NANCY MILLS
NYT Syndicate
If Thomas Haden Church were an advice columnist, he'd have some words for the couple splitting up in the new HBO series 'Divorce'.
"'Keep fighting the good fight, not the ugly and hostile,'" he said."'Keep going after what's in your heart. Divorce is a slippery slope.'"
For a man who never has been married, Church sounds full of wisdom. Unfortunately Robert, the husband he plays on the new comedy, isn't prone to listening. Once his wife, Frances (Sarah Jessica Parker), asks him for a divorce, extreme, often hilarious behaviour takes over their relationship.
'Divorce', which is scheduled to begin airing October 9, brings Church back to television comedy, where he launched his career as a skating penguin on an episode of 'Cheers' (1989). Since a six-year run on 'Wings' (1990-1995) as dim airplane mechanic Lowell Mather, and after two years playing an advertising executive on 'Ned and Stacey' (1995-1997), the actor basically has been absent from the small screen.
Instead he's focused on films, racking up almost 30 big-screen credits and earning an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his work as a reckless husband-to-be in Sideways (2004). Nonetheless, his new career wasn't all he'd hoped it would be.
"I wanted to move on to try writing and directing features and do more prominent roles in features," Church said, speaking by telephone from his home outside Ingram, Texas."But I had a low level of success in accomplishing that.
"HBO had offered me a few things along the way," he continued."I definitely put my ear to the railroad tracks to know more precisely what they were doing, but I just didn't want to be part of television. Then SJ reached out to me."
'SJ' would be Parker, co-star and executive producer of 'Divorce'.
"SJ and I had worked together years ago in Smart People (2008) and hit it off," Church said."I read the script and we started talking.
"We have funny stuff that's very poignant, very dramatic and at times pathetic," he continued."Nobody wants to tell a familiar story, so we have quite a few unexpected things and side moves. It's a hand grenade going off in very slow motion."
Church may never have been married, but the actor ” who has two children by actress Mia Zottoli ” has some experience to bring to the project.
"I've gone through some upheavals," he admitted."I have two daughters, 12 and 7. I split up with their mother eight years ago. I did go through the whole custody agreement, how you're going to be financially supportive and how we split down the duties of co-parenting. Now I have a girlfriend, but I don't see marriage in my future."
'Divorce' isn't much of an advertisement for marriage, Church added, but it's not an argument against it either.
"People will see a lot of love and commitment and passion," he said."But such intense commitment can actually cause a lot of conflict. It depends how hard you're willing to fight for the good. It's easy to quit.
"I have plenty of friends dealing with divorce," the actor added."I bring my observations and see how they're just trying to survive it. Divorce is an industry now, and it's exploited like any other industry."
Church and Parker may be the two poles of 'Divorce', but he's under no illusions as to the focus of the show's appeal.
"SJ generates her own buzz, so people are going to see 'Divorce,'" he said."She very deftly strategises her brand. When it comes to television, she's the women's welterweight champion. She is a very thoughtful, determined businesswoman, yet she's kind, humble and grounded. Her brother is a Teamster."
Church considers himself equally grounded, and proved it by reeling off his scheduled activities for the day.
"I'll run errands," he said."I'll go work out, and then go see my daughter playing volleyball. I'll probably take the girls grocery shopping and then take them home. Then I have business things to deal with. I'm selling another house I own, and their inspector said the roof is shot."
His earliest ambition, Church said, was to be a cattle rancher. He grew up on a ranch in Texas, and at 13 started helping out one of his father's rancher friends. In high school he worked at radio stations.
While studying at the University of North Texas in Denton, however, he got interested in acting and filmmaking. Eventually he met a Los Angeles-based casting director, who hired him for a project in Texas and then encouraged him to come to Hollywood.
Quick success kept Church in California for more than a decade, but he never stopped feeling antsy there.
"I moved to Los Angeles in 1989," he said,"and I knew from the day I landed that it wasn't for me ” the town, the energy, the density of population. I didn't like constantly being surrounded by (entertainment) industry people. I did my time. I worked in TV for 10 years, and then bought my 2,000-acre ranch.
"In 2001 I moved away from LA, determined to have my life here in rural Texas."
Although he left the entertainment capital, Church did not leave show business. Whenever producers and directors call, he flies off to wherever he's needed. That has led to a mix of studio films and independent projects, the former including his performances as the villainous Sandman in Spider-Man 3 (2007), as a high-school teacher in Easy A (2010) and as the boss of Will Ferrell's character in Daddy's Home (2015). Among his indie outings have been Don McKay (2009) and Killer Joe (2011).
Church also co-wrote and directed his own independent feature, a road-trip movie called Rolling Kansas (2003). Since then, though, writing has become less important to him.
"Better projects come my way than the ones I write," he explained."I miss it, but now my passions are performing and producing."
Church returned briefly to television in the AMC miniseries Broken Trail (2006), playing a 19th-century cowboy. His performance brought him an Emmy Award as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie.
One of his rules, these days, is to avoid sequels. After making George of the Jungle (1997) and George of the Jungle 2 (2003), as well as Spider-Man 3, he feels that they aren't for him.
"I'm interested in keeping my profile in a certain place," Church said."I did two George of the Jungles, I did Spider-Man 3. I'm not interested in that.
"I was offered the lead in this horror movie, Don't Breathe," he continued."I worked on the script with the director for about a month, but I decided, 'If this is a hit, there will be Don't Breathe 2 and Don't Breathe 3, and I'm not interested in that.'"
The film opened this summer, with Stephen Lang in the lead, and has become a critical and box-office hit. That's fine with Church.
"I'm happy for my dear friend Stephen Lang," he said."It's a successful film, but I'm not a fan of that genre. Those movies are for people a lot younger than me."
Instead he chose to make two independent films. The upcoming Crash Pad is a romantic comedy with Christina Applegate, Nina Dobrev and Domhnall Gleason. Church plays an inattentive husband who moves in with his wife's lover and adopts a new lifestyle. Cardboard Boxer, currently in theatres, features Church as a homeless man.
"It offered me a lot of challenges, emotionally and otherwise," he said."My character is lured into the underworld of street-fighting for money. He needs the money to eat, shower and get a new sleeping bag. It's a very dark and interesting, and ultimately life-affirming, story. It's about a guy trying to improve his position in the world a little bit."
At 56, the actor seems satisfied with his own position in the world.
"I watched a scene from Daddy's Home the other night and thought, 'I guess I'm aging OK. I look like a Civil War general,'" Church joked."I'm in an OK place. I'm not on the radar of a lot of important filmmakers, not as much as I wish I was. But that's also by my own hand ” I'm very selective.
"I just wish Steven Spielberg would call me more."