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By Mike Szymanski
Zap2it.com
At 53, William H. Macy isn't asked to get naked very often in a movie. But, for the indie film "The Cooler," it was a requirement.
"When I was younger doing stage work, I was naked on stage at least once a year, but not for movies," Macy laughs, saying that nude scenes on film are much tougher than on stage. "It can be a bit overwhelming when all of a sudden the cameras are turned on and all eyes are on you."
Macy's had an incredible year, bouncing back and forth between big-budget films, TV projects and indies like "The Cooler," appearing in "Seabiscuit" and winning two Emmys for "Door to Door." In 2004, he'll have four films coming out and a TV movie co-starring his wife Felicity Huffman ("I get to make out with her in that movie," he says.)
It's his little films, like 1997's "Fargo," which get him the most notice (and got him into the Academy thanks to a best supporting actor nod), and early in this year's awards race he's already nominated by the International Press Academy for best actor in a drama and "The Cooler" has three other nominations.
"I hope people see it, it's a fine little movie which I hope doesn't get lost in all this awards hoopla at the end of the year," says Macy, who plays a professional loser (known as a "cooler") who tends to rub bad luck off on people having a winning streak at casino tables. Using a cooler was common in the 1950s, and screenwriters Frank Hannah and Wayne Kramer wrote a screenplay about it and Kramer directed the film.
"We had just sold a script ["Mindhunters"] for Renny Harlin to direct and when people read this script they thought of Macy for the lead," Kramer says. But, Macy didn't want to play a loser again, so he resisted. "We had to harass his agent to get us a meeting."
Part of the sell for Macy was working with Alec Baldwin, who just won a best supporting actor award from the National Board of Review for his role as a hard-edged casino manager in the film. Another part of the sell was getting naked with Maria Bello ("Auto Focus").
"William H. Macy is the sexiest man alive," insists Bello. "He's earthy, soulful and vulnerable."
The first time Bello met Macy, he said, "How about those nude scenes?" The director didn't want a glamorized sex scene and wanted actors brave enough to be explicit. "Our characters are such oddballs, so we didn't want Hollywood's bastardized version of this. We were naked a lot of the 21 days of shooting."
In one of their sex scenes, Bello ad libs a few lines while she handles Macy's private parts and offers compliments. Finally, Bello and Macy struck back, throwing an Ass Party for the cast and crew which required a Polaroid shot of everyone's behind before they could get a drink. Then, they posted all the photos on a wall and held contests all night.
"It was our way of breaking the ice," Bello smiles. "And Bill was a saint through it all."
Macy, meanwhile, tells Zap2it.com that he feels he's lucky, unlike the character he plays in "The Cooler."
"My grandma used to say I was serendipitous, she says good things just seem to happen to me," he says. "I've been blessed. I've been shot down many times, but I've always come out of it, and even though I didn't want to take this role on at first, it talks about the commanding power of love, and how that even can overcome a lifelong streak of bad luck."
