Any Day Now opens in theatres in a bunch of cities across the U.S. today. You can find the list of theatres at AnyDayNowMovie.com.
Rage Monthly talked to Garret about the film. Hit the link for the full interview.
The actor has been surprised and edified by the response to Any Day Now. “I’m not surprised it was good or I guess I’ll say important, but I didn’t think it would be so well-accepted. I’ve been in some award-winning films (including Winter’s Bone, The Road and the Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men) but I don’t think I’ve been in one that has won every audience award where it’s played.”
Dillahunt also speaks highly of his co-star, Alan Cumming. “He’s something, I dig him,” he said initially before going on to rave: “I’ve been a fan of his since (the 1995 movie) Circle of Friends and had seen him in Cabaret on Broadway. It was so easy working with him; he’s like a little piece of joy. He’s hopeful and really good for the character of Rudy (Paul’s drag-performer partner in the film) in that way. He’s also really strong and forceful and he never breaks eye contact with you when you’re speaking with him.”
This is from The Advocate (more at the link):
This is a story about family, the foster care system, disability, coming out and so on. But at the heart it’s a love story between your button down closeted character, Paul, and Alan Cumming’s free-spirited drag performer, Rudy. What was most critical to you to get across in the film?
That these were living, breathing human beings. The whole thing will fall apart, obviously, if the audience doesn’t believe the love between these two, seemingly, opposites.
Ten years ago, we used to ask straight actors if they had any hesitation about playing a gay role but not so much any more. So I’m wondering what made you want to take on this role?
I just thought it was a challenge. I like mixing it up as much as I can, and Paul was much different from the previous character I’d played, and I thought it would be fun to tackle. The icing on the cake is that it’s a beautiful story with themes that are, sadly, still resonant today. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?I love that while Paul is really navigating new territory as a gay or bisexual man, the film certainly isn’t just a traditional coming out narrative. There’s no big “I am gay” scene, for example. Was there sort of awareness that Paul’s coming out was almost secondary to what was happening with Marco?
Yes. I think the center of this story is Marco. Rudy is an incredibly tough guy — he’s a drag queen in the ’70s, for Christ’s sake. It is almost unsurprising that he would take Marco under his wing. I think his comfort as a gay man is something Paul envies. Probably one of the things that attracts him to Rudy, this unapologetic “gayness” and willingness to fight — it brings out Paul’s quieter strength. And the catalyst is this boy.
The Daily Beast has an interview with Garret and Alan Cumming. Snippet:
“As a member of society, I feel strongly that there are so many inequities and issues of equality and to be able to try to do something that could potentially change people’s minds was a big part of why I wanted to do this film,” said Cumming, who married his partner, Grant Shaffer, this year. “I recognized something of myself in Rudy. I get very upset by injustice, and in that situation, I might have done the same thing with Marco. I felt he’s so feisty and ballsy. Suddenly finding himself in this situation with both Paul and Marco, it’s a huge overwhelming thing that he was absolutely able to open his heart to.”
In other words, be prepared to cry. A lot.
“It’s odd that somehow you end up leaving somehow richer for the experience instead of being beaten down,” Dillahunt said. “I’m not sure how Travis pulled that off, but that’s why I’m not a director. You feel sort of galvanized and motivated in a way. Maybe angry. Certainly hurt. You feel probably how Paul and Rudy do.”
And Coming Soon has an interview with Alan Cumming and Travis Fine.
Here are a few clips from the film: