a film about time. The luckless Jonah Finn (Jonas Chernick, who also wrote) finds the clock ticking when he can’t make the vig—let alone the principle—on a gambling debt; Aurora (Joey King), his daughter, is quickly going blind from retinitis pigmentosa; and Tubby just wants his money before his boss finds out he’s bankrolling bad bets. When Jonah decides to take Aurora on the lam—both to escape Tubby’s wrath and to show her the Northern Lights before her vision fails completely—all three characters are set on a collision course.
Despite some heavy topics, it’s a sweetly thoughtful, funny, and even hopeful film with convincing dialogue and moving performances. And while Borealis shares some elemental DNA with medically-themed CanCon road movies like One Week and Cas & Dylan, the team of Chernick and Garrity (Lucid and My Awkward Sexual Adventure) elevates the category with a gentle examination of loss, family dysfunction, and redemption.
“I knew the writer and the director very well, having worked with them before,” Pollak says, noting their intelligence, openness, and cinematic vision. “The script was great, and I felt strongly that they could make a wonderful movie out of it.”
“I enjoy improvising,” he continues, “and I find it incredibly helpful to the process of collaboration. It was welcomed and encouraged and that made for a more rich experience.”
A true renaissance man, Pollak has worn many hats—including actor (Avalon, The Usual Suspects, Casino), comedian (numerous live appearances and TV specials), author (How I Slept My Way to the Middle), director (Late Bloomer), documentarian (Misery Loves Comedy), master poker player (he competed in the 2012 World Series of Poker), and celebrity interviewer (The Kevin Pollak Chat Show).
It all began, however, with stand-up.
“I started performing in front of family at 10, and by the time I was 11 I was performing in front of strangers. I started playing clubs young, at 17 or 18.” Pollak says. “To this day, no matter how many movies I do, there’ll be no greater high than being on stage and taking an audience for a ride of my choosing.”
Not surprisingly, it was his skill as a comedian—and an uncanny knack for impressions—that led to Pollak’s first film work, as the voice of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower in The Right Stuff (1983). When he’s reminded of the role, Pollak lets loose with a big laugh.
“I was doing stand-up in San Francisco at the time, where Philip Kaufman, the director, was based. The word came out that they needed someone to do Eisenhower’s voice, because the actor looked exactly like him but sounded like Mickey Mouse. Now, I was at an age where I didn’t have any idea what Eisenhower sounded like, but I felt that if I could bend my Clark Gable a little bit, then I was close enough…”
Pollak then belts out his signature line from the film: “THE FIRST AMERICAN IN SPACE IS NOT GOING TO BE A CHIMPANZEE!” After another laugh, he pauses, then continues cheerily. “Fantastic. I love that movie so much—so much humor.”
When it’s theorized that Pollak may be the hardest-working man in show business (60-plus movies and countless TV appearances, not to mention the ongoing stand-up work and webcasts), the actor is pragmatic.
“It’s the only sort of work ethic I know, and I spend a lot of time thinking I could be doing more,” he says. “I just found early on that if you don’t diversify you’re going to get left behind.”
“If you’re not creating you’re waiting—I’d rather be present and proactive than hoping the phone will ring.”
Kevin Pollak and co-star Joey King take part in a live Skype Q&A this Sunday (May) following a presentation of Borealis at the Rio Theatre.
Comments