Read the December 13, 2009 interview in The Desert Sun: Page 1 & Page 2.
By Deborah Dearth
Seymour Cassel has enjoyed a busy career. The veteran character actor has appeared in more than 140 films and dozens of television shows, and the 74-year-old shows no signs of stopping.
"Everybody's an actor; even in life you perform," said Cassel. "An actor is usually good as long as they can talk."
Talk he does, with his most recent character a salty mouthed womanizer with cancer in LeVar Burton's feature film directorial debut, Reach for Me. Cassel's troublemaker Alvin lives in the Valley Meadow Hospice where he encounters a much younger patient who teaches him about loving life, no matter the limitations. When considering the role, Cassel felt a close connection to the story.
"It's a part I can have empathy with as I know people that are in hospices," said Cassel. "My wife has to have that care 24 hours, so it's personal to me."
The film became an important tool for encouraging people to remember loved ones who live under hospice care.
"People forget about those who gave such cheer to them. They say they'll visit, and they don't." Cassel added, "It's important to give back what you got in your life."
Producer and actress Charlene Blaine noted, "The film has moved hearts and minds into actual action. People have volunteered their time to hospices and different organizations."
Reach for Me is not only encouraging action but giving back to Palm Springs with a special premiere on Tuesday, Dec.15 at Camelot Theatres to benefit the local branch of the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the Certified Farmers' Market of the Palm Springs Cultural Center. Camelot Theatres will host the film's theatrical premiere on Friday, Dec.18, with a portion of all ticket sales continuing charitable contribution to the local ACS.
Unlike his character in Reach for Me who is forced to create happy memories to replace a bitter past, Cassel has found a lifetime of experiences for which to be thankful.
When asked whether the film caused him to reflect on his own life, he replied, "I do that all the time. I remember how I grew up on the road with my mother. I had a vagabond life, traveled with a burlesque until I had to start school, and then went to New York City and Florida. You make your own life."
His acting career began on the stage, where, he said, "You learn more from being bad than being good. You learn to put some passion into it, and when it's clicking, you can see it."
His film debut began with the directorial debut of indie filmmaker John Cassavetes, and the two would make seven films together before Cassavetes' death in 1989. Cassel would earn his Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination in 1969 for his favorite Cassavetes' film, Faces.
"He became the brother I never had," said Cassel. "It was the best relationship I ever had with a man, and we were both so mischievous. You find that once in a lifetime, and I was really lucky to meet someone like that."
The actor has also worked on multiple films such as Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums with director Wes Anderson.
"He's great," Cassel said of Anderson. "Very, very controlling, though."
He recalled a discussion he had with Anderson collaborator and fellow actor, Owen Wilson.
"He asked if I had studied acting, and I said, 'Yeah, with Stella Adler.' (Wilson) said he hadn't studied, and I said, 'Yeah, I know.' "
Despite the changes in acting methods and directorial styles over the past five decades of Cassel's film career, he still finds a focus to keep it all fresh -- whether by lending a performance to a first-time director or championing an important cause.
"Film is film; it recreates life," said Cassel. "It's just a matter of being creative."