Former Lake Forest resident relishes 'pivotal' role in '99 Homes'
Ramin Bahrani's hard-hitting drama "99 Homes" goes wide in local theaters this weekend. If you see it, you'll notice actor Tim Guinee as a dad struggling to keep his house from being foreclosed by Andrew Garfield's real estate agent.
The Los Angeles-born Guinee, 52, grew up in Lake Forest and moved to Texas in eighth grade. I lobbed five questions to the versatile TV/movie/stage actor as he finished driving from a movie set in Calgary to his upstate New York home.
Q. Did Lake Forest have any influence over your career choices?
A. I got to be in a theater company called Group For. Phyllis Mount started the company and it had wonderful people who worked with kids doing mostly musicals, I think. It was fantastic!
It was the first time in my life when I really connected to something. I wasn't a particularly good student. But I discovered something I really cared about in the theater. That was a huge gift from the universe.
Q. You carry a big chunk of "99 Homes" outside of the leads, Michael Shannon and Andrew Garfield.
A. It's not the biggest role in the movie, but it sure is pivotal. A wonderful part to get to play, and very challenging. The places I have to go to emotionally are big places.
As an actor, you really want a director you can trust to say, "You're over the top!" or "Keep going!" You need someone who has your back, and I found that in our director, Ramin.
Q. You don't get the luxury of taking an entire movie to explore your character. If you're a supporting player, don't you have to be something of a sprinter?
A. You got that right. It was a challenging part. You've got to make choices that quickly convey the character. Mine also has a couple of kids and a wife. I spent time together with the kids so they could get used to me. I also spent some time with my wife (Cynthia Santiago) for the same reason.
Q. You just wrapped up shooting the AMC series "Hell on Wheels" for its final 14 episodes for next year. Any thoughts on leaving it?
A. We just finished the series last Friday. It was a fantastic experience. I love this character I play (Collis Huntington, an investor in the Central Pacific Railroad). He's an extraordinarily complicated man. He's an abolitionist, but also a racist. He's really fun to play. I'm very sad it's over. I'm going to miss it terribly.
Q. What's the appeal of being a professional actor over, say, being a dentist or real estate agent?
A. I would say that what I enjoy about it is that you're forced to have empathy for others. I think acting is expansive to your sense of humanity.
It's a really fun adventure. I'm not sitting behind some desk week after week. I think I have the right instincts for the strange life I live. I enjoy it thoroughly.