Cliff Robertson has played some of the most iconic characters in history, including JFK in P.T. 109, Charly in the 1968 adaptation of Flowers for Algernon (for which he won an Oscar) and, most recently, Peter Parker's ill-fated Uncle Ben in Spider-Man.
For the first time since 1972's J.W. Coop, Cliff Robertson has stamped a film with his writing as well as his acting. Though Robertson had never heard of the legend of the Jersey Devil, out of Michael Maryk's screenplay for 13th Child, he created the mysterious Mr. Shroud. Robertson is also back in the spotlight with an appearance in next summer's Spider-Man sequel, and this fall you can see him in Rob Lowe's new television series, The Lyon's Den.
UGO: How did you first get involved with the 13th Child?
Cliff Robertson: They called me, told me that they had this film script and they wanted to get my input as a writer and actor. I agreed to do that. I read it and was intrigued by the idea, but I thought it needed a lot of work, so I worked on my character, Mr. Shroud, as a writer. I concentrated my energies on him and didn't do much with the rest of the screenplay. I created this character in the wee hours of the morning. I looked at it later and thought, "Cliff, what kind of drugs are you taking? This is a wild, exotic character." I had never been into drugs, so I figured it must have a sobering element. So I would fly my airplane from East Hampton down into the bowels of New Jersey's Pine Barrens and film stuff.
UGO: Were you familiar with the Jersey Devil at all?
CR: No, not at all, and that's what intrigued me. Subsequently, I found that the legend goes back to 1776. My character is kind of a weirdo. He's the last member of a family that built this Charles Addams-like house 170 years ago. He lived in this house all his life alone, brilliant but eccentric. At 15, he applied for Harvard and got in, but decided not to go after he found out he knew more about herpetology [The branch of zoology that deals with reptiles and amphibians] than the Harvard professors. So he lived alone with his lizards, snakes and weird creatures. He developed an obsession with them to the extent where he felt all poisonous creatures have been assaulted by civilization and they should be treated with care, because they are protective. He gives all his animals names, then he crosses the 4th dimension and decides that music is something they can react to. So he finds that certain spiders like Beethoven, and so on. Then, in the movie a couple of young detectives find a torso in a pond nearby his home and they investigate the murder and the elements of Mr. Shroud.
UGO: I spoke with Robert Guilliame earlier this week about this same movie, and he said Pine Barrens of New Jersey is a pretty frightening area. He wouldn't go anywhere without someone around.
CR: I found the Pine Barrens interesting, because it's so wild. It's bigger than the Grand Canyon in terms of acreage. You don't expect New Jersey to have such a huge forest. Because of its history, it is not a place you take your grandmother for a weekend.
UGO: Looking over your filmography, it doesn't look like you've done any horror films.
CR: I've done 67 starring films, and I don't think I've done a film which a person could call a horror film. Some might be horrible [laughs]. But when you do that many films, there are some you just as soon forget.
UGO: What are your favorite horror films?
CR: As a boy in La Hoya, California, I remembered vividly seeing The Mummy [released in 1932] and we're not talking about the one from a few years ago. Boris Karloff got my attention whether he was a mummy or Frankenstein, or "Frankensteen," as Mel Brooks would say.
UGO: You worked on one of my favorite thrillers, Obsession [released in 1976].
CR: Thank you. I enjoyed working with Brian DePalma. He's a good director, a bright fellow and I wouldn't hesitate to work with him again. I just finished the sequel to Spider-Man. They brought Uncle Ben back, which I can't talk about. Sam Raimi is also a fine director and friend. I also met his family. In a town that is not known for its familial tendencies, he has a lovely relationship with them. Both he and DePalma are among my favorite directors.
UGO: What's it like going back to TV?
CR: Kind of fun because Rob Lowe and I did a film ten years ago called Class, where I played his father. So I walked onto set and he said, "Dad, where have you been?" It was a nice reunion. But coming back to TV is dæô vu all over again. It's nice, because it doesn't have a lot of special effects.
UGO: My editor would be upset if I didn't talk about when you worked with John Carpenter on Escape from LA [released in 1996].
CR: He's a delightful guy. I enjoyed working with him playing a despicable president. But we've had despicable presidents [laughs].
UGO: It is funny you went from playing JFK [in PT 109] to doing that.
CR: Well, JFK picked me to do that.
UGO: That must have been a wild experience to be handpicked to do that.
CR: Yeah, I felt the obligation, because it wasn't the director or the producer you're trying to please, so it was extra baggage.
UGO: When you played Uncle Ben in Spider-Man did you realize what an important figure he is, not in comics but in history as well?
CR: I read comics as a young man and I spent time with Stan Lee. He's a good guy. Sam Raimi told me that Uncle Ben is the moral compass of the movie. I thought that was nice.
UGO: I saw you were in a Rod Serling [creator of The Twilight Zone] documentary not too long ago [called Rod Serling: Submitted for Your Approval].
CR: I did a number of Twilight Zones. He was a great guy, and we went to the same college, but he was older than I was. But he's brilliant, and was very aware of actors.
UGO: What superpower would you like to have?
CR: I would, of course, be failing victim to the biggest cliche of all by saying the power to make this world one of peace and love. But on a personal level, the power to spool back, put the tape in reverse and have another shot at this vast, accelerated life. I've enjoyed most of it, but in certain areas I would like another shot at it. I think we all feel that way.
UGO: What is your favorite movie franchise out of Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, and Star Wars?
CR: Definitely Star Wars.