Well, the May issue of Esquire turned out to be a disappointment, at least as far as the cover was concerned. I knew several months ago that they were going to be doing a story on Bradley Whitford, because one of my best friends, photographer Chris Buck, had been hired to shoot the photos for it. I also knew that Whitford's brother was writing the profile, eventually titled "The Secret Life of an Actor," and I had vainly hoped that they would feature Brad's charming mug on the cover. Little did I realize that Esquire is apparently obliged not only to festoon every cover with some nubile starlet or other, but also to feature Charlize Theron thereupon no less than twice a year. (The article on Brad is relegated to the headline, "That Guy from The West Wing.") On the May cover, Theron and her right nipple appear wrapped in a strapless chiffon-y thing of a colour that tones with her alabaster skin, so that, at a cursory glance, she appears to be naked, although, of course, she's not. (I understand that the contractual difficulties with her left nipple have since been resolved and that you can expect a full complement of nipplage in her appearance.) Her hair is curled and frizzed to within an inch of its life, obscuring her right eye. As far as I can tell, they're going for a sort of gauzy late-1920s/early 1930s-ish look. The silly/scary photos of Theron inside accompany one of the thinnest excuses for an article I've ever read, even if the only thing I'd ever read were celebrity puff pieces. But The Man from F.U.N.K.L.E. has already addressed that idiotic article more than adequately, so I'll move on to the reason you're all here, which is to lap up more information about Joshua, Josh, Josh...I mean, "Bradley Whitford."
The article is written by Brad's brother David Whitford. I can't imagine being able to write very objectively at all about any of my siblings, never mind if said sibling were a celebrity. (I wonder if David was at all tempted to provide the literary equivalent of a wedgie?) In fact, David Whitford does quite a good job of moving smoothly between the unavoidable familial intimacy and the necessary journalistic distance. He admits right off that while Brad makes about fourteen times as much money as he does (which sounds good, although the pay for writing being what it is, I don't know if I'm all that impressed with that...but perhaps the author does extremely well for himself), he's never seriously envied Brad the fame, the freebies, the glamour, and the glory. But it turns out Brad loves his work so much, and gets such a bang out of what he does, that he describes it in this way: "It always feels like batting practice felt to me...I always wanted more." And his brother envies him that. Can't blame him; loving what you do to put food on the table is easily one of life's greatest blessings.
"The Secret Life of an Actor"
“ Brad has 'always been a hugger. He doesn't know this, but as a young man in college, he once hugged my mother so tightly he broke one of her ribs.' I bet Brad was probably somewhat alarmed to learn this from the article. ”
David Whitford goes on to say that when he went to the studio in January to interview Brad, he hadn't seen him, except on television, for about nine months, and that it was "unexpectedly awkward" at first. He thought that Brad's hair looked redder and that his head looked bigger. He and Brad are two and half years apart; they grew up in a Quaker household. Brad is the youngest of five children (which doesn't surprise me, as a big adherent to ideas about birth order; Brad manifests what I think of as classic "youngest child" energy.) Brad was always a "cutup" and a "ham," and somehow that amazes no one who's watched Brad's many performances, but most especially those who've come to love him in the role of Josh Lyman, Deputy Chief of Staff. Whitford's equally gifted at comedy and drama, but he does seem unusually ready to provide a smirk and an offhand remark at any given moment.
David went to the Golden Globes with Brad and his wife, actor and Malcolm in the Middle star Jane Kaczmarek. He mentions that Brad held his (then) fourteen-month-old son George (named after Brad's and David's late father), and tells the reader that Brad has "always been a hugger. He doesn't know this, but as a young man in college, he once hugged my mother so tightly he broke one of her ribs." I bet Brad was probably somewhat alarmed to learn this from the article. Ma Whitford is quoted as saying, "I didn't want to mention it. It was such fun to have him do it." Still, you might want to go easy on baby George, there, Brad. They also have a three-year-old daughter named Frances. The main photograph accompanying the article is of Whitford holding a naked George, but the baby's face is turned toward Whitford, so he's not identifiable. (Many celebrities are rightly concerned about keeping their children out of the spotlight; I'm sure Whitford and Kaczmarek are no exceptions.) The baby's pale skin contrasts strongly with Brad's black clothing, emphasizing his embrace of his son. Brad is revealing the beginning of a smile; it's a sweet, appealing photo of a man who looks like he might know just how fortunate he is.
Other photos include a very cute childhood picture of Brad at two and a half, a photo from a high-school production of Annie Get Your Gun, and stills from a number of Brad's better-known films. There are also a couple more of Chris's shots, both of Brad with John Spencer. In one, Brad's clowning around with Spencer, putting his leg way up on Spencer's back while holding his own foot; Brad looks pretty agile. The caption claims he's practicing his yoga. I asked Chris for some gossip or tidbits about the actors, and pressed him for any information about Martin Sheen (but Sheen was not on the set when Chris was shooting, sadly). Chris described Brad as very relaxed, spontaneous, giving, and "connected in the moment." He also gave me a few bits for all you John Spencer fans: Chris said Spencer talks a "blue streak" and that once he got going, he couldn't stop: "He was full of funny stories." He also noticed that Spencer really made an effort to come over and say hello. Apparently Spencer's just the kind of salt-of-the-earth guy I take him for.
"The Secret Life of an Actor"
The author goes on to describe the acting backgrounds of both Jane and Brad, who met in New York in 1989. Brad is a graduate of Juilliard, and Jane's a Yalie. They did reasonably well for themselves in theatre and film, but had shied away from television somewhat. Television, however, turned out to be the jackpot for both of them: in 1999, they each landed starring roles in shows that went on to enjoy enormous success, a situation the author describes as "simultaneous career orgasm." David Whitford also describes the pandemonium as their limousine arrived at the Golden Globes, and subtly conveys Brad's comfort with the high profile he now enjoys, accepting greetings and kudos from the likes of Jack Lemmon, Julia Roberts, and Tom Hanks. Alas, as most fans already know, Brad lost the Golden Globe award to Robert Downey Jr. (and Jane lost to Sarah Jessica Parker). But it sounds like David, Brad, and Jane went off and enjoyed themselves at the post-award parties all the same.
Moving along to the meat of the article, David gets his brother talking about acting. Brad believes that "actors are basically alcoholics waiting to happen" because he feels that if one is the sort of person who thinks, upon seeing a play or film, "I should be [up] there," such a person is "in the most assertive, extroverted .022 percent of the population. That's a very assertive chord in your personality. Then the business renders you totally passive. And there is no resolution to assertive people in a passive position. It's corrosive. There's no resolution to that." The author reminds us that only about three percent of the one hundred thousand Screen Actors Guild members earn even $100,000 a year as actors. Brad has worked very steadily since graduating. One of his first juicy roles was a part in Sam Shepard's Curse of the Starving Class, a role which necessitated his appearance onstage "every night dazed, wet, and naked with a sacrificial lamb in his arms." For some nearly three hundred shows. (On The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Brad gleefully told an anecdote that involved his writing "Hi" somewhere on his nether regions, in order to mess with the composure of an actor who had to be standing behind him when he bent over, naked and wet. Such a cutup.)
David also offers up an amusing little tidbit from Richard Schiff, who's known Brad for a couple of decades. Schiff saw Curse of the Starving Class: "I saw his naked butt. He was really good. My ex-wife went twice, which got me really upset. I remember her saying, 'He's just too good to be true. He's good-looking and he's really nice and sweet and he's talented. He has to be gay, right?'" I would love to know who Richard Schiff's ex-wife is; I was stunned enough to realize that he's currently with Sheila Kelley, someone I just did not imagine to be his type. (Because I would know a lot about that.) But it sounds like she'll have to be made the honorary founder of the "harem" of women who are falling over themselves to jump on the Brad-is-sexy bandwagon.