ITINERARY
CLOCKWISEFROM INSET: JAAPBUITENDIJK;DANIELGARRIGA/CONTOURBYGETTY IMAGES; EVERETTCOLLECTION
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
JUNE 01, 2013
21
{ MOVI ES }
Triple
Threat
Starring in threeof theyear’s
buzziestbig-screenblockbusters,
JAMESBADGEDALE
isabout
tohave thebest summer ever.
W
’
yoursummertan,James
BadgeDalewill battle a
zombieapocalypse,dukeitoutwithOld
Westoutlawsandengage insomegood
old-fashioned comic-book mayhem
in
WorldWarZ
,
TheLoneRanger
and
IronMan3
, respectively— threeof the
season’smost hotly anticipatedblock-
busters.“It’sshapinguptobea
goodsummer,”hesays,coolly.
Afteradecade-longcareer
slowburnof intense, lived-in
performances inprojects like
24
,
The Pacific
and
Rubicon
,
Dale—known tohis friends
as “Badge”— is about to be-
come ahouseholdname. Ce-
lebrity is somethinghe grew
upwith (bothof his parents
wereprofessionalentertainers)butremainsambivalentabout.“It’s
astrangethinggrowingup inthewingsofthetheater.Youthink it’s
normal,”hesays.“Thenyougetolderandyoufindoutit’snotnormal;
it’sactuallyvery
abnormal
. It’sastrangeexistence.”
The past year hasmagnified that
strangeness forDale, who donsmili-
taryfatiguesandchaps inhisnexttwo
flicks.Suitingupisnothingnewforthe
35-year-old, whose first love, hockey
—which he played as a teenwith an
eye toward going pro until a serious
injuryderailedthoseplans—required
pads, helmets andmouth guards. “Af-
ter I gothurt, allmyenergywent into
the theater, andwhat I found is that
the same rush I got on the iceplaying
thisvery intense, live sportwas there
forme on the stage too,” he says. “I
justdon’tgethit inthe facewithpucks
anymore.”
Pucks are nothing compared to
squaring off with hoards of the un-
dead in this month’s Brad Pitt–led
WorldWarZ
, a gigDale crackswas a
“no-brainer” toaccept: “BradPitt and
zombies?I’m there.”
Inthefilm,Daleportraysaseasoned
militaryman intentoncircumventing
impending global doom. Offscreen,
though,Dalesaysmakingthefilmwas
the timeofhis life.Whilehe’s loath to
revealmuchabout thefilm’s story, he
doestease,“Therejustmightbeavideo
somewhere ofme doing theMichael
Jackson ‘Thriller’dancewithanumber
ofzombies inbetweentakes.”
As for 2013being the summer of Badge, the actor isn’t placing
anybets. “I think I look likeacrossbetweenBillClintonandLyle
Lovett—goodcompany, by theway,”he says. “I’ll know I’ve really
madeitwhenIgettoplayoneofthoseguysinabiopic.”—©.ª «
Big
In themovie
Big
,whichdebuted25yearsago thismonth, TomHanks
playsa 12-year-oldkidwho longs tobebigandhashiswishgranted
—and then some—overnight. Both tender andhilarious, thewish-
fulfillment comedy remainsa favoriteof kidsandkidsatheart, not
leastof all becauseof a showstoppingcenterpiece inwhich theOscar-
nominatedHanksandRobert Loggiacommandeer agigantic toy-store
piano. Loggia reflectson themakingof that famous scene.
“[Director] PennyMarshall hadgivenTom andme a largepaper cutout of
piano keys and a tape of the song ‘Heart andSoul.’Wewere supposed
topracticeplaying the tunewithour feet individually at our homes in
California.Whenwe arrived inNewYork for the shoot andwere actually
filming the scene at FAOSchwarz, wewereboth completelyprepared.
Whatwe hadn’t realizedwas Penny had twoprofessional dancers,
dressed like Tom andme, standingby. The idea is thatwewould start
out in a long shot, and then shewouldprobably cut to thedancers’ feet
on thepiano keys actuallydoing theplaying. Tom and I decided, ‘No
way!’ HavingTom andmedoour owndancing, you can see thepure
delight onbothof our faces because not onlywerewe having fun, but
wedidn’t need anyone stepping in todo it for us. As I recall, wedid it
reallywell in the first take, withprobably a couplemore following, just
for ‘insurance.’”
—J.R.
LOOKING BACK
Dale in
WorldWarZ
