Alan Arkin & John Goodman Interview For Ben Affleck’s ‘Argo’

Based on true events, Ben Affleck’s dramatic thriller ‘Argo’ chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis – the truth of which was unknown by the public for decades. On November 4, 1979, as the Iranian revolution reaches its boiling point, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. But, in the midst of the chaos, six Americans manage to slip away and find refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador. Knowing it is only a matter of time before the six are found out and likely killed, a CIA “exfiltration” specialist named Tony Mendez (Affleck) comes up with a risky plan to get them safely out of the country. Affleck directs the film and stars in it alongside Alan Arkin, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Kerry Bishé, Kyle Chandler, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Victor Garber, Zeljko Ivanek, Richard Kind, Scoot McNairy, Chris Messina, Michael Parks and Taylor Schilling. ‘Argo’ is set for release on October 12th in US and November 7th in the UK.

How did you find it working with Ben Affleck on ‘Argo’, with him doing the double-duty of starring in and directing the film?

Alan Arkin: I’d seen his first two films a couple of times and I was enormously impressed with them, they didn’t look like first films from anybody, they looked like the work of an old, seasoned professional. So I had a really good feeling about working with Ben. And Ben, he’s a really good, meticulous director. I think he’s going to be one of the very best directors around….I think he is already one of the best directors around! Ben is going to do some major work.

John Goodman: The one thing he was, was prepared – and smartly so. He really trusts people and he delegates his authority in such a way that he doesn’t have to worry about little things because it has been taken care of already. Everything was so richly detailed on ‘Argo.’ That makes our jobs as actors so much easier. Ben Affleck, he’s a terrific actor and he already has a great track record as a director. It was interesting to watch him go back and forth between the two. He knew exactly what he wanted, but he was flexible and a very generous collaborator, too. He came up with ideas for my character I didn’t think of. It was wonderful working with him.

What was it like playing the renowned makeup artist John Chambers? He was awarded an Honorary Oscar for his masks on the original ‘Planet of the Apes,’ and secretly he had been applying his skills to the more serious pursuits of the government’s Intelligence operations….

John Goodman: Yeah. It was very interesting. John Chambers, he loves his craft and is also keen on using it to help the CIA; he enjoys serving his country in that way. So when Ben Affleck’s Tony Mendez comes to him and says he needs help putting a movie together, Chambers is intrigued. I was very attracted to the whole double life aspect of the character, but, first and foremost, it’s just a plain great, gripping story. I really wanted to be a part of the story.

Playing this real life character in ‘Argo,’ did you approach him morso from research you found on him or from what was in the script?

John Goodman: I kind of did both. I think I learned enough, just little details that could fill things out a little bit. But I mainly didn’t want to do anything to dishonour his memory (laughs), because he’s an important figure in makeup – he won the first Oscar given to makeup. He did a lot of important work and he taught a lot of people. The way he served his country was what he knew best, and I didn’t want to portray anything that would screw that up. It was a bit of both.

How was it for you playing this animated movie producer, a character who‘s an amalgamation of many producers in Hollywood?

Alan Arkin: It was fun. Lester is a tough, smart film producer who knows the business inside and out. He’s sceptical at first about the possibility of this plan working at all, but as he gets more involved, the challenge of it energizes him – the fact that it did seem impossible. To me, one of the most potent aspects of the film ‘Argo’ is that they were confronted with an untenable situation and found a creative solution that did not involve any violence whatsoever.

Although Lester says that if he’s going to produce a fake movie “it’s going to be a fake hit,” it‘s not the best movie….

Alan Arkin: They’re making the cheesiest conceivable film; it’s just dreadful (laughs). The only reason they chose it was because it can be used as a blind to get into Iran, not because it has any merit whatsoever as a film (laughs). There is a quote from Mark Twain that I love that goes, “The only difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to be credible.” So they go to great pains to make it look like a genuine production. They have trade ads, casting calls, a script reading for the press, costumes…. It’s imperative, because any mistake could have resulted in them being found out.