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Q & A with Steven Weber Steven Weber, best known for playing quick-witted pilot Brian Hackett in the hit comedy, "Wings," jokes that "the fun of acting is variety, and playing as many different roles as possible. It just so happens that I'm usually playing a womanizing jerk, or a dark, seedy murderer. I don't know why – I'm neither of those!" Here, during a break on the set of "Stephen King's The Shining," he talks about what it was like playing the dark role of Jack Torrance, a recovering alcoholic who slowly descends into madness. Q – Tell us a little about Jack Torrance, the character you play . . . A – Jack Torrance is a nice guy. Like so many other people he had a tough upbringing, and a very domineering and violent father. He grew up . . . and many of those problems have now blossomed. He's an alcoholic searching for sobriety. This is what it's about for me – rather than take the approach that he's a scary hammer-wielding madman. To me the whole story is about the dissolution of a family because of alcoholism. Of course later on demons factor in – real and imagined demons – factor into the destruction and ultimate rebirth of this family. Q – What was it that attracted you to this story? A – The thing about "The Shining" is that it's not what people perceive it to be. It's not horror, it's not sensationalized, or gory. It's about a family. Devotees to the book will back me up on that. It's about the destruction of a family for emotional, rather than paranormal reasons. It appealed to me because it was written so well and came as close as possible to the original book. The interest in doing this role, for me, was in that it was an emotional role. It was not straight horror, despite the perception. While he [Jack] does end up becoming a maniac of sorts, there's a vulnerability to him. It's sad, and a little tragic, too. That's appealing to me. Q – What was it like working on the set every day with Stephen King there, as executive producer, writer of the script, and as the original author of the book? A – Stephen King is so accessible as a human being. He is an icon, a popular mythic figure, who is really just a great guy. He's very childlike in his love of art and literature and movie making. Because of his accessibility, it's great having him around. It's like going to the source. Yet he's very flexible, too. Nothing is written in stone with him. He's open to your suggestions. When you meet your heroes, it's usually a bad thing, but this is a good experience. Q – What do you hope the audience will take away from their experience of watching the miniseries? A – Well several things. One, if frankly to see it measure up to another version of the story that it is widely known. Once they get through that, they'll be sucked into the humanity of it. It's a very human story, ghoulies and goblins aside. The love, the frailties and the failure of these people will make it all the more inviting to watch. |
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