M.C. Gainey’s path to success might be one of the most interesting stories ever told – and the talented character actor has loved every minute – even though Gainey never prepared for it to happen.
“I didn’t intend to get into the business,” Gainey explained. “In high school I was a folk singer and did some school plays. After coming home from the army and going off to college, I was looking for something to do that I could actually enjoy doing and I happened on the theater department. It was a nice way to meet girls. It’s a different world – very sexy, very exciting compared to English Literature, Creative Writing or Political Science.”
Gainey would know about different worlds, as his first career wasn’t exactly the one you would expect.
“My stepfather owned a funeral home,” he said. “He was training me to be an undertaker, but I was unprepared. It wasn’t the right thing for me; I couldn’t stand the grief so it was a short-lived career – one that I never regret walking away from, that’s for sure.”
Gainey’s hasty exit from his first career was the world’s gain, as he has carved out a massive career as a character actor – enhanced by his love and knowledge of those who came before him.
“I admired character people like Ward Bond, Victor McLaglen and Thomas Mitchell,” he stated. “I looked at Thomas Mitchell in 1939-40 and the year he had where he played everything from Scarlet O’Hara’s dad in Gone With the Wind to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and The Long Voyage Home – he had so many great parts. I really admired the Irish character actors in the Hollywood studio system – it was like my first crush on things where I said, ‘Wow, this is a career I could have.’ In my mind, I hoped it would be like it was for those guys – where the studio hires you and you do 10-15 movies a year – but that was long gone by the time I got to Hollywood.”
Not missing when Gainey arrived was opportunity – and the talented actor got right to work, starring in a number of television shows and films, playing a variety of characters – from villains to the chauffeur for a youth hockey team.
“There wasn’t a whole lot for me to do in The Mighty Ducks”, he remembered. “In the beginning of the movie the character had some meaning, but once they became a team they didn’t need me to drive them around anymore. However, the studio used me in a lot of shots because the kids were growing so fast.”
I was looking for something to do that I could actually enjoy doing and I happened on the theater department. It was a nice way to meet girls. It’s a different world – very sexy, very exciting compared to English Literature, Creative Writing or Political Science. Another growth Gainey saw first-hand was the rise of Philip Seymour Hoffman – with whom he worked on Leap of Faith. “I didn’t do much in that,” Gainey explained. “Hoffman’s talent blew me away; it was only his second movie and the first one hadn’t been released yet. He was ambitious and I was constantly trying to slow him down but he was right to be eager and impatient – because he has enormous talent. Anything you want to know about acting, he will know it. He’s a tremendous artist.”
Between The Mighty Ducks and Leap of Faith Gainey was most happy that he had back-to-back movies where he didn’t hurt anyone; it also prepared him for his role as Swamp Thing in the blockbuster Con Air.
“It was an amazingly unique experience,” Gainey exclaimed. “All the character guys I had been competing with and compete with to this day – all of a sudden we are all in the same movie. Danny Trejo, Nick Chinlund and Steve Buscemi were all great. Buscemi was a maniac. As opposed to being just a murderous thug, I thought this character could be something other than that. I never kill anybody. I never commit any acts of violence against anybody in that entire movie. I’m the guy who just loves to fly – so I just didn’t see any reason to be anything other than as happy as I could possibly be. He doesn’t care – he’s just flying the plane. There’s a joy to that that I tried to show. I was able to laugh and joke and not give a fuck. I was really inspired by Donald Sutherland’s character in Kelly’s Heroes – he was offbeat and crazy and didn’t seem like he belonged in that movie because he was having so much fun. It was like someone in hell having a good time.”
I was looking for something to do that I could actually enjoy doing and I happened on the theater department. It was a nice way to meet girls. It’s a different world – very sexy, very exciting compared to English Literature, Creative Writing or Political Science.
Gainey’s previous film had not been as great an experience.
“Con Air was a welcome change because I had just shot Breakdown which was an amazingly unpleasant experience in several ways,” Gainey said. “I had to starve myself down to 225 pounds, I wore a long black shirt and dark clothes and it was a small cast so there wasn’t anybody to hang out with – no fun to be had.”
There has been no shortage of fun in Gainey’s career as of late as he was seen around the world as Tom Friendly on LOST.
“It was the first time I experienced being part of something that everyone wanted to know about,” he explained. “It was incredible fun to be part of something that had that much attention of the public. People would try to take photos from far away while we filmed and people would come to Hawaii to try and find where we were. It was great to be with all these young actors nobody had heard of before and then ‘bang’ – worldwide famous. It was a career changing experience – combined with getting naked in Sideways. I didn’t know where they were going with the character though. I would try things to test and see where they were going. For instance, Tania Raymonde didn’t know she was Ben’s daughter and in a scene where we are at one of the camps I walked by her I stroked her hair as you would a child and they came over and said, ‘No, don’t do that.’ I didn’t know where it was going so I just tried to make interesting choices and keep it alive. Once the island moved I gave up trying to understand. I always thought they’d end with Jorge (Garcia) up at a bar saying, ‘Oh, what a dream I just had, give me another beer and some pretzels.’ That would’ve worked as well as what they had at the end.”
Another experience that Gainey enjoyed was working with Quentin Tarantino on Django Unchained.
“Quentin Tarantino is a genius,” Gainey explained. “I have major respect for his knowledge of films – not just bad films – but all films. This guy has tremendous knowledge of movies and literature and lots of other things. He has mad skills. He runs the sanest set I have ever worked on – the most relaxing, most welcoming. I like to have a good time. One of the first things you hear on set is Quentin laughing as he approaches –and he brings out a certain spirit where you are going to work hard and have a great time. He makes sure everyone has a lot of fun and he even directs the extras. There were slaves in the fields and he was out there directing all of them – 250 feet from the camera. He would give them something to understand what was going on. But with Quentin, it was as much fun as you could have in a bloodbath.”
Gainey would know a thing or two about having a good time when blood is being shed – having been a part of Broken Lizard’s Club Dread and Beerfest.
“I love those movies,” he said. “Broken Lizard are wonderful to work with. They want to have fun and I respond well to that because I think it should be fun. You should have a good time doing this stuff. There shouldn’t be drudgery involved in this. I love those guys – fun to work with and great to know. And, actually Quentin was one of the first ones who saw their stuff and took them around and really championed them. Quentin will help young talent in any way he can.”
Another film Gainey was part of that didn’t get the commercial acclaim but garnered critical acclaim was The Cooler. “It was a great script,” he said. “(Alec) Baldwin was nominated for an Oscar – so somebody was watching it! (William) Macy was fantastic. I am used to being in movies that don’t find wide audiences. Happy, Texas was a great movie and great script and people didn’t see it.”
Undeterred by the size of the audience, Gainey has made a great career for himself on small and big screen alike. Up next for Gainey is the film Greater, a movie he believes will do well.
“I just finished Greater – it’s a biopic of Brandon Burlsworth,” Gainey explained. “He went from a walk-on position to All-American at the University of Arkansas and died before he could ever make his professional debut. He’s a folk hero down in Arkansas and the SEC.”
When it comes to Southern heroes, Gainey is very honored to have been cast as one of the more popular lawmen of our generation in 2005’s The Dukes of Hazzard.
“I was proud to be cast as Rosco P. Coltrane,” Gainey beamed. “I didn’t want to do an impression because James Best had nailed it. I loved him when I was a young actor. I took inspiration from a sheriff in Mississippi that harassed me when I was a kid back in the ‘60s – I paid tribute to that son of a bitch. He wore lots of silver and black so that’s the way I wanted to go with that. It was satisfying to get that part because I’m a hired gun – but to play an iconic character like that was so satisfying. Working with Burt Reynolds and Willie Nelson is as good as it’s going to get. I was able to do the TV series in the ‘80s and the movie years later – you come back around.”
While Gainey is certain about things traveling full circle, he is much less convinced of his fame and the attention he gets for his performances. To Gainey, it’s all about self-awareness.
“I am not sure what the meaning of respect is,” he stated. “Sometimes you feel it. I feel it when a director wants to use me a second time in a movie – or a third time. The great directors had a group of people they used over and over again – that is what respect feels like to me. We are a fame-crazed culture now – and even supporting actors get so much attention. I’m not a star! I’m proud to be a working actor. I think to myself – ‘who gives a fuck about what I have to say? Just shut up and do your job.’ I’m happy I’m able to work. I’ve done a lot of movies with great performances and terrible performances. There are great directors who have cut my part out of their movie – it’s part of the game. But, as long as I have the self-awareness to realize that I’m just a guy – a guy with a nice fucking job – I’ll be fine. I’m happy with where I am.”