The actor: Stephen Root has been in just about every kind of thing you can think of—from his hefty voiceover resumé and guest spots on Seinfeld and Veep to recurring characters on NewsRadio and The West Wing, and his iconic role as quiet-voiced loose cannon Milton Waddums in Office Space. (There’s even a Funko Pop toy of that last fellow.) The Coen brothers have spotlit his talents on various projects throughout the years as well, including The Ladykillers, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs. Even with this extensive list, we’ve hardly scratched the surface; we could easily have him on Random Roles several times over.
Now 71, the veteran character actor began his career when he stumbled upon theater as a student at the University of Florida, and ultimately left school to join The National Shakespeare Company. He toured with them for three years, gaining a firm foundation in thoroughly learning scripts and embodying a variety of characters, within even a single production, due to the troupe’s small size. And then, cutting to 2018—and skipping past a bunch of roles—the actor embarked on that timeliest of roles: Monroe Fuches on HBO’s Barry. (That show, as you may have heard, begins its fourth and final season on April 16.)
So to mark that fantastic series’ last chapter, The A.V. Club spoke with Root about plenty of career highlights, like performing on his favorite show Succession, finding commonalities between seemingly disparate characters, revisiting Bill Dauterive for the upcoming King Of The Hill reboot, and working with the Coens.
Stephen Root: Yes, yes. Complicated individual. Possibly as damaged as the character Bill [Hader] plays, Barry.
The A.V. Club: You really get a sense of that in this latest season, too, more so than in the previous ones.
SR: Yeah, it’s a pretty dark season. But I think it has to be just because of the PTSD overlie of various characters. I mean, it’s not a character that’s going to get better. And, you know, in the end, finally, whether he [damages] himself or somebody else does it, you know, it’s probably going that way. So, I wasn’t unhappy that [the show] was ending. It was ending on a realistic note, as opposed to going into another season and going, Why are we here?
I think everybody in this season plays a different version of themselves, which was a blessing as a character actor, you know. When Bill told me what Fuches was going to morph into as a character, I said, “Bill, I would never audition for this character; I would never be offered a job as this character.” And it’s a little scary to play somebody like that. So as a challenge as a character actor, it was fantastic: Relax and go; this is where the story goes, you’ve got to go there with it. I loved the challenge. It was really fun to be able to play a different character within a character.
AVC: Speaking of challenges, you hadn’t done a lot of improvisational acting before Barry, and you found yourself in the company of actors who had. How comfortable would you say you are with it now?
SR: I’m a lot more comfortable, especially with the quality of these actors. Plus what Bill has been doing for a while is improv stuff. I didn’t come up with it. I came up through straight Shakespeare and plays. So, in maybe the first season and the second season, it was a learning curve for me. You know your lines. And sometimes it’s, Bye-bye, lines! The lines are gonna go. And Bill would, in many cases, get to the set, look at the scene, and say, “Nah, I don’t want to do that. What do you think he’d say?” And so you’re thrown immediately into a situation where you have to be the character—what would the character say in this circumstance?—and I had not been brought up that way. But being with these superlative actors, it was much more comfortable to do, and by this season, it was a normal procedure for me. That was a great thing to learn this late in life.
AVC: Do any moments stand out to you as particularly special that you were able to improvise?
SR: I remember an improvisational scene—I think it was season three—after we’d had this whole thing where I was in the car with a little girl [laughs]. We had to do a scene that came right after that, and Bill didn’t like what was written, so we scrapped that that day and came back the next day in a completely different context. [It was,] You’re coming out of a K Mart, you got new clothes, okay, let’s go. [We had] the arc of the scene but we didn’t necessarily have it written. So I think that was really fun for me, and it made me feel 1,000 times better to be able to do that with Bill.
SR: [Laughs] Wow. Yeah, yeah. Another not nice person.
AVC: Not nice, and kind of a Fuches-adjacent “bad uncle” situation.
SR: Exactly. And Swoozie Kurtz’s character as well. We were kind of yin-yang in that show. Not a good person to play. That was a very specific show in terms of shooting it. The DP really wanted to get as close as he could to your face, so that you really weren’t working with the actor. Behind the camera, you were working with a tiny little X spot on the side of the camera. So that was a different learning curve, learning to work with a camera this close but still having to relate to the actor behind the camera. That helped me later on with Fuches, because I could go right into it without thinking about whether he was evil or not.
SR: I loved working with Jordan [Peele]. Such a blessing. We shot that so quickly. That’s what was great about it. There wasn’t necessarily a degree of improv in it, because Jordan had such a specific idea of what he wanted to do. He did let me play around with how blind the guy was and how we convey that. And [he] was just as evil as Fuches—just as evil as you can get, I think. It was a very strange thing to see the top of your head being cut off. [Laughs] So, I guess he got what he deserved. But yeah, all those little things that you do inform you for the next performance. And all of that obviously did.
AVC: You’ve play a blind character at least twice.
SR: In O Brother, Where Art Thou? Sure, yeah.
AVC: Speaking of Joel Coen… You brought up your Shakespearean training before. How long had it been since you’d last done Shakespeare before this film came around?
SR: You know, I had done Much Ado About Nothing with Helen Hunt here in L.A. at the Kirk Douglas [Theatre]. So it hadn’t been forever, but it had been five or six years since we did that show. And that was a comedy. [Laughs] “The Scottish Play” is not a comedy. At some point, things get so dramatic that you have to have a release. That was Porter that I played in this thing. He is not evil in any sense, but he is a conniver. And that addressed the Fuches part, he is a complete conniver. Hi, buddy. How are you? Hey, if we go over here, what if I did this, you give me money … ? [Laughs] That’s basically what Fuches does. Like, You go do this, you shoot him, and you’ll give me the money, and everything will be great! So, that conniver informed that part of Fuches, I think.
AVC: The Coens again. This time you’re a businessman who’s trying to just get rid of a threat.
SR: That character I enjoyed just because it was so still. I was completely still. “There’s no 13th floor.” “We’ll look into it.” [Laughs] Very, very understated stuff like Fuches does later on in this season, because he’s comfortable. He has decided he’s comfortable with himself. So I would say that part of that character in No Country definitely informed the—how shall we say—new Fuches.
SR: That was interesting. I mean, that’s my favorite show. I love it, so I wanted to go work with those people. I was thrilled that they wanted me for this guy. I came in with a different interpretation of the guy. I had him as a billionaire kind of a blowhard. And we got to the set to film it, and they said, “What if he’s not a very good speaker?” [Laughs] I went, “That’s completely not what I was thinking, but because I’ve had some improv stuff on this other show, yeah, let’s go in that direction.” So actually, Barry helped me with that show, to completely go 180 from what you were going to do. It’s a great show. I was able to work with them this season as well.
SR: Again, not a nice person who plays with a nice face. He’s not as much a conniver as the others but he’s a two-face. The water monger is a two-face. He wants. He has avarice; he wants money—in that way, like Fuches. And he’ll smile at you until he shoots you. That smiling facade informed Fuches as well.
AVC: You know who else is a bit of a conniver? Milton from Office Space.
SR: [Laughs] Poor Milton. I don’t know if he’s as much a conniver as a clueless soul, because Milton really didn’t even know he wasn’t working there anymore. He thought he was. This was a great thing for me to be able to do, because it was playing kind of a big character very small. But he talked in a very low voice, which kind of informs what we did with the later Fuches in season four. But yeah, I’d say that informed that because he was not underneath he was a conniver but he comes off as just a clueless guy. I think other than [Fuches from] Barry, that is the person people come up to me to talk about most. I’m happy that Barry is taking over for Milton.
AVC: Do you think that Bill Dauterive will start to get a little more love with the King Of The Hill reboot coming up?
SR: I certainly hope so. We’re so excited to do it. Because we were a family for 13 years doing that show. Births and deaths and children and divorces and marriages—we saw everything life delivers. So I think this will be a joyous occasion to be able to see all these people again. We’ve kept in touch, but it’s hard when a show’s been off the air for 10 years to stay very close. I’ve stayed close with a couple of people from the show.
AVC: Bill is kind of the anti-Fuches.
SR: [Laughs] Yeah. But like Fuches, Bill loves the people that he’s around—loves Hank, he loves Dale, he loves Boomhauer, and he wouldn’t want to be anyplace else. He’s been with them all his life, kind of like Fuches has been with Barry all his life. There’s that unconditional love that he has for all of them that Fuches has for Barry. No matter what happens, even if he’s ready to kill him, the next moment he’s ready to embrace him.
AVC: You’ve actually done a lot of animated voiceover, a lot of kids’ shows, and one that comes to mind, because they’re expanding that universe is The Legend of Korra. That first episode: You are all over that thing!
SR: [Laughs] Doing animation projects has kind of replaced theater for me, just because you can do so many things with your voice that you can’t do onstage. Being able to play different characters, especially for children’s stuff, is fantastically fun. I think at the moment, I’m doing at least three different shows, and feel very, very lucky to be able to do any of it.
AVC: Before you were ever involved in Star Wars, you got to be Captain K’Vada in Star Trek: the Next Generation.
SR: Yeah, that was a big job for me when I was a younger actor. I started out onstage and had done so much stage—Broadway and Off Broadway—but I hadn’t done a lot of television, and specifically hadn’t done a lot of hour television. I’d done some half-hour and was comfortable with that. I’m a big sci-fi fan anyway, so to do that show was a very big deal for me early in my career, and to learn the ins and outs of a long makeup process, because becoming a Klingon on back in the early ’90s was at least a three-and-a-half-hour process to put on and an hour process to take off. So having done a lot of makeup things since then, that was a good training ground for that. I feel very fortunate to be in the Trek and the Wars universes at the same time.
AVC: You get to hop over from one convention to the next!
SR: One convention to the next, let’s go to Comic-Con.
AVC: You’ve mentioned how writing is so key for you when getting involved in a project.
SR: Very much so.
AVC: And you’ve also said that you’re ready to take on a leading role. I think we’re all ready for that.
SR: Thanks.
AVC: Are there any writers whose work you would love to take to the screen?
SR: That’s a good question. The quality of writers who I’m getting to work with now, on film and/or TV, is so much higher than when I started my career. When I started my career, I felt like I was trying to turn straw into gold, and now that I’ve had some sort of career, I’m turning gold into platinum, I hope, because the writing is so good on the projects that I want to do. It’s always a matter of not just the writing. It’s people who you want to work with, people who you admire, who you think you can learn from. And a director that you want to work with. I’m hoping Bill [Hader] will do more features that I could be involved with at some point. I think, as a huge cinephile, he will transition ultimately to films, and I would love to work with him. But, like I say, it’s not so much a singular director or writer. It’s the quality of the writers that I’m getting to work with now that makes me feel very, very fortunate.
AVC: Absolutely. Let’s give Bill a nudge, huh?
SR: When is the movie coming out?
AVC: When’s the movie coming out? Who am I playing? It is the lead, right?
SR: And am I Fuches in the Noho Hank feature? [Laughs]
AVC: So, then that just becomes a universe: the Barryverse.
SR: Oh, my goodness. Yeah. It’s a great universe to be in. Again, just very, very lucky to be at this stage of my career working with such amazing people.
64 Comments
What! Only a passing mention for Jimmy James.
I agree. HOW DARE THEY.
Jimmy James is the role I most associate Stephen Root with and this clip is the pinnacle of that character.
The slow descent into complete defeat, ending with the sigh, is my second favorite Jimmy James moment in the series.The first is when his reaction right before he chases the “fan dancing stripper mathematician” at the talent show. Which also reunited Dave Foley with one of his KitH brethren as the “Great Throwdini”.
Same here. So nice they named him twice.
“You moved to New Hampshire?!”“The maple syrup only has to travel three states! You can taste the difference!”
Any clip with Gruber, Root, Posehn and Foley belongs in a museum somewhere.And “Jimmy has plans, and pants to match” is a surprisingly easy quote to deploy in every day life.
He was in another episode too, “Chock” when Slippin’ Jimmy and Slow Donny also showed up to sing acapella with Dave.
Yeah I was totally scrolling to see this! Like, they really didn’t ask him about Jimmy James!
I agree, this is just disgusting. It’s high time we start a revolt against the AV Club. Like Custer, we will make a stand!
Big Chief Custer killed many paleface that day!
Or in the spirit of a current Stephen Root character, instead of taking a stand, we just take the stash house from right under ’em
Wasn’t Custer massacred?
https://www.avclub.com/stephen-root-1798212985when he did this same thing back in 2007 he talked more about it.
I didn’t mind the no Jimmy James questions, because I remember he was asked last time. Root is the kind of actor who should do a Random Roles every couple years. He works a ton and elevates every damn project he’s in.
Not only that, but calling him a “recurring character”. Jimmy James was the heart of the show!Okay, maybe the spleen….EDIT: Also, “Not to mention, Kermit the damn frog!” is possibly Jimmy’s finest moment.
I was literally going to complain about the “recurring character” part– he’s part of the main cast and one of only three actors who appeared in every single episode.
Nerd alert: Those three are Root, Dave Foley, and Andy Dick.Maura Tierney is credited in every episode but does not appear in “Twins” as she was filming Liar, Liar.Vicki Lewis does not appear and is not credited in “Sinking Ship.” She also does not appear in “Jackass Junior High” (both of those she was filming Pushing Tin) or “Sleeping.” (The latter surprises me, but that’s what IMDB says.)Joe Rogan did not appear in the pilot.Khandi Alexander did not appear in the pilot, and of course left the show during season 4.Phil Hartman, well, we all know what happened there.
yeah the “ctrl+f” to disappointment whiplash was strong with this one.
I am also outraged at the massive disrespect to the man so nice they named him twice.Seriously, “Recurring?” He was one of only four people who was in every single episode of the show. Even the pilot (The single fleeting moment in time where I can watch the show without having to see Joe Rogan)!
He’s done RR before and JJ was in the discussion.But does he not consider that role “early in his career?” It’s certainly how I first became aware of him, and hard to argue the writing was anything less than genius (especially for his character).
Sidenote: I fucking love that 90s pomo door on that office. Teal oval framing – what is that? Red oak? – and the perfectly semi-circular pushplate.
I love this scene so much, and part of it is how good Maura Tierney is physically, and how she can let Root just grab her arm and wave it up and down while Jimmy’s ranting about Snuffleupagus.
Love Stephen Root but whenever he pops up in something the first role I think of is Jimmy James. He just took over any scene he was in and left you wanting more. Also, RIP Phil Hartman.
I just wish they could’ve spent a little more time on his voiceover work, specifically his roles for Adventure Time (most notably, Martin Mertins and the Royal Tart Toter) and Gravity Falls (Bud Gleeful).
I’m currently watching Amphibia for the first time, and his work in that is really fun.
I appreciate how every random role Stephen Root discusses circles back to his current project, enough that I’m going to assume the few times we do not see it, those remarks were edited out. That is some serious media training.
I think they need to get him back for another go at Random Roles when he’s not on a promo tour, and there’s no PR flack gesticulating madly to him just out of Meredith’s field of vision.
C’mon, that’s a pro’s pro right there. If you’re not playing leads then make yourself as valuable to every project as you can.
If it weren’t for PR flacks gesticulating wildly at the AV Club, the AV Club wouldn’t make any content these days.
He was also great as Chris Kraft in “From The Earth To The Moon.” Not a huge role, but he was so memorable in it, as he is in just about everything.
I loved him as Eddie the doomed vampire in the first season of “True Blood,” too. He’s INCREDIBLE on “Barry.” What a versatile actor.
EDDIE FOURNIER! I was so hoping there would be discussion of Eddie Fournier. I mean, Stephen Root is a gay vampire. And he makes it strangely affecting. Eddie crops up a couple of times in flashbacks or dreams later on in the series, and every time it’s a treat.
Absolutely one of the greatest actors who’s ever lived. That’s not hyperbole. The man is in everything, and yet every time he shows up in something he’s a goddamned delight. No joke, he should get a lifetime achievement award at the Oscars as soon as possible. How do we make this happen?
I always play a game of “When will Jimmy James or Bill Lumbergh show up” whenever I start a new series.
Totally. We are so short on quality character actors, I feel like we need to protect guys like Root and Gary Cole as long as we possibly can.
They’ve actually been in multiple movies together, too.Dodgeball and Office Space immediately come to mind.
You are absolutely correct, sir. He is giant among men. I have never failed to be impressed with his work. Jimmy James is the pinnacle.
He’s just the absolute chameleon. Even in No Country, where he’s just sitting there behind a desk in a suit, his facial expression is different enough that my initial response was “hang on, is that Stephen Root?”Going from Jimmy James to Milton is mind-boggling.Pan shot!
It’s amazing how you know it’s the same guy playing The Man Who Hires Wells and the Teller in Ballad Of Buster Scruggs, they look the same, yet they absolutely feel totally different. That’s talent. That’s skill. It’s Anthony Hopkins-good.
Oscars? Small potatoes. The man deserves a fucking Nobel Prize.
I watched the entirety of Six Feet Under waiting for him to pop up, and he never did.
PAN HIT!
Well hot damn I haven’t seen Root in a while, he’s aging great! Good for him, he rules!
This is a fantastic Random Roles with a fantastic actor. I clicked on this hoping Justified and News Radio would be topics, but I have no annoyance or surprise that they are not. Because this man has been in everything, and there is only so much time in his day to cover roles.I cannot think of a Stephen Root performance that has not elevated whatever show it is.
He was absolutely amazing on Just Shoot Me, when he played a sham counselor who had Elliott, Maya, Finch, and Nina running around fighting each other for various color binders, which indicated how “well” they were doing in therapy.
See, this just goes to show how much great stuff he has done. I saw this episode of Just Shoot Me. It was great, and Root was great in it. And I had completely forgotten it was his work.Thanks for the reminder!
The Speedo Judge!
The scene at the start of Justified Season 5 when Dewey Crowe wins in court is one of the TV scenes that has most amused me in the last decade. And the scene works mainly because of Judge Reardon’s complete exasperation with the entire situation. Stephen Root is so fantastic in that show (and in pretty much everything).
Kills me to see Daniel Craig do a bad Foghorn Leghorn when Stephen Root would have slayed as Benoit Blanc.
I don’t care how good Knives Out supposedly is. I simply cannot get past that accent.
I got an honest jolt when I read there that Stephen Root is 71. He seems strangely ageless.
I think it’s because he never looked young.
I would have assumed that Root would have been one of the first people this column would interview. He seems like a no-brainer for a Random Roles discussion.
he’s done it before.
What I found:https://www.avclub.com/stephen-root-1798229969https://www.avclub.com/stephen-root-1798212985
So, no Man in the High Castle?
I worked at some 10th anniversary party or other for Office Space, here in Austin. We had flair and all that. There was an after-party at the restaurant they shot at and us plebs were allowed to attend. I ended up getting to hang out with Stephen Root for a good bit. He was really cool and he told me some stories about News Radio. Just stuff about how fun it was. All around nice guy.
What about his guest appearance on Night Court where he played a man who believed he was Death. That was a terrific part.
He wasn’t a “recurring character” on Newsradio, he was a series regular. And it’s unforgivable this wasn’t brought up in the interview.
“And am I Fuches in the NoHo Hank feature?”Good lord, would I ever watch that!
I was so waiting for a Jimmy James question. Very disappointed!
Life-long enjoyer of his work. He makes the most unlikable characters endearing. If he’s 71 then the last episode of Barry was filmed 10 years ago because there’s no way.
No mention of Lynn Boyle from B99 or Eddie from True Blood?