Being the offspring of famous celebrities may be tough, but if you decide to pursue the same career, it’s a lot easier if some of the parents’ talent rubs off.
Take Colin Hanks (son of Oscar-winning superstar Tom Hanks) and Schuyler Fisk (daughter of Oscar-winning actress Sissy Spacek and director Jack Fisk), for example. They play high school sweethearts in Orange County, a new comedy about one Southern California high school senior and his relentless pursuit to get into Stanford University.
Directed by Jake Kasdan (son of director Lawrence Kasdan), the two burgeoning actors hold their own–and quite nicely, I might add–against a star-packed cast including Jack Black, Catherine O’Hara, Lily Tomlin, Harold Ramis and Kevin Kline.
Hanks and Fisk discuss what they loved about making the movie and how, they really want to make it on their own–even though they have famous movie-star parents
What drew you to Orange County?
Colin Hanks: It was just one of the best scripts I’d read in a long time. It was smart, funny and heartfelt and was everything that constitutes a good movie. I read through it fast and enjoyed it. The script was so well written, and I cared about every single character. I totally went along for the ride. It was very refreshing compared to other comedies involving high school students that I’ve seen and it made some social statements I thought needed to be said.
Such as?
Hanks: That no matter how much you try, you cannot get away from pop and teen culture. As much as it is about this kid who wants to get into Stanford, it’s also this kid’s journey and his first steps into adulthood that normally come after you’ve graduated. He realizes that everything he’s been trying to run away from is actually an important part of who he is and should be cherished and not pushed aside.
Schuyler Fisk: The script was so good, so funny. I really wanted to be a part of it. I loved the character of Ashley and identified with her. I think the heart of the film is the relationship between Shaun [Hanks’ character] and Ashley, and I loved that. It was so grounding.
What was your college acceptance experience like?
Hanks: I got rejected. A lot. I went to the two schools I got accepted to [Chapman University and Loyola Marymount, both in Southern California]. When I got the packet from Chapman, I didn’t know it was an acceptance letter. I just saw a lot of ads for AT&T phone cards, so I put it aside. Three weeks later, I got into Loyola and I was like, “All right! First school I got into!” Then my college counselor asked me if I’d heard from Chapman and I said yeah, they’d sent me a packet but it had only some phone card stuff in it. They said, are you sure that’s not the letter of acceptance? So I checked and sure enough, there was the letter. I had no idea.
Fisk: I’m applying to some schools now. Emerson, Brown, Yale…
Yale would be great for drama.
Fisk: I don’t know if I want to study drama. I sort of like Emerson because they have so many different and really interesting majors–communications and others. But I’m still looking. I haven’t had a lot of time to focus or visit schools, but I plan to.
How was it interacting with all the talented people on the set? Catherine O’Hara, Kevin Kline, John Lithgow, Harold Ramis, the cast list was endless on this film.
Fisk: I never felt like “Oh my God, it’s Harold Ramis.” He was very cool and so normal.
Hanks: Everyone was so laid back and just pleasant to work with. They were all so humble and just wanted to do a good job. It was nice that everyone was on the same page. That’s a testament to Mike [White, the screenwriter] and what a great script he wrote. So many people wanted to be in this movie, regardless of how big their role was. We were able to watch this varied group of actors that have spanned generations of comedy and drama and perform with them; it was better than any acting class.
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Fisk: They sort of taught me that there is no right way to act. Everyone was so different and so wonderful. It was a given that I respected them so much, but to get that respect in return was so cool.
Then there’s Jack Black. My God, he was funny in this. How many takes did you have to do before you stopped laughing?
Hanks: I keep apologizing to Jack to this day because I have a feeling that some of Jack’s best work in this movie–and he’s so great in the movie–was ruined by us because we couldn’t stop laughing.
Anything truly outrageous happen on the set?
Hanks: Try working on frat row at USC all night long. As the partying went on, it got progressively worse.
Fisk: They were throwing furniture out of the windows and yelling “Stanford sucks!” It was quite an experience.
Working with director Jake Kasdan, did you guys band together, coming from similar backgrounds?
Fisk: I think the thing we all had in common was we loved the script and really wanted to make a good movie.
And the fact that you are all the progeny of pretty famous parents never really came up?
Hanks & Fisk: [at the same time] We hardly ever talked about it.
Fisk: Except when we started doing the interviews and then we compared stories. I’d hear Colin talk about his dad or Jake and it was interesting.
It’s true. We want to know because you come from such great lineage, and it shows in your acting abilities. Colin, you channeled your dad just a couple of times in the movie, especially when you got upset.
Fisk: [laughing] Totally! When he starts yelling at his mom [played by Catherine O’Hara], it was uncanny.
Hanks: I guess I can’t help it. I’m not trying to, I swear…
Fisk: Oh, you are so trying to…
Hanks: You’re right, I am so trying to.
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If you hadn’t grown up around the business, do you think you’d have chosen acting?
Fisk: I think it was inevitable. I was always doing theater for as long as I can remember. I just love it. I feel comfortable around sets…it’s familiar to me. But I did have a really normal childhood.
Hanks: It’s just been something I’ve always really enjoyed doing. I did plays in grade school and everything but it wasn’t until college when I had to decide [in a booming voice] What I Wanted To Do With The Rest Of My Life. I wasn’t really good at anything else, acting was the only thing…
Fisk: That’s horrible to say, Colin. You know you’re good at other things.
Hanks: I mean, in terms of academics and what not. Acting is the only thing that comes naturally to me. Acting was the one thing I knew and I felt comfortable doing and was reasonably good at. Basically, it’s like playing with toys, playing make-believe when you were a little kid.
Would you guys ever like to work with your parents?
Fisk: We each have very different answers to that question. I would love to work with my mom. We are very close and have talked about it. We know we could do one movie together and that would be it. We have a natural chemistry together. She’s like “Schuyler, I want to push your buttons.”
She’s [Sissy Spacek’s] certainly being touted heavily for an Oscar nomination this year [for her performance in In the Bedroom].
Hanks: She’s the talk of the town.
Fisk: It’s funny, because she tells me about doing interviews and how she feels awkward about answering those questions. “I get all red and embarrassed and I don’t know what to say!”
And Colin, I take it you don’t want to work with your dad?
Hanks: If I did that, the suspension of disbelief would totally be thrown out the window, in my opinion. It would be the kind of thing where people would say “oh, they’re father and son in real life but are playing uncle and nephew or complete strangers.” I just think that would take people out of the movie. It’s not like I don’t think it would be fun. It would be a blast. It’s just not something I really want to do right now. Maybe farther down along the line.
Fisk: We definitely want to establish ourselves first.Then we can ask mom or dad to do a cameo in our movie.
Orange County opens Jan. 11.
