Nathan Lane and Hank Azaria look back on The Birdcage at 30: how they were cast, how Mike Nichols ran the set, and what working beside Robin Williams taught them.
12 Things Actors Should Know About Making The Birdcage
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A role you turn down can come back
Albert opened up because Steve Martin had a scheduling conflict and Robin Williams switched to Armand. Nathan Lane had to say no, because he was committed to a revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Mike Nichols kept calling, and producer Scott Rudin postponed Forum by a year so Lane could do the film.
Hank Azaria never auditioned. Nichols had seen him in Quiz Show and invited him to the table read to fill in the small roles. Azaria read about seven parts that day before being asked which one he wanted.
Azaria picked the dresser, a one or two scene role, and his accent brought the house down at the table. It was Robin Williams who suggested folding the dresser and the housekeeper into one character, which became Agador.
Azaria worked hard on an authentic Guatemalan accent, then realized two weeks in that he sounded exactly like his maternal grandmother, Esther, whom the family called Mama. He decided to just be Mama: maternal, loving, feminine and excitable. It gave the role its foundation.
Nichols rehearsed for at least a couple of weeks like a play, on a Paramount soundstage with the set taped out on the floor. Ad-libs were welcome there, and Elaine May wrote down the favorites to go into the script. His rule was not to bring a new idea on the day, because he wanted the farce to play in real time.
On shooting days Nichols would sometimes allow a free take, where actors could try something that could be cut in. Robin Williams would beg for one wild take. Sometimes the answer was no, they had it.
In the kitchen scene the floor was wet from the shrimp Azaria kept holding. When he really fell out of frame and started laughing, he buried his head and pretended to cry. He was sure he had ruined it. That is the take in the film, and the exit line about the shrimp was a Williams ad-lib.
In the South Beach scene, shot outside in heat that made the continuity supervisor pass out, Nichols replaced a young actor playing the waiter. The young actor had two lines. Nichols told Lane and Williams that a mistake would ruin a very long take, and he gave the lines to a production assistant instead.
Nichols decided on the morning of the dance rehearsal scene that the plan was wrong and kept saying they had no ending. Lane offered a note a director had once given him: I like what you're doing, but keep it all inside. Nichols said to use it, and Williams did.
Williams came to set on a day he was not working to support Lane through a full day filming a musical number, which was later cut. Azaria calls him the most genuinely interested in other people of any movie star he worked with, warm enough that you forgot you were acting with Robin Williams.
Williams warned Azaria that his son would eventually stop him doing voices at bedtime. His own son had told him to just let the text live. Azaria, who cast children's stories with Simpsons voices, says his son did exactly the same.
Azaria studied with the late Roy London and says class in Los Angeles felt like the opposite of hearing no all week. Lane recommends a life outside the work, and writing yourself a part. La Cage aux Folles itself began when Jean Poiret wrote a vehicle for himself and Michel Serrault, and it ran eight years in Paris.
Welcome, everyone. I'm Richard Ridge, and it is my honor to be here tonight as we celebrate 30 years of the Birdcage and 10 years of SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Robin Williams Center. So before we begin, I want to note something very special. Ten years ago yesterday on this very stage, Hank Azaria helped open this center, joining Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Bonnie Hunt and Barry Levinson to share stories and celebrate Robin's legacy. Now tonight, Hank returns to continue that conversation, this time with Nathan Lane. As the two of them share memories of his iconic film and of working with the legendary performer, this incredible facility is named after. Now our guests tonight need no introduction, so please welcome Hank Azaria and Nathan Lane. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. That's my first standing O this week. Is it? Oh, that's lovely. Well the two of you must have so many wonderful memories of working and getting to know Robin Williams. I'd love for you to share some of them. But first, how did the two of you get cast? Nathan, I'll start with you. Well, originally, I'll try to keep this brief. Originally, Steve Martin was supposed to star in this with Robin Williams. I didn't know that. Steve didn't know this? Well, honey, sit back. Steve Martin was going to play Armand and Robin was going to play Albert. And then Steve had scheduling problems he was doing with this film, Sergeant Bilko, and he couldn't get out of it. And so he had to bow out. And then Robin thought perhaps the other role, Armand, would be more of an acting challenge. And he had just done a lot of drag in Mrs. Doubtfire. So he decided he would rather play that part, which is why the role of Albert opened up. And then Mike Nichols came to see me in a play and came back afterwards and said, I'd like to talk to you about a movie. And the next day he called and said, well, I'm doing this remake of La Cage a Folle. And it's Elaine May has done the adaptation and Robin Williams is starring in it. And so I said, oh, so is this is this the part of the drag queen? Because I had seen the original French film in the late 70s. It was on the Upper East Side for about a year. It was the most successful foreign film at the time and had loved it. And so he said, yes, yes. And I said, oh, that's a good part. And he said, yes, yes, it is. And then we and then I was also at the same time they I was supposed to do a revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and that Scott Rudin was producing. Jerry Zaks was directing it. So I had to turn the part down because it was a conflict with that production. And then but Mike Nichols kept calling me and saying he said he called me one night in the dressing room and said, you know, he was in Ireland at the time and he said, you know, I keep seeing people, but I think you're the person to do this. And I said, you know, Mr. Nichols, I have no power here, but you're Mike Nichols. Perhaps if you called Scott Rudin, an arrangement could be made. But I wouldn't know about such things. And so the next morning, Scott Rudin called and said, you really want to do this movie? And I said, why wouldn't I want to do this movie? And he said, it means we have to postpone by a year. And I said, I know, I know. I'll remind you that I turned it down. And he said, OK, so thank it's really thanks to Steve Martin and Scott Rudin that I was able to do the film. But then Mike showed Robin your screen test, didn't he? Yes. Yeah. I mean, that was an amazing thing. And it's very, very symbolic of who Robin was. He and he took Mike's word. He didn't know me. I was just this New York theater actor and and who had done the voice of a meerkat. So, you know, he could easily have said, well, I'd rather do this with Billy Crystal. And as a matter of fact, there was a there was a moment where it seemed that Robin wasn't going to be able to do the movie. This is true. And he said and Mike Nichols said to me, what do you think about Billy Crystal? And I said, I love Billy Crystal. He said, is your husband? I said, yeah, sure. But I said again, I have no power here. I'm just I'm just thrilled to be invited to the party. And then one time I ran into Mike at a benefit and he said to me, he went like this, Robert Redford. And I said, I said, is he here? Where is he? He said, Robert Redford is your husband. And I said, if you could work that out, all my dreams will come true. And then finally, I guess it worked out deal wise with Robin and and then, you know, the rest is history. I never knew like Robert Redford and all these other names are being banned. Well, I guess there was a moment where maybe he wasn't going to be able to do it or I don't know what happened. But I do remember being those being mentioned. And then Hank, for you, because the role was much smaller, the one you auditioned for, I believe. I didn't even audition. Mike had seen me in in quiz show. It was something to just say ditto to Nathan's story. Mike had seen me in a movie called Quiz Show that Robert Redford directed. And I had this I get my manager got a call, very excited. Mike Nichols wants to meet with you. And it was very sweet. He just was very nice and said, pick a small role, any small role in the film and come to the table reading of it. And I'm doing my Mike impression by the way. And and read them. We need to we need someone to fill in the small roles. I said, sure. And I read like seven roles at the table that day. And he said, now, which would you like to do? Well, actually, he asked me that before. And I said, I think I'd like to do at the part at the time was just the dresser. Yeah. Aguilera was just no. At first, Aguilera was just there were two separate roles. Oh, there was the the the dresser who got you ready. Right. And then there was the sort of housekeeper, right guy. And the dresser was going to be Latin Aguilera. And the the housekeeper character was like in the French film was going to be black. Yeah. And I think they even had David Alan Greer. They did do it. That's what I remember. And then they felt that in an American context, that was going to be in poor taste. So they wanted to make the case. So I did it at the table. And he said, oh, I see why you like that role. OK, do that part. It was like a one or two scene. But you did do that at the Guatemalan accent. I did the Guatemalan accent at the table. So everything you said like brought the house down. It worked pretty good at the table. And this was all this is I worked pretty hard to get a authentic Guatemalan accent. I know. But then I realized two weeks into this, I sound exactly like my maternal grandmother, who was a beautiful Sephardic lady named Esther, who we call Mama. And so I'm like, I'll just be Mama because she was very maternal and loving and very feminine and very excitable also. So it was a good basis for the role. And then it was Robin about. So I was going to do that two scene part. And then I got a call, a similar kind of call. Hank, it's Mike Nichols. Yeah, Mike. So is it all right if we expand your role? And I was like, let me check what sag. Yeah, it turns out they wanted to make it a Latin character, and it was 1994 and I was a Mediterranean Jew. So close enough. And it was Robin's idea. He was like, well, this area was hilarious at the table. Let's have him do the whole thing. So they combine the roles. Oh, that was really due to Robin. It was so sweet. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, great. Well, we lucked out having you do that. Oh, thank you. I lucked out. My first two movies were Quiz Show for Robert Redford and The Birdcage for Mike Nichols. I thought all the movies were going to be like that. Spoiler alert, they were not. Well, let's talk about what was it like being on the set with Robin Williams? So like pictures like that. Do you remember the first day of shooting when you guys were on the set? Well, you know, we rehearsed like a play for like at least a couple of weeks, as I recall. And, you know, it was just, we just, I couldn't believe, you know, I was there and Elaine was there for the whole thing. And, you know, and he was, Mike was, it was, it was very close to the original play and screenplay of Le Cage Aux Folles. But, you know, she added these certain things that were very Elaine May and he was very protective of that script. And yet he also sort of allowed for us to improvise in rehearsal and sort of get it out of our system. And then I think, but occasional, but certainly he would also, when we were shooting, he would allow us, give us a free take where we could try things and which was great for all of us, I would think. And yeah, we did rehearse like that. And I remember Mike saying, especially to you and Robin, he said, now, look, feel free to ad lib in rehearsal. We were like at the soundstage of Paramount where they taped off the dimensions of the state. And Elaine's going to take it all down and we're going to pick our favorites. And then that's what goes in the script because I don't want to cut too much. I want it to play in real time, like a farce. So don't ask me on the day to do a different thing because we're going to do. So in close-up though, he would let, and Nathan, what I didn't know, I knew Robin would ad lib a lot if he could. I didn't know how clever Nathan was. And so he did let every once in a while in close-up when it could be cut in. They call them wild takes, actually. Robin would beg, boss, boss, please, one wild take, please, please. And sometimes Mike would say, no, no, we have it. So I was going to ask you about the wild takes because he would let them happen every now and then. Yeah. You know, as far as what you were talking about, the atmosphere, it was a great atmosphere. It was, we were almost having too much fun. And Robin certainly in between takes kept everyone entertained and just, I remember he did an improv one day where he, I remember I was laughing so hard because he had been to Paris with his children and they had been shopping at a toy store and he did, he became this very condescending French toy store salesman who was looking down on him and his children. And he said, yeah, I take this. It's an existential toy. It's an empty box. You know, he just, you know, anything, anything he would just riff on. And so it was great, great fun. And, you know, the one, the thing, you know, there were little things that, that we, that's, you know, we're just in the moment, you know, when the Schneckenbeckens was an ad lib. I didn't know that. Oh, sure. That was an ad lib. You know, there's a, but there was this thing where they, in rehearsal, they, Mike felt he should give Robin some kind of wild moment. And so it became the, this, you know, the, the direction to the young dancer and any, the history of dance he does. And so, and then the choreographer of Vince Patterson sort of worked with him and he sort of worked it out. And, and, but what I, I don't know if you remember this, but on the morning we were going to shoot it, it was like Mike was, I think maybe it had to do with his improv background, his own improv background, where he just said, this is all wrong, what we were going to do. I do remember. It was a rehearsal and I was going to be like dressed like Marlene Dietrich or something. And it was a whole, there was this, maybe a bit of a set and it, and he said, this is all wrong. It should be in a rehearsal. They should be in rehearsal clothes. And Anne Roth, the great designer had to run out and get, she got me this sort of flash dance outfit. And, and then he, he started to have second thoughts about this thing, this, this, this improv is so-called improvisation where, you know, although he had sort of worked out what that was going to be and, and he's kept saying, he said to us, we don't have an ending, we don't have an ending to it. And, and, and we were all suggesting things. And I said, you know, a director once said to me, I like what you're doing, but keep it all inside. And so, and then Mike said, yes, say that. So that's what Robin did. And yeah, but there was, you know, there were a lot of those little moments. I love Robin. It was just, it was something he added, which was, he says, you're going to, the line was, you're going to the cemetery with your toothbrush. And Robin added, how Egyptian. That whole thing where he started, you know, man is, you're measured by the man. It's all about the hens. He says he's serving the soup. He wanted to get this joke in and measured by the size of his cock. I'll be right back. He was, you know, just the dearest man and so kind and generous to me and, and everybody. And, you know, it was, it was just, he, he was a great collaborator, a great acting partner. And I remember I was, oh, the, this day they, they cut the number. I was singing the song, Ken, that song that was cut from Follies, Ken, that boy Foxtrot. And, and I did, you know, a whole day of filming this number in front of an audience. And then, and he, and he showed up and I said, what are you doing here? You don't have to work today. And he said, I want to be here for you. I want to support you in this. He was, he was a, you know, a great, great person and, and, and, you know, a comic genius. Hank, do you remember one of those moments when he just ad-libbed out of nowhere, being on the set with him? Well, yes, in the film, but he also, of all the, you know, I'm fortunate enough to work with many movie stars, as have you, and he was the most caring and genuinely interested in other people movie star that I ever worked with. He would do the Robin thing, which was hilarious, but he also would completely kind of drop down into, how are you? He really would ask, and he was really curious. And he would also, but I remember he would break into improv, so all the time, and sometimes only for you. I remember I was turning 30 on this movie. It was my second film, and I was completely wide-eyed at everybody I was looking at. And, you know, at the craft service table one morning, grabbing whatever, what did you do this weekend, boss? And I was like, I, I think I went bowling. And 15 minutes, oh, did you have to find a ball? I can never pick a ball. There's a purple and an orange and a green. I wish I could remember the routine, but 15 minutes on what it's like to bowl, and then carried on into then playing pool and all the things you do that are cliches in movies to recreate. And I kept looking around like, you know, it's only me here. This is not like, do you remember that he also, I couldn't believe this. We were shooting at Paramount, and he would, when the tours came by, do you remember this? Tours would come by, tram tours, just taking a tour of the studio lot. And whenever he saw that, he would run to it and stop the tram and do like 20 minutes for the people on the tram. It was incredible. Can you imagine how delighted these folks, I got to witness that a couple of times. It was really amazing. Because you had those long, humid shoots down in South Florida, those outdoor scenes. Yeah. Well, yeah, when we went to South Beach, we did, you know, that this scene that, you know, him teaching me to be more masculine. And, you know, it's a famous scene in the original, too, you know, the great Michelle Cerro, who I stole everything I could from. And we got there, and Emanuel Lubecky was the DP. Chivo. Chivo. And this is before he won like three Oscars. And we were supposed to shoot it inside this restaurant in the dining room. And he's looked outside, and he wanted to do it outside. But outside, it was like 100 degrees in the shade. I remember the continuity woman passed out at one point. It was so hot. And this is what I remember from that scene. People bring that scene up. And what I remember is, so we rehearse, and there's a young actor playing the waiter, who he has like two lines, okay? And he was this young fella, and he was like, oh, it's like, you know, obviously, he was excited. He didn't know who the hell I was. But, you know, it was Robin Williams. And he was so and he said, Oh, I'm so excited. This is my first film. And I'm just can't wait. And we rehearsed with him. And then Mike called us over and I wish you could do that. Let you do Mike. Mike said, No, listen. I know you're gonna be upset. But I have to tell you, this is what I'm gonna it's gonna happen. And just don't fight me on this. He said, I'm gonna fire this guy. Oh, he said, because this is a very long take. And I know if he screws up, it'll ruin the take. And I can't have that. So I'm gonna let him go. And we were like, Oh, Mike, don't do that. No, we just talk. He just told us how much this meant to him. And you know, and he and this is will be a lot. He'll be scarred for life. And all he'll see is me and Robert and these cock a baby outfits and nightmares. Please, please don't. Please, fellas, this I have to do this. And so we were like, Okay, we're gonna go to our trailers. And and and then he wound up getting one of the production assistants, you know, who did who what? John punch. That's right. That was his Nick. Oh, yeah, I know that. Yeah. And, and, um, you know, I can't say it was like a star is born moment. It was like, I didn't think the other guy was. But, but it was, you know, what could you do? He was just he just said, I have to do this. This is this. This is a very long take. And I don't. And if he screws it up, you know, we're screwed. So. So but other than that, the day went very well. And the lady in that scene, by the way, is who watches me walk by is was the was Madeline Guilford, the wife of Jack Guilford, a wonderful character actor. And yeah, she was very sweet. But I heard Mike couldn't keep a straight face. They gave him a blanket or something during that scene when you're buttering the. Well, he had a blanket that he would pull over his head a lot. So true. That's true. So that he wouldn't ruin the take. Apparently he would laugh so hard. And and, you know, if but if you're making Mike Nickers laugh, you know, it's it's a good day. It was a bittersweet because he ruined a couple of my takes. Did he? And we had to they had to keep moving him farther and farther from set. Yeah. And then they finally put a blanket over him. Where's my recita? I have a Mike story I want to tell. Go ahead. The first one of the first I think the first day I shot, it was a scene where I was getting you ready for the show and you're panic in a panic because you think you're going to be late. And there are a couple of takes. And Mike said, the dear boy called me, dear boy, dear boy, to me, you seem tired. You seem exhausted. And I said, Mike, I'm so sorry. I've been shooting all night. I just came from and I was shooting the movie Heat at the same time. And I had shot all night without Pacino and came straight to the which is a whole nother story that I might tell. But well, I mean, we're doing this scene and house like, so where where are we in the system, Michael Mann? Where are we in the movie? What's happening in the scene? What are we doing? And Michael Mann says, all right, you just came from Bob, meaning Bob De Niro, and he jackpotted you. All right. So right away, you're going to jackpot this guy, meaning me. You're just going to bend them over a desk and jackpot him before he can jackpot you. And Al says, I don't understand what that means. Jackpot, jackpot, which we never got an answer, but I assume it means to rough somebody up because that's what Al did throughout the scene. Is that where he uses it? Oh, yeah. Well, I'm getting to that. OK, so Michael Mann likes to do approximately three hundred and ninety seven takes of every angle. And apparently there's only so many times you can say the line, she got a great ass without losing your mind, because finally I went, because she got a great to which I replied, Jesus, not act great acting, genius acting, because I was I was terrified that my hero was screaming that into my head. So we wrap at dawn. We could have been done by midnight, but we wrapped at dawn. And I explained this to Mike and Mike got such a kick out of that story. I don't recall this the rest of that day. This is Mike directed. He go and cut. Are we all right? Did anyone get jackpot? I want to talk about the kitchen scene when when Robin goes in. That was a ad libbed a lot of it. Right. Tell me what happened, Hank. No, it wasn't ad libbed. It's just that the floor was wet because I kept holding these shrimp throughout the entire scene. They kept dripping and the floor was slick so that I could fall easily when I needed to. And as Robin was when he fell down, he didn't mean that wasn't there. He really fell. I fell right out of frame, as you saw. And and I started laughing. But, you know, I just I pretended I was crying and just kind of buried my head. And I was sure that, you know, that ruined the whole thing. But that's the take they ended up using, as you saw in the thing. So, yeah, no, that always makes me laugh because I could hear it in his voice because he's going, shut up, shut up, shut up, because he's trying to keep from breaking up more like we finished. I'm like, go get going again. Right. Like, oh, we've got it. We got it. We'll never top that. Fuck the shrimp. Yeah, that was an ad lib. Fuck the shrimp was not written by Elaine May. Just as he's going out the door, fuck the shrimp. I think I was supposed to give him the shrimp, but he had fallen down and was running away. The shrimp was supposed to button the scene by putting it in. Yeah. Well, both of you had the experience of working with Robin on The Birdcage, and tonight we're sitting in a center that bears his name. When you were actually in a scene with Robin, what did he give you as fellow actors that audiences might never have seen on screen? Twenty dollars. Oh, you know, he was he was just he was a wonderful actor. He was you know, he was I you know, it's it's a I love that performance of his. I remember we had a dinner after it was all over and he said that it was hard sometimes because, you know, he was supposed to play the part and that it was hard sometimes to watch me, you know, carrying on. And and but it's such a you know, he was it was a real partnership. And I, you know, I felt very free and protected with him. And we we were very, very supportive of one another. And and we you know, we were all trying to please Mike, you know, that's what it was all about. And and and Elaine, you know, because I mean, these were these are legends. And but he was, you know, he was just you know, he was so smart. I mean, you know, when you just sat and talked to him about anything, you know, he was just so incredibly smart and and sensitive to what was going on. And it could be easily hurt himself, you know, very sensitive himself, but just very loving and funny and and just the dearest man. So, yeah, it was it was the greatest situation you could have asked for, you know, so yeah. Hank, would you want to add something to that? Just how loving and supportive he was and how I was genuinely nervous being my first really big thing. I mean, you know, the whole time I was like, have you experienced this for you? All that would go through my mind was you're Robin Williams, you're Robin Williams, you're Robin Williams, including in a scene. That's Gene Hackman. That's Gene Hackman. And he was so warm and supportive that you forgot that he was Robin Williams and you just felt you were with another actor working with you. And he was he got a genuine kick out of whatever you were doing that he thought was great and really did try to support it. Didn't try to steal your thunder or anything like that. Yeah, I remember this was very adorable. One day he came running up to me and he said, Clint Eastwood is here. And I said, and I was dressed like Barbara Bush. And I said, yeah, oh, wow. And he said, yeah, apparently Clint was going to an event that night and one of our hair people was like his hair person on movies and he was coming for a haircut. Even cinematic legends can't resist a free haircut. Anyway, so Robin says, Clint Eastwood is here. Let's go look at him, he said. I remember that's how he put it. Let's go look at him. And I said, well, I'd like to meet Clint Eastwood as much as any man, but I don't know if I want to meet him dressed like this. And he said, oh, come on, he's an actor. He understands. Let's go. Let's go see him. So anyway, we go over to the trailer and he's Clint Eastwood is coming out with his fresh haircut. And we chatted and he was very gracious. And then as he was leaving, I said, it was nice to meet you, Mr. Eastwood. And I said, if you're ever doing another Western, I hope you'll consider me. And Clint looked at me and said, yeah, maybe for the school mom. Pretty good for Clint Eastwood. You know, you both talked about how protective he was and the generous side of his. I know there was a TV interview, Nathan, that you all did at the time period. It was it was a big interview and he was very protective of you during that. Oh, this story has been told far too many times. Um, yeah, I mean, you know, that was this there was this moment where, I mean, I had been out from the time I was twenty one and, you know, friends and family and and colleagues, everybody knew, especially, obviously, in the theater. But but suddenly, yeah, we were doing this. We we had to do a big press junket. And I and it was I had been told I should hire a publicist. So I I went with this man who I'm still he's still my publicist, Simon Halls. And he and I remember before the junket, he said, what do you want to do about your sexuality? And I said, well, nothing. It's too late. And he said, no, you're going to have to talk. They're going to I'm sure it may it may come up because of the nature of the film. And I was like, oh, I know I don't want to deal with that. And, you know, I wanted to be about the work and not not a coming out story, not at least not now, you know. But so I said I I said, you know, I'll just say I'd rather not discuss my personal life, which, you know, in those days, you might as well have said, by the way, I love cock. So the fucking jig was up. So, you know, I was like, I just I don't want to make a big deal out of this. I want them to see the movie and appreciates the acting work as opposed to them thinking, oh, she's just letting her hair down. Anyway, we had to go on Oprah. So I was terrified just meeting, you know, the supreme being and and and, you know, and I said to Robin, you know, I, you know, I'm not going to I don't want to talk. I'm not going to come out on Oprah. I'm not prepared. I'm not even prepared just to meet Oprah and talk about the movie. I've never done, you know, you know, this before. And he said, oh, yeah, don't worry about it. We won't say you don't want to talk about it. We won't talk about it. And then so and then she, you know, and I don't I don't think Oprah was trying to out me or anything. I know she didn't know me from Adam. And so it was just but she was being playful and she said something. You're really good at that girly stuff. And she how come you're so good at that? You know, and it was I was like, you know, Ralph Graham didn't have a ham and a ham and a ham. And Robin sort of swooped in and said, girl, you know, and, you know, and took her off in another direction and for a bit. But yes, he was very he was very protective that day. Yeah. And then, Hank, for you, when you were having your first child, your son, right, Robin gave you some advice about something with the voices you do. Right. I forgot about that. But yes, you're right. And we did another movie together, sort of. We were both in Night in the Museum, too. And we were at the junket for that. And my wife was pregnant with our son at the time. And of course, Robin did 20 minutes with my wife's pregnant belly. I really should have videoed these things. He was talking in every kind of voice to the child in there. And he said, you know, he's not going to not going to let you do voices when you when you read stories to him. He said he will up to a point and then he's going to make you stop. I think the way he put it was after a while, my son went, dad, dad, dad, just let the text live. And he was absolutely right. I did nothing but, you know, I used to cast all those childhood stories with Simpsons voices and, you know, motor bartender was a scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. And police chief wagon was a cowardly lion. And then when my son was about it, he was like, dad, just let's just hear the story. Fine. And that's that holds to this day. He's 17. One of my final questions is the Robin Williams Center was created as a place specifically for actors, a place to gather, learn, talk about the work and be a part of a community. After the careers both of you have had and have, how important is it for actors to have spaces where the focus is not on getting the next job, but simply on the craft and just being around other performers and all the wonderful things that the SAG-AFTRA Foundation offers? I mean, to me, I found that in acting class in L.A. I studied with the late great Roy London. And I really felt that out in L.A. struggling as an actor was class felt like the opposite of banging my head against the wall out there and getting told no. You were lucky if you got told no twice a week that was doing really well means you were out there. And I think this is a similar fun. It's really important to get with your fellow artists and commiserate and feel more in touch with the creativity of it all, unless with the business part of it. What do you think? Oh, I wholeheartedly agree. Yeah, I mean, I mean, that's the nature of the career is, you know, what's that's what, you know, what's next? What are you gonna do next? You know, it's and yeah, you have to keep your sanity and and and and yeah, certainly, it helps, you know, sometimes, you know, talking to other actors and what they're going through and also in just having a life outside of it. You know, whether it's your family or, or outside interests and, you know, when developing, you know, writing, you know, I always think that's the way in for a lot of people in the beginning, you write something, write yourself a part, create something, you know, that's look at Cola Scola, you know, he's, he was around for years, and he was always brilliantly funny. And then he finally created that this thing that's, it's a phenomenon. And he so deserves this success he's having. I'm so happy for him. But that's, you know, though, it's, you know, that's, yeah, it's, it's a hard life. It's, it's not an easy life. But you know, it's, we're all looking for that. That thrill that the moment, those moments, those, you know, it's like, for me, it was death of a salesman. Finally, would you each give me your thoughts on the lasting legacy of this beautiful film, The Birdcage, and Robin Williams? Um, well, I never thought we'd be talking about this movie 30 years later. But, you know, then again, it's this, this plot, this comic plot that Mike and Elaine were so fond of that they'd wanted to do this for years. And there's a reason. Because it's, it's, it's such a successful comedy plot. And it worked as a play. It ran, you know, I don't know if you know, the original story of how it, Michel Serrault and Jean Poiret were a comedy team. They worked nightclubs and variety shows. And then they went to see a play a friend of theirs had written for themselves. And I'm speaking of writing things for yourself. And, and he said to Michel Serrault, I'm going to write something like this for us, our vehicle. And it, you know, and it took him a long time. And he finally wrote Le Cage aux Folles and it ran for eight years in Paris and then was made into a film and which was wildly successful and spawned two sequels. And then it became, and then, you know, Mike was supposed to do the musical version with, with the composer Maury Yeston. There was that version that Alan Carr was going to produce where Mike was going to direct it. And it was set in New Orleans and it was called The Queen of Basin Street. And, and then it turned out that when they were trying to pull, pull together the production and drawing up contracts that Mike was so expensive, nobody was going to be able to make any money. And so Alan Carr pulled the plug on it. And then eventually you went to Jerry Herman and, and, you know, they, they did the Broadway musical. And so it's always been successful. It's, you know, it's, it's, it's deceptive because it's, it's, it seems like it's just a French farce, but it's, it's a story about love. It's about two parents who would do anything for their son. They love him so much. And even to the extent of denying themselves about who they are. And, and so, you know, it's really, it's, it's just a, it's sort of just a gay French. You can't take it with you. You know, it's, you know, the straight-laced family meets the eccentric in-laws, but, but with a wonderful twist. And, and so, yeah, I think that's the, that's the basis. The source material is why it's, it's still, that story always works, it seems, whenever it's done in whatever form. And, but this was, you know, very special because of Mike and Elaine. And, and I love that she introduced the two, two scenes for the, for the original film that were not in the play. And they're like two of my favorite scenes, which is the one where he comes out in a plain suit because he, he just wants to help. And that scene was added for the original French film. And then the scene at the bus stop when he's, he's gonna go to the cemetery to die. And, but Elaine added that, this whole, she put this thing in that was sort of throughout the movie, me wanting a palimony agreement. And it's sort of, you know, I thought was, you know, a precursor to gay marriage. You know, it's sort of his, him saying, signing over his life to me and me to him. And, and it's, and that's, and that's always been my, my favorite scene in the film because of Robin. And, but yeah, I, I think that's why it, it holds, it still holds up. You know, it's amazing to me. I'm very grateful, you know, that it has. And the people, I mean, I'm asked about it every day of my life. And it's, it's, it's very, very sweet. Yeah, I mean, to be part of something that has stood the test of time, anything, you know, for me, this movie and really the Simpsons and what means the most to me, and this happens to me, maybe not every day, but at least once a month, somebody tells me, oh my God, not just that they love the birdcage, but that it got them through a tough time. My mom was sick. When I was ill, when we were, when I was depressed, this movie really cheered me up or, or, and I hear similar things about the Simpsons sometimes. And I know that I have movies and TV shows that really did mean that to me, got me through certain periods of my life. And so to be part of something like that, that means something, that stands the test of time like that and means similar things to other people is a real joy. Not every, not every project turns out like that. No. Did I, did I, should I tell them the story of the, the potential sequel? Oh yeah. Oh sure. Yes. I want, I've been meaning to catch up with you about that. So, so there was always talk about doing a sequel and, and then there was always, they always had trouble with the French, the rights and the, and there were so many relatives involved to all of the people who either wrote or directed it or created it. And, and so it never, never came to pass. You know, there are people when I run into people, writers I know who would say, I've been asked to work on this sequel to the Birdcage, you know, and, and this one, you would get married and okay. Well, just to interject for a second, I got a script like 20 years ago where Agedor becomes a kicker in the NFL, the whole script of this. What is this crazy? So anyway, I'll keep this brief, but I, so COVID, it was 2020 COVID and we're all at home trying to figure out what's going to happen. And I started listening, listening to podcasts and there was a podcast of these two young British guys called, Beyond the, what was it? Beyond the, beyond the, beyond the something, beyond the box set, something like that. And they would, what they would do is they would talk about their favorite movies and that hadn't gotten sequels and they would each pitch a sequel to the movie. So, and I saw they were talking about, one of them was the Birdcage. So I thought, well, I should listen to this. And I'm listening and the first guy pitches and it's terrible. It's absolutely a terrible idea. And I said, and I was about to turn it off and I said, well, let's hear what the other guy has to say. And then the other guy starts pitching this idea and I'm thinking, oh, that's really good. That's a great idea. And I said, am I crazy? I said, this is, this is really good. And essentially the premise was, because it would deal, it dealt with the fact that Robin had passed and that it sort of opened with a sort of drag funeral. It was saying goodbye to him. And then I sort of was refusing to work in the club. I would just, I was in mourning and I was all in black and I would stay in my room and wouldn't perform. And Agidor, it was, it became a story about Agidor and Albert and Agidor sort of running the club. And then this one day he gets a call from the woman, a woman in Guatemala who he had dated when he was very young and, and, and then had left Guatemala and she worked one time with a girl, one time. And, and, and she, what she never told him was that she was pregnant and then he had left the country. And so she had a daughter and the daughter was going to get married and she wanted her real father to walk her down the aisle. And so he, he faints, you know, and, and I bring him to, and then he tells me what's happened. I said, oh, darling, we, we must go to Guatemala. There's nothing more important than children. And so we, so it became like a little, you know, bumpy road trip to Guatemala. And then they get there and I, he's still pretending to be straight with his family, you know, picture Pedro Pascal, Antonio Banderas, and he's, and I'm pretending to be his manservant. And then, and so, you know, then one of the, one of his younger, his youngest brother, it turns out he wants to be a drag queen and he recognizes me and he takes me to this sad little club that he, he, he's too nervous to perform in. And I, I sort of transform the whole thing and teach him how to be a drag queen. And then Aguador finally comes out to everybody and walks his daughter down the aisle without his shoes, of course. Wow, I forgot about all this. And it was a big happy ending. And so he, the guy finishes and I said, fuck am I, this, am I crazy? This is what a sensational idea for a sequel. And, and it, you know, and the notion of the two of us doing it together would have sounded like heaven. So I, I gave it to my manager. I said, am I crazy? He said, no, that's really great. And then they sent it to MGM UA and they said, no, that's really great. And they, they optioned that idea. They called this little British kid, you know, somewhere in Uckfield and said, oh, we're going to option your idea. And then, and I said, well, you should talk to Hank about this. And then, and then Hank, of course, is saying, you know, I, I couldn't possibly do it again because times have changed. And, and, you know, What I said was I can't do, I'm the man who brought you Apu. Okay. So I can't circle back to that. Of course I, I understood that. But then I thought I've since maybe changed my, my outlook on it. I actually wrote a, I wrote a one man show about this. About a lot about what the story you're telling. Yeah, you should. Oh, that's good. I'm going to put it up very soon. Good. Anyway. So I said, look, you know, I, I understand all of that. And, and, and then I said, but you know, it's not even a real thing yet. If something, if the, if ever came to fruition, I'm sure we get a special dispensation from Guatemala. You are so beloved. That's just one of the places you'd be dispensation. Exactly. So anyway anyway, they went out with, you know, with this idea to streamers and nobody was interested. Everybody said no. And one that was semi-interested said, but nah, we would, if we wanted to do it, we would just reboot the original and just get, you know, new people to play those parts. Well, what's funny was Nathan couldn't believe that. I was like, you, you're not serious. If we could do this, you would do it. I'm like, Nathan, I really, he was like, so Nathan went ahead and he went, you know what, let's go pitch this anyway. We get it sold. I'm sure Hank will get on board. And then I run into it at a party. You said, you know what? I couldn't sell it anyway. So nevermind. And then I was sort of bummed. I was like, really, you couldn't sell it? See, I know if it had, if it had come to fruition, you know, maybe he would have reconsidered, but I under, I totally understood. Yeah. Well, let's reboot it. Let's do it. You have an audience here. Come to see us. Take your own advice and let's write it ourselves. Listen, I want to thank you very much for spending your memories about the 30th anniversary of this film, Robin Williams, and being here for the 10th anniversary. He's looking down. He'd be so proud. Hank Azaria and Nathan Lane. Thank you. Thank you for coming out. Thanks so much.
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