본문 바로가기

SFU 배우들

Six Feet Under 종영 후 피터 크라우즈 인터뷰

Death becomes him: An interview with Peter Krause

Jenny Stewart

After watching Peter Krause play Nate Fisher for four years on HBO's smash hit series "Six Feet Under," we've realized a few things: Nobody can pull off the mortician suit and rock star haircut like he can. Nobody breaks down into tortured sobs more convincingly. Nobody can be as commitment-phobic, unfaithful, lost and reckless as his character has been -- and still arouse in us such burning affection and attraction.

Now that the fifth and final season of "Six Feet Under" is under way, fans of the show are wondering how they're going to get by without their weekly fix of the dreamy funeral director. PlanetOut Entertainment Editor Jenny Stewart discovered Krause might be going through some separation anxiety himself when she talked to the actor about practical jokes on the set, his relationship to his co-stars and his dysfunctional relationships (on screen and off).

 
You've said that Nate Fisher is such a part of your mindscape that you've had dreams as Nate. After five years, Nate is about to be over. How will you deal with him being gone from your life?
There will be some remorse about leaving Nate behind. But one thing positive about the difficulty of this role is that I've gotten a lot better at leaving my work at work. The first couple of seasons, I was pretty obsessive, and as time moved on it became much less productive. It started to affect my personal life adversely. So I needed to find a much more compartmentalized way of dealing with my job.

 When you initially auditioned for "Six Feet Under," you tried out for the role of David, Nate's gay brother. How do you think your life would have been affected had you taken that role?
Hmmm ... Maybe I'd be living in San Francisco and own a pair of assless chaps or assless jeans. [Laughs.] No, I'm sure it would be different. I think that both David and Nate have suffered, but looking back, I think Nate in some ways was much more psychologically tormented. David was able to liberate himself from some of his own psychological chains. But what's encouraging is that through it all, Nate never became absolutely despondent. He's certainly gotten depressed, but there was always one day or one morning where he woke up and moved forward.
 
It occurs to me that Nate is the only Fisher sibling not to have had a gay experience.
Hey -- I did teach David how to masturbate! [Laughs.] That was something Nate said when he was high on ecstasy, so I don't know if that can qualify as a gay experience. I think that Nate is decidedly a heterosexual and greatly enjoys women and enjoys the attention he gets from women.
 
There have been so many great guest stars on the show. Anyone in particular you had a great experience with?
I didn't have as much time with Patty Clarkson as I would have liked to, but Kathy [Bates] and I got along great. We once pulled a practical joke on Michael Hall. There was an old woman in a casket who was supposed to be dead, and we were checking out Rico's work on her. We had installed a remote-controlled fart device inside the casket. The old woman was in on it, and I had the remote control in my pocket. So Michael and I leaned over to look at the woman, and I pressed the button, and fart noises started going off. Me and the crew started giggling. But Michael got very upset because he felt we shouldn't be laughing at this poor old woman who couldn't control her intestines. Kathy was directing, and she was back behind the monitor and she was just ... crying, she was laughing so hard. Michael was not too happy when he found out he was a target.
Truth be told, Lili [Taylor] and I -- some of those scenes we had to do were quite difficult. But she and I had got along quite well. We really enjoyed each other's company, so sometimes it was really difficult for us to want to play the "great Bickersons," simply because it went so much against our natural chemistry. Oh, and it was also great to have James Cromwell around. Oh wait -- my God! Rainn Wilson, who played Arthur, was also great.

 So, people naturally wonder if you've ever been in a relationship as dysfunctional as Nate and Brenda's.
Umm ... let me see how, many have I been in like that? [Counts out loud.] I can't count that high.

Really? So even the dysfunctional relationship hits close to home?
Yeah, there have definitely been a few, for sure. But wait -- then again, I've been in a bunch that haven't been like that, so I think it evens out.
You are very close to the cast -- and you guys sometimes address each other by character names off the set. You say you think you are going to have to let Nate go completely after the show, right?
I think I'm going to have to, yes.
 
OK, say you let Nate go, and then in a few months, you get together socially with the cast. Wouldn't being around them bring out your innate Nate-ness? And could that be damaging to your getting back to being Peter?
I'm sure it definitely will happen, but I don't necessarily think it will be damaging. When Michael and Lauren and I get together, it definitely feels like we are siblings, and Frances is sort of my quasi-mom. You really do begin to feel like these people are their characters because you spend so much time with them in an imaginary world.
But we'll just have to see what happens. What I imagine it will be will not be what it is, I know that much.

What are you going to do next?

There are a number of films that have come my way this coming summer, and I'm trying to figure out what I want to do. In terms of TV, the past seven years I've spent doing "Sports Night" and "Six Feet Under," so it's kind of hard to top that.
 
Speaking of "Sports Night," you co-starred with Felicity Huffman on that show, and now she's on "Desperate Housewives."
I was so proud of Felicity when she got that role. I had a great time working with her on "Sports Night." When I first tuned in to "Desperate Housewives," it didn't have as much dimension as it does now, and that's the wonderful thing about television series -- they're allowed to grow.
And it's a fascinating show, because they've given themselves a story format where anything can happen. They can get really dramatic, they can get really comedic -- kooky stuff can happen, and they don't have to hang on to some model of "this is what the show is." I think that's smart.
I have to tell you this thing about Felicity. The first season we did "Sports Night," there were some kids visiting the set. Felicity said "I'm not particularly fond of children." [Laughs hard.] And I said, "Felicity, I can't believe you said that." I actually wrote it down on a piece of paper, dated it and saved it. And lo and behold she got pregnant and now has two daughters in real life, and on the show she's got a bunch of kids, so she's dealing with kids all the time now.
 
If you could star in a same-sex love story, which male actor would you want to play your boyfriend?
Hmm ... Based on Michael Hall's comfort with Matthew St. Patrick, maybe I'd go with him. Or maybe Michael -- but wait, he plays my brother, so that would be weird. Or what about Jeremy Sisto, who plays Brenda's brother Billy? And all the women I know want to get it on with Richard Jenkins, who plays my dad on the show.

Are you serious?
Yeah, women find him really sexy. How about you? Do you find him sexy?

Hmmm. Well, I do like him a lot [Laughing] but I guess I just don't think of Richard Jenkins in a sexual way. But let me think about it a little more. Nice chatting with you. Here's hoping you don't die this season.

 
- 2005년 식스핏언더 종영 후 진행된 피터 크라우즈의 인터뷰이다.-
( 몇몇 질문과 대답은 패쓰했음)
 
처음 몇 시즌은 네이트의 역할에 사로잡히다시피 해서 많이 힘들었다는 피터 크라우즈, 그는 식스핏언더의 종영으로 네이트를 떠나 보내면서 후회되는 점도 있다고 한다. 또한 식스핏언더를 찍는 동안 그 역할이 개인 생활에 미치는 영향도 상당히 컸고 그 때문에 일과 사생활을 분리하기 위해 노력했었다고 말했다.
 
원래 피터가 게이인 데이빗 피셔의 역할을 제의 받았다고 들었는데 만일 그 역할을 했다면 인생에 영향을 끼쳤을거 같냐는 질문에 피터는 샌프란시스코에 살면서 엉덩이 없는 카우보이 바지나 청바지를 샀을거라며 농담을 했다. 하지만 곧 진지하게 물론 영향을 미쳤을거라고 이야기했다. 피터는 극 중 네이트와 데이빗 두사람 다 고통을 받았지만 자기 생각엔 네이트는 다른 방면으로 더 많은 정신적인 고통을 받았다고 생각한다고 했다. 데이빗은 자신을 둘러싼 정신적인 속박에서 벗어나 자유롭게 되기위해 노력했고 네이트 역시 절대 낙담하지 않는 사람이었으며 절망적 순간에도 일어나 앞으로 나가려고 노력했다고 말했다.
형제 중 유일하게 동성애 경험이 없는거에 대해 어떻게 생각하느냐는 질문에 피터는 무슨 소리냐며 마이클에게 자위행위를 가르쳐준게 나라며 물론 약에 취한 상태였지만....하고 웃었다. 그는 네이트는 완벽한 이성애자이며 여자들과 함께 하는걸 좋아하는 사람이라고 했다.
 
식스핏언더 촬영기간 동안 출연자들과 많이 가까웠을 것이고 특히 네이트를 떠나 보내고 피터 크라우즈로 돌아오는 것에 대해 힘들지 않겠느냐는 질문에 정말 자신이 그 캐릭터로 느껴지기 시작하는건 그만큼 오랜시간 가상의 세계에서 함께 했기 때문이며 마이클이나 프랜시스와 함께 있으면 가족처럼 느껴진다며 특히 프랜시스는 정말 어머니 같은 생각이 든다고 말했다.
(하지만 프랜시스와 피터는 실제로 11살 밖에 차이가 안난다..;;;)
 
한번은 마이클을 재밌게 해줄려고 노인이 누워 있는 관속에 리모트 콘트롤을 사용해서 방귀 소리를 내는 장치를 만들었고 리코가 작업을 다 끝내고 나가자 피터가 주머니 속에 갖고 있던 버튼을 눌러 방귀 소리를 냈다고 한다.그 소리에 피터와 스텝들은 킬킬거리며 웃었는데 마이클은 망자에 대한 예의가 아니라며 화를 냈다고 했다. 그 에피소드의 감독을 맡았던 케시 베이츠 역시 웃기는 커녕 모니터로 그 장면을 보며 울었다고 했다.
(피터 무지 뻘쭘하셨겠어요 ...^^;;)
 
그리고 식스핏언더에 출연한 많은 게스트 중에 가장 기억에 남는 게스트가 누구냐는 질문에  피터는 패트리샤 클락슨이나 캐시 베이츠.제임스 크롬웰과 아서역의 레인 윌슨 외에도 릴리 테일러를 언급했다!! 그녀와는 아주 까다로운 씬들도 있었지만 함께 잘해냈으며 동료로서 함께 연기하는게 정말 즐거웠다고 말했다 .그래서 그런 편안하고 자연스런 감정들 때문에 오히려 몇몇 장면을 찍는게 힘들기도 했다고.
 
피터는 드라마 Sports Night에서 함께 공연 했던 팰리시티 허프만이 위기의 주부들로 잘 나가는 것에 대해서도 기쁘다며 드라마틱한 요소와 코믹한 요소가 잘 결합된 훌륭한 쇼라고 칭찬했다, 그리고 Sports Night를 찍는 동안 일어난 펠리시티에 대한 추억을 큰소리로 웃으며 이야기 했다. sports Night를 찍는 어느날 아이들이 스튜디오에 왔었는데 펠리시티는 자기는 아이들을 별로 좋아하지 않는다고 고백했다고 한다. 피터는 당신이 그렇게 이야기하다니 믿을수가 없다며 대본 밑에 날짜와 그 일을 적어두었단다. 그런데 아이러니하게도 오늘날 그녀는 두 딸의 엄마이며 위기의 주부들에서는 여러명의 아이를 두고 고생하는 엄마로 나온다는 것이다.
 
또 이 싸이트 이름에서도 알 수 있듯이 질문 내용엔 극중 게이인 남동생 마이클과 게이에 대한 질문이 많다.
특히 마지막 질문으로 만약 당신이 게이 역할을 한다면 어떤 파트너를 원하느냐는 질문에 극중 마이클의 파트너인 매튜 세인트 패트릭이 괜찮겠지만 아무래도 남동생의 연인이니 껄끄러울것 같구 브렌다의 남동생으로 나온 제레미 시스토도 괜찮을거 같지만 여자들은 아마도 극중 아버지로 나온 리차드 젠킨스를 좋아할 것이라며 말한 피터의 대답이 대박이다. 황당한 듯 진심이냐고 되묻는 진행자에게 젠킨스에게서 섹시함을 느끼지 못하냐고 놀리는 피터 ... (그대는 재치꾸러기 !! ^^;;)
 
출처: http://www.gay.com/entertainment/news/?coll=pno_entertainment&sernum=1052&page=1
 
 
식스핏언더 엔딩을 본지 2년여가 지났지만 아직도 내게 피터 크라우즈는 네이트 피셔이다....