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Thomas Haden Church: the 43-year-old Oscar-nominated actor on the role of his lifetime, working with Brando, and the Hill Country ranch he calls home.

Article Excerpt
When you were making Sideways, did you at any point think to yourself, "This is a film that's going to change my career, get me an Oscar nomination, propel me"? The answer is no. I did believe that the movie would garner some attention because of [director and co-screenwriter] Alexander Payne's pedigree. He did Citizen Ruth, which won a bunch of awards, and then Election, which is kind of a legendary American film, and then About Schmidt. For Election, he and [co-screenwriter] Jim [Taylor] were nominated for an Oscar for best [adapted] screenplay, and they won the [Golden] Globe, and Kathy Bates and Jack Nicholson were nominated for Oscars as well as Globes for About Schmidt. And I knew the script was good, so I thought he was definitely handing me a gift, an opportunity.

You see scripts all the time, so at this point you're able to distinguish a good one from a bad one. You could tell it was that good? I just knew, because those guys are damn good at what they do. Though flit was written by anyone else, it still would have been a great script. If it's a beautiful coat, it doesn't matter who made it.

The part [of Jack] was also pretty great. When I read it, I thought, "This is the role." Jack is the party guy; he's an injection of energy every single time you see him. [Co-star Paul Giamatti's character] Miles is so morose and so beaten down and so convinced of his own worthlessness that he doesn't even need the gallows man. He's ready to step through the trapdoor himself.

Did you see yourself in the part? How much is Jack like you? I actually saw myself in both roles. I told Alexander that I was kind of adrift when I read the script because I could identify with both guys. I think that was one of the smarter things I said to him, because he always wanted them to be two parts of a whole man.

You've obviously thought about the movie a lot. If I were asking you questions about another of your movies, George of the Jungle, would you be as articulate and passionate about it? Passionate, yes. Articulate, no. It's not that kind of movie. You can be passionate about entertaining children, but articulating the finer elements of characters--kids aren't interested in that.

Is Sideways the first of your movies that made you feel this way? I did a movie that came out about six or seven years ago called Free Money. The three leads were Charlie Sheen, myself, and I Marlon Brando, and I really thought it was going to be extraordinary. But it just came out smaller than it should have...

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