Movie stars simply don’t come any more iconic than Paul Newman. The acting legend, racing champ and dedicated humanitarian recently pulled back the curtain on his life for Hollywood.com and offered a glimpse at the incredibly grounded guy underneath.
On his new film Cars:
Hollywood.com: What was the first car you ever owned?
Paul Newman: A 1937 Packard. It got me from Wisconsin to New York without stopping, so that’s pretty good.
HW: As a method actor, how did you prepare to play a car?
PN: Well, the nice thing about animation is you don’t even really have to account for yourself. All of the physical stuff that you work on as an actor you just throw away. So this was, I would say, relatively easy.
HW: What were the difficulties of doing the voice work for an animated film?
PN: I found it very vivid and invigorating, because you can have a line and you can say that it’s wrong and you can just jump on it and do it 60 different ways very back-to-back. This way is wonderful, because you can just keep improvising and improving on it or making it completely different or changing words. You just have a lot more freedom.
HW: Did you get to work directly with Owen Wilson on the film, or were you always recording alone in different studios?
PN: We worked together. Actually, I think I did four or five sessions with the microphone, and Owen was in one of those, so we worked together for a half a day. Very spontaneous. He was inventive.
HW: And what do you think of the acting prowess of Larry the Cable Guy?
PN: I’m watching him very carefully, to see if I can learn anything.
HW: Had you seen the previous Pixar movies before you’d got the offer to star in Cars?
PN: Yes, I’ve seen the Pixar films, and this one especially I think has got an extraordinary… I think the challenge of the crowd scenes was particularly well-realized. If you look at the depth of focus of some of these animated shots, it’s quite extraordinary. How would you like to sit down and be responsible for the grandstands with 2,000 cars sitting there? And make each one of them somehow different. They’ve done an extraordinary job, technically.
HW: What do you most appreciate about working with Pixar and director John Lasseter?
PN: They have an extraordinary sense of detail, both in the creative and the technical. And they don’t get rushed, which I think is critical. They have the luxury of control and they have the luxury of time. And that gives us a terrific effect. Let alone the gifts that they have.
HW: Was this love at first sight between you and this film, given its combination of acting and racing?
PN: Well, I did it mostly because I knew it would be good. Because Lasseter was directing and Pixar [was behind it]. That would be the first reason. That it was about racing was just a bonus.
HW: The racing scenes in the film are especially vivid. Are watching the scenes as close as an audience can come to being on the track themselves?
PN: Watching something is nothing like doing it.
HW: Some much of the film is centered around the legendary Route 66. Do you have any special memories of the historic highway?
PN: Joanne and I drove across country and I think we were on there for a little while. God, that was 140 years ago. Actually, we started up north and we drove to Las Vegas. And it said “All you can eat for a buck and a quarter,” I think. And we went into these casinos and the spreads were extraordinary. I mean, fresh shrimp—I’m talking 1951—fresh shrimp and lobster, tables laid out like you’ve never seen before. And we had a lovely meal, and Joanne put $160 bucks in a slot machine and I lost about $400 playing blackjack. So the meal was not really $1.25.
On life on the racing circuit:
HW: What do acting and racing have in common?
PN: I would say that if there are any similarities at all, it’s that the ability not to lose concentration, you always keep concentration. After that, it’s all disconnected.
HW: Is that why you’re so drawn to racing? Because it’s so different from your “day job”?
PN: Well, I’m a very competitive person. I always have been. And it’s hard to be competitive about something as amorphous as acting. But you can be competitive on the track, because the rules are very simple and the declaration of the winner is very concise.
HW: Had you not made the racing film Winning in 1969, would you have still discovered this passion for fast cars eventually?
PN: I don’t think so, no. It was just good fortune that we started that project when we did. And I took to it very slowly. I just kind of went belly-up. But it happened at exactly the right time.
HW: What is the greatest psychological obstacle to winning a race?
PN: I think there are a lot. It really depends on the specific driver. The first thing is, you’ve got to have the right kind of equipment. There are a lot of drivers who can carry a car. It doesn’t happen very often very successfully. I think it takes a certain amount of sensible bravery. It’s no good to be brave and just keep crashing. And [it takes] luck. A lot with track position, equipment and just a lot of elements that go into it. Psychologically, I think the biggest problem is if ssomething happens to the driver or to the car that is unfortunate, that may or may not be his fault. And he gets so pissed that he can’t drive. And I’ve really seen that happen. A guy gets passed and all of a sudden he’s two seconds off the pace. And somehow it’s always the other guy’s fault. But the state of racing and the quality of drivers now, I don’t think drivers run into much psychological conflict to keep them from winning. I think they’re all good, but sometimes they just make bad choices.
HW: Who are some of the figures in the sport you really admire now?
PN: The list would really be too long. There’s no sense. Sebastian Bourdais drives for my team and certainly is a spectacular driver. Nigel Mansell drove for us. Mario [Andretti] drove for us. Michael Andretti drove for us. Elliott Forbes-Robinson we just got under contract… I’ve had the good fortune to have a whole list of extraordinary drivers.
HW: Who gave you the greatest tip you ever got about racing, and what was it?
PN: Anybody who says, “Go fast.” Every driver hears that from every crew chief and every owner and every sponsor: “Go fast.”
HW: What made you decide to finally quit racing? And do you still dream about racing?
PN: I still get a kick out of getting in a car. We tested the Corvette yesterday, as a matter of fact, at Limerock. And I will, with the blessing of my patient wife, continue until I embarrass myself.
[PAGEBREAK]On his half century-plus career as an actor:
HW: Was acting a dream of yours as far back as your childhood?
PN: There was a children’s theater at the Cleveland Playhouse and I was involved in that, but I had no expectations of being an actor when I was young. I had no expectations of being an actor after the War. I was an economics major and I got kicked off the football team–under murky circumstances–and I was not much of a student, and I had this laundry business that made me very wealthy and I just started going back and doing plays, and that occupied my time in my junior and senior year.
HW: What was the flashpoint for your early success?
PN: After I graduated, I went to Yale and it was my intention to get a Master’s degree and teach. After my first year, I went back to New York just to see if I could find a summer job, and I landed a play, “Picnic,” that ran for 14 months and won the Pulitzer Prize
HW: Did working in live television help you make the transition from stage to screen?
PN: Live television in those days was really exciting, because you didn’t have a hell of a lot of time to work on things and if there was a mistake made, it was not retrievable by having another take. So I think working under that kind of pressure was a good experience for any actor. And so funny things happened, too. I remember Walter Cronkite in a thing called You Are There and Joan of Arc was being burned at the stake. The fire began to crackle and then they cut away to Walter Cronkite in the 20th Century sitting and saying, “And you are there.” And little by little, the smoke from the set came through into the broadcast room, and there was Walter.
HW: Is there a connection between enjoying making a movie and enjoying watching it?
PN: Well, there are so many ingredients that go into the making of a film. That’s one of the reasons why I like racing. It’s a very simple sense of winning. It’s down to a thousandth of a second now, and electronically and that’s a very uncomplicated conclusion. There’s so many things that go into making a film: the director, the actors that you’re working with, the time that you have to rehearse, whether you catch up with a character in time. There are so many different ingredients that go into making a performance. It’s pretty hard to tell which performer performed the best. Somebody may have started out with a piece of junk and brought it up past mediocrity until it was pretty damn good. And another guy starts off with a beautiful script and deliciously defined character and marvelous director, comfortable schedule and he’s got everything going for him. I would give the credit to the guy in front of him.
HW: Which of your film characters is the most like the real Paul Newman?
PN: Well, the ‘51 Hornet’s pretty close. Joanne says Mr. Bridge. I deny that. There’s always little parts of you that you drop on the floor, but I wouldn’t say that any one character came close.
HW: Is Cars going to be your last film?
PN: Well, I don’t seem to be living up to my timetable. I may have one more movie in me. I’m not sure what it’s going to be now. [Robert] Redford and I are working on something, but it’s not by any means a slam-dunk. We’re working on the script right now.
HW: With all of your experience in entertainment, what advice would you offer to Hollywood today about making better movies?
PN: I haven’t the slightest idea. You have to have enough of an audience who are curious about social issues, personality issues, political issues, and if you don’t have a wide enough audience for it, then you’re not likely to be able to get the financing for it. I think Hollywood is in love with sequels. If it’s successful once, just jazz it up and shoot it out there again. I think it’s unfortunate.
On life and how to live it:
HW: So many of your fans imagine you as the perfect man. What’s your greatest flaw?
PN: Ask my wife.
HW: What do you think she’d say?
PN: Don’t look under the carpet, guys. There’s a lot of murky stuff going on in there.
HW: Along with all your other accomplishments, you were also on President Nixon’s enemy list.
PN: Highest single honor I’ve ever received.
HW: And your Newman’s Own brand of foods is having another spectacular year?
PN: They might outgross this film. Although not likely.
HW: You’ve been a vital benefactor to the Hole In the Wall Gang camps, where kids with life-threatening illnesses can go and just be regular kids. Can you talk about its importance to you?
PN: Well, I’ve always said that luck is the key factor in any of our lives. It goes in our make-up, in where you were fortunate enough or unfortunate enough to be born. And I was just acknowledging how lucky I was, and how unlucky [some] children are, especially if they get [sick]. It’s doubly brutal on a child, because a) he doesn’t understand and b) he gets exempted and left out by his schoolmates, for the most part. And if there were just some place for them to lay back and raise a little hell and not be so different, it might give them some respite. We had no idea what a life-changing experience that would be for these kids, eight or 10 days. The parents would come and say “This is not the same child that I sent there.” It’s astonishing. And they’re sprouting like mushrooms now. I just came back from Hungary. There’s a youth camp that was built by the Communists, so it doesn’t have a lot of color or personality to it, but speaking to the woman who takes care of it, the kids are exactly the same. We went to Milan, there’s a camp starting in Italy, and that will be ready in about a year, I think. We took care of 11,000 children last year.
HW: Any advice on how to get to age 81?
PN: Just have as much luck as I’ve had.
HW: Do you have any particular motto or philosophies that you’ve lived your life by?
PN: It is useless to put on the brakes when you’re upside down.
