Jeff Daniels, the star of 1994 comedy "Dumb and Dumber," as well its recent sequel "Dumb and Dumber To" and the hit HBO series "The Newsroom," has made it his career mission to search for roles that force him to demonstrate his full range of skills. At 59 years of age, and after more than 30 years in show business, Daniels feels he's finally accomplished that balance.
And it all snapped into shape in the span of just one week.
"It couldn't have worked out any better for me, because I always wanted to show range over the course of a career in order to create as many jobs as possible, because (Daniels' wife) Kathleen and I moved to Michigan in 1986 to raise our kids, and I thought the only way for me to pull that off and stay in the movie business was to have range," Daniels says in an exclusive interview with HNGN. "So that drove the decision to get 'Dumb And Dumber,' the first one, and then over the course of a career, all the other roles – 'Gettysburg,' 'Squid and the Whale' and various other things. And along comes 'Newsroom,' and then the sequel to 'Dumb and Dumber'?
"That's A to Z in range. And they premiered the same week! I couldn't have asked for anything better."
Sunday, Nov. 9, marked the debut of the third and final season of "The Newsroom," the high-minded Aaron Sorkin drama that follows the travails at fictional cable news network ACN, where Daniels, as anchor Will McAvoy, is front and center. (For his portrayal of McAvoy, Daniels won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor following the series' first season and was nominated again following Season Two.)
Five days after "The Newsroom's" third season debut, "Dumb and Dumber To," the slapstick sequel that reunites co-stars Daniels and Jim Carrey, hit movie screens.
If that's not enough range for you, Daniels, an accomplished singer-songwriter and guitarist, recently released a new album, "Days Like These," and will hit the road in January for a string of theater and club shows along with his son's band. He'll also get to see a play he wrote performed. Yup, he's a playwright too. In fact, he's written 16 plays and founded The Purple Rose Theatre Company, a home for original theatre productions in Chelsea, Mich., where he grew up.
Chatting with HNGN about the recently released album and upcoming tour, Daniels opened up about the pressure he faces as a musician and actor, which songwriters have caught his ear, his on-screen chemistry with Carrey, whom he calls a "great friend," and some of his favorite career memories.
HNGN: "Days Like These" is your sixth album, so you're a veteran of the process now. What was your approach to recording this time around?
Jeff Daniels: It's more serious. The songwriting leads the way. I wanted Brad Phillips to produce and I wanted Ben (Daniels) to mix it – well, they just turned 30 – but they're young, and I wanted to give them the songs. We recorded my stuff, we tracked the guitar and the lead vocal, and I went off to shoot 'Dumb and Dumber To,' and they stayed in Michigan and brought in the musicians. Brad did the arranging, and I kind of let 'em go. I was real pleased with what they did. It's a good way to work. Arthur Miller, the American playwright, said, "I like to see what my work inspires in others," and that means you've got to get out of the way and let it go.
HNGN: You've said that music is an escape for you. Do you feel less pressure when working in the music world as opposed to acting, because music isn't your primary moneymaker?
JD: It's not the livelihood – that's for sure, so you don't have that pressure. But there's a different kind of pressure: you're an actor, so what are you doing out on stage singing? You better be good. You almost have to be twice as good. Certainly you've got to overcome low expectations. You've got to overcome all those people that came before you who were just out there and trying to cash in, back in the day when actors made albums and just threw them out there. I just really enjoy it. If you don't like it, don't buy it. If you don't like, don't come, but I'm still coming. We aim at the clubs, we aim at the Ram's Head (in Maryland), the City Winery (in New York City), those 200- and 300-seaters, because there's a pressure, and anyone who's ever gotten on stage with a guitar and without a band will tell you, you gotta have it. You gotta hold 'em. The songwriting and the playing have to be there, the storytelling has to be there, the evening has to be there, and there's a pressure that comes with that that I've enjoyed overcoming. And then to walk out with your son's band, it's certainly more fun and a lot easier, because there's this force behind you.
HNGN: What music do you listen to for your own enjoyment?
JD: The songwriters. I listen to a lot of Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, Cheryl Wheeler. Christine Lavin I love. Stevie Goodman. New people I'm listening to – Noah Gundersen, I like him a lot; Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell is a really good writer. I listen to writing.
HNGN: Has delving into the Will McAvoy role on "Newsroom" and all that that entails changed the way you approach the media – for example, how you handle an interview like the one we're doing right now – or your perspective on how the media operates?
JD: It hasn't changed my approach. I have a much better awareness of the struggle that certainly the television media is faced with, that struggle being accuracy; getting it right, getting confirmation, getting double confirmation. The journalists trying to keep their head above water in a sea full of tweets, and "I saw on Facebook that it was this and that." You can see it especially when breaking news is happening and these guys are standing in front of a camera and they've got 12 more minutes to fill, and nothing new, and trying not to speculate, and everyone's on their phone looking at Twitter, going "this is a fact and that's a fact," when it isn't. I've seen this struggle when things like that happen because they're trying to be the place that you watch for the information, and they're also trying to be right instead of just be first. I think that's one of Aaron's (Sorkin) biggest beefs – let's make sure you get something right before you get it first.
HNGN: How would you describe your on-screen chemistry with Jim Carrey?
JD: We're great friends. And he cracks me up. We've been doing a lot of promotions together. We just hooked up in London and Paris to promote the movie, and the guy cracks me up. Creatively, he spins out and his imagination goes places that only Jim Carey can take it. That makes him an original, and I like people who are originals. We enjoy it, we support each other, and he cares as much about the setup to my joke as his own joke when we're shooting. It was a real buddy-buddy thing in front of the camera, as well as off.
HNGN: You're quite a prolific playwright and we understand you'll have a new play up soon. What can you tell us about that?
JD: Not much. I'm hopeful that we'll do it next season at The Purple Rose. I'm going to turn it in in the next couple of months and we'll see where it goes from there. When I was shooting "Newsroom," I stopped writing plays because "Newsroom" is so demanding. There's just not time to do anything else. But now that "Newsroom's" done, I've got some time to go back into the playwriting, and I've missed it. I'm glad to be back.
HNGN: What do you consider some of the most memorable moments of your career?
JD: Woody Allen telling me I was good in the middle of "The Purple Rose Of Cairo." That was a turning point for a young actor. Good enough for Woody, good enough for anybody. Broadway, with Hope Davis and Marcia Gay Harden and Jim Gandolfini, in "God Of Carnage." That was Broadway if it were a rock show. That was amazing.
HNGN: When did you arrive at the point in your career where you could be selective with you roles – where you could start saying "no?"
JD: I'm able to say no now. What's interesting is because of "Newsroom" and "Dumb And Dumber," and the Emmy for "Newsroom," the perception of what I can do in Hollywood has changed. It certainly was not there before Aaron Sorkin, and then with the sequel (to "Dumb And Dumber") coming out, and being believable as Harry Dunne, the phone's ringing, and it's ringing from some really great people and some really great projects that would not have called before "Newsroom." So when you're saying "no," you're also being teased with some really great people and some really great projects. In a way you want to say yes to everything.
