RANDY RYAN

by Tommy Beardmore

Tennessee native Randy Ryan speaks about director Michael Mann, respect to veterans and almost killing Christian Bale on Universal’s summer sell-out Public Enemies, opening July 1^st.

Randy Ryan and I meet in a hotel’s cafe veranda in downtown Indianapolis where his most recent film, Adrenaline Motion Picture’s Amanda wraps production the following day. “The sandwiches are great here.” He squints his eyes in the sunshine, “…think I’ll try the Hot Head today.” This isn’t his first stay in Indiana. The L.A based actor spent 4 months in the Midwest this time last year filming Michael Mann’s Public Enemies. “I was in my Jeep halfway to California when I got the call for the audition. I pulled over, flew to New York, auditioned, and jumped right back on the plane to where I parked and continued on my way” he says with a light chuckle. The part he tried out for, a criminal named Charles Makley, was no different than most of his roles. “I think I’m perfect to play criminals. They’re flawed characters who don’t fit in.” It turns out, director Michael Mann thought the same thing except couldn’t help but keep him in mind to be a good guy. “He had a big bulletin board. At the top, it said ‘Good Guys’ and ‘Bad Guys’. Every day, he’d take down actors’ photos and put new ones up. They said mine never came down, it just kept going from good guy to bad guy.” He laughs, “That made me feel good.”

MMM: You’ve done some award winning work in the past but this is your first major motion picture. What was it like when you got the call?

RR: Well I was very excited. We were definitely taken care of but were put to work fast. They took us to Crown Point, Indiana to get our hair cut in the 30’s style and for costume fittings which was extensive. The costume designer was Colleen Atwood who is the best in Hollywood. Then we got dressed up with our hair Vaselined back and in wardrobe. I was there with Christain Bale and some others and was told to wait by Michael Mann’s bus. They told us “he’s doing a scene with Johnny Depp but when he finishes, he’s going to go take a piss. When he does, he’s going to check you out. If he doesn’t like you, you’re gone.” Finally Michael came. He looked everyone up and down, fixed the ties a bit, looked at our hair, and he just walked on. We later found out there were people who didn’t make the cut.

MMM: Not only did you make the cut but were given the part of Julius Rice, Christian Bale’s right hand man. What did you do to prepare for your role?

RR: I studied the script extensively. It’s based on a book written by Bryan Burrough. I read the book and was fluent with what was going on. This was an important time. I knew I had to play the truth of the character, and know where he was coming from.

MMM: And how was it playing alongside Christian?

RR: He’s a great man. Very serious, soft spoken and quiet. My second day, we went back to Chicago. We had to do my biggest scene with Christian. So we were working together before we could really even get to know each other. He was playing my mentor and the first scene is an exchange in the middle of the street where I have trouble with some criminals and I end up letting his character down. It was quite difficult as an actor to do that without at least introducing yourself to such a well respected artist.  We ended up spending a lot of time together through production. I’d ride with Christian to the set and we’d talk about acting and southern life and he found out I was a veteran.

MMM: That’s right, you spent some time in the Army. Did that help you in past roles such as the one in The Forgotten where you played an American Corporal in the Korean War?

RR: My service in the military helped tremendously in The Forgotten. We had scenes where we had to clean and take apart weapons and no one knew how to do it. But as far as being a veteran assisting me in getting a part? No.  I don’t think people really care about veterans. I just think people who serve in general should be more respected.

MMM: You were fortunate enough to work with legendary director Michael Mann. I know he can be a “hands-off” director at times. Some actors like that but others need a director’s constant input.

RR: I loved that about Michael. I won’t struggle with a scene. I’ll just have twenty options and if a director doesn’t like the option, he can tell me. Michael never once needed something from me. In that first scene, they had a timing thing, Christian runs out of the building and I pull right in front of him. We never blocked the scene so the first take, I literally almost ran him over!  After a few takes, Michael came up to me and asked me how I was doing. He said “I need you to feel really bad in this scene. You’re letting Christian’s character down. I need you to feel like you probably did in the first take when you almost killed Christian Bale.” He laughed and the next take, boom! We got it!

MMM: Public Enemies opens July 1^st. Tell our readers what to expect.

RR: People loved John Dillinger, he was a folk hero. Audiences obviously love Johnny Depp and he has a tremendous sense of humor so there’ll be comedy, tragic romance, certainly a lot of action. We did one of the greatest shootouts of all films and the car chases are amazing. So much detail went into production, I hope you enjoy it!

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