The character John Lithgow called his pride and joy: “Only very lucky actors have a role like that”
If you had to cast someone to play your grandfather in the idealised version of your life, then you could do a lot worse than John Lithgow; the towering titan of the acting world has settled into his role as an elder statesman like a dream, but he hasn’t always suited a pair of slippers and a flat cap.
The Rochester, New York native has been delighting audiences with an array of characters for well over 50 years, with his best roles including a dance-hating preacher in Footloose, a scheming Cardinal in Conclave, and the King of the gigachads, Lord Farquad in Shrek. He’ll soon be appearing as Albus Dumbledore in the HBO version of Harry Potter, a project that he seemingly has no issues with: read a newspaper, John.
Lithgow’s lengthy and acclaimed career was the subject of an interview the star gave to AV Club, and among the many highlights that were discussed, the cult hit The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension came up. Yes, that’s its full name, and when it was suggested that they only briefly talk about the movie, Lithgow reacted in horror.
“That’s my pride and joy!” he exclaimed, “As a matter of fact, I just saw that somebody posted a Dr Lizardo speech online right after Donald Trump’s acceptance speech at the Republican Convention. It’s the one where he says, ‘Where are we going?’ And they say, ‘Planet 10!’ And I say, ‘When?’ And they say, ‘Real soon!’ Buckaroo Banzai… Only very lucky actors have a role like that in their résumé.”
Buckaroo Banzai (there’s no way I’m typing that full name out every single time) is a science-fiction comedy from director WD Richter, where the title character, played by RoboCop’s Peter Weir, is a brilliant scientist charged with defending the Earth against a band of interdimensional aliens. Lithgow’s character, Dr Emilio Lizardo, is a criminally insane physicist whose mind is corrupted by the aliens’ tyrannical leader. Given the actor’s less-than-encouraging remarks about President Trump over the years, you can see why he made the connection between the two.
This is the kind of movie that was almost guaranteed to become a cult classic: a ridiculous plot, zany characters, 1980s practical effects; it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but those that love it really love it. Lithgow almost certainly had a great time making it, given who he was working with, as alongside Weir, the film also features Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Lloyd, Ellen Barkin, and even a then-unknown Jonathan Banks. The film is full of highly quotable lines that have stood the test of time among its devoted fanbase, with many of them being delivered in the, shall we say, ‘unique’ voice Lithgow chose for his character.
When you love a film that isn’t in the mainstream, it can sometimes feel like you’re yelling into the void. Hearing that Lithgow is such a big fan of one of his most beloved cult films has got to be a massive boost to anyone who has devoted their life to this wonderful oddity.
