John Turturro on 'The Plot Against America,' 'Big Lebowski' spinoff and raunchy fan mail
John Turturro is one of the hardest working actors in showbiz, with memorable roles in "Do the Right Thing," "Barton Fink," "Miller's Crossing" and HBO's "The Night Of."
He stars in two new projects this spring: "The Jesus Rolls" (available to rent or buy on iTunes, Amazon and VOD), a loose remake of 1974 French comedy "Going Places" starring Turturro's dancing, swearing, bowling character The Jesus from the Coen Brothers comedy "The Big Lebowski"; and HBO's "The Plot Against America," a six-part miniseries that imagines aviator Charles Lindbergh ran for president in 1940, leading to the rise of fascism and anti-Semitism in the USA.
More: HBO's 'The Plot Against America' rewrites history with fascist, anti-Semitic president
In the show, which airs its fourth episode Monday (9 EST/PST), Turturro, 63, plays a conservative, widowed rabbi named Lionel Bengelsdorf who staunchly supports Lindbergh and convinces a lonely Jewish woman (Winona Ryder) to do the same.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, Turturro spoke to Paste BN about both projects.
Question: Were you familiar with Philip Roth's novel before signing onto "The Plot Against America?"
Answer: I'm a big fan of Roth, and I bought (the book) for my wife when it came out. I was interested (in Rabbi Bengelsdorf) because so many people throughout history think you can negotiate with other people and find the middle ground and protect your brethren, instead of drawing a line in the sand. So I thought there was something brilliantly resonant about the character – I don't know if I would say tragic, but misguided. And you don't know you're misguided until history weighs in.
Q: When the book was released in 2004, many people thought it was an allegory about the George W. Bush presidency. Now with this show in 2020, critics have drawn parallels to Donald Trump. Along with preaching isolationism, do you see any similarities between Trump and Charles Lindbergh?
A: Well, I think we've always had isolationism. They closed the gates in 1924 to Jews, Italians (and) Poles. A lot of that was based on (the idea that) there were just too many of them coming in, so they instilled quotas and (were) demonizing them. So I think these things are always there when there's hardship, when there's war, when there's poverty. I don't think it's anything new. You just need to be vigilant and on guard. But it's so easy for it to arise in all different shapes and forms.
Q: You also wrote, directed and starred in "The Jesus Rolls," a spinoff movie about your character from "The Big Lebowski." How long have you been wanting to give The Jesus his own film?
A: "The Big Lebowski" wasn't a big success when it came out at all, and then it became a cult movie, and I started getting all kinds of fan mail and people asking to see The Jesus again. I would kid around with Joel and Ethan Coen at lunch and say, "Well, we could do this or that, even though you guys don't make sequels." But there was such an enthusiasm to see a continuation of this character because I wasn't in very much of the (original) movie. So when I came up with this idea, they liked it because it wasn't a sequel. It was more of a companion piece exploring the character in a different way.
Q: When The Jesus bowls, he famously licks the ball before he throws a strike. Did you come up with that move yourself?
A: That I improvised, yeah. I was doing a lot of those things (on set) for Joel and Ethan, because when I saw how small the role was, they said, "Well, you'll do something with it." They came up with the jumpsuit, though.
Q: What's the funniest fan mail you ever received about "Lebowski?"
A: A lot of it had to do with the jumpsuit. "What's going on in that jumpsuit? I'd like to do certain things to that jumpsuit," and it went from there.