1. Donald Trump is indeed the world’s most powerful man, and possibly its most dangerous. Is there a danger in laughing off Trump’s antics and Tweets?
You bet. Laughing off his behavior is normalizing it, “Oh that’s just Trump being Trump.” Which is like saying “That’s just cancer being cancer, you get tired, you’ll suffer organ failure, and you’ll die soon. Nothing to be done.” Laughing AT Trump and his gang is different. Ridicule has historically been a very potent weapon. Dr. Strangelove is one of the funniest, crying-with-laughter films ever made. It doesn’t diminish the danger of nuclear annihilation. It focuses on the need to deal with it.
2. What inspired you to write a work of social and political ridicule?
Trump’s election and my related shock and anger, which are feelings shared with millions of others, was the inspiration. That the most unfit, unqualified person ever to run for the highest office, could actually win? Either you stay shocked and angry, which just leads to depression, or you do something. I wrote a book. The pen is mightier than the sword, and much more legal (so far).
3. We all know you’re a funny guy from your various acting roles. Is there a different challenge involved when writing humor compared to acting in comedic roles?
Well, the nature of timing and rhythm is similar. When I’m acting, I’m enhancing the writer’s rhythms and ideas, but I’m not trying to act “funny.” Comedy is serious business, and if you try to be “funny”, you probably won’t be. This is true of writing satire as well. I’m depicting and creating outrageous scenarios, exaggerating and fracturing what some might think is “real”, but I’m doing it in a plausible way, especially given what happens in the news every day. I’m not trying to be jokey.
4. While there’s a degree of exaggeration and imagination, the book alludes to several real people and events. How did you decide when to draw from reality and when to incorporate imagination?
An actor and a writer find certain facts that start to arouse and resonate and lead to other imaginative directions, based on a starting point of truth. Trump’s father being sued by the state and his friendship with Roy Cohn — that was all true. How I extend those facts involves my imagination. The way I have him develop his reality show is not what happened at all but was based on my observation that Trump has “playacted” for most of his life.
Donald
Trump played a character, much as he’s playing the part of president now. I
don’t think he’s a very good actor, but he kind of puts on the clothing, says
the lines and likes that kind of power. So there were little touchstones that I
thought were useful, and I kind of put them through a funhouse mirror.
5. In addition to Trump, you also poke fun at Vladimir Putin, Julian Assange, Hillary Clinton and FOX News. What makes them all great targets to lampoon?
I also target Kellyanne Conway, Alex Jones and Steve Bannon. They are all so naked in their constant hypocrisy, mendacity, and venality. Maybe not Hillary so much, but the others wear their sins so blatantly on the sleeves it’s hard not to take a satiric shot.
6. For many Americans, the Trump presidency has caused turmoil and anxiety. Why do you believe in the power of comedy for relief?
Historically it’s always been true. Think of the Marx Brothers and WC Fields during The Depression. Or Dr. Strangelove during the Cold War. We need to laugh during the darkest times. It helps maintain our sanity.
7. You’re well-known for your portrayals of serial killer David Berkowitz in Out of the Darkness and fictional salesman Salmoneus in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. How did those roles inform the way you wrote The Haircut Who Would Be King?
An actor is kind of the investigative journalist of the inner life, of the soul. It sounds kind of pompous, but we actually do go into what makes a person tick. Berkowitz wanted fame. He apparently joined a volunteer fire brigade before he started killing people. He raced up thirty flights of stairs and there was no fire. That was a very meaningful fact: he didn’t feel quite good enough, but he wanted to be a hero. Salmoneus just kind of schmoozed people over and was always trying to scheme and get somebody to do something by showing them the glitter without talking about the substance of the rather shoddy product he was selling. And I think there’s some application to the guy in the White House as far as that’s concerned. I believe in many ways, Trump is the intersection of psychopath and salesman. And by having portrayed that as an actor apparently fairly successfully, I thought about that while I was writing.
8. Comparisons to Hitler often bring a fair share of blowback and criticism, including from many Jewish organizations. Why did you choose to invoke and quote Hitler in a satirical novel about Trump? Are you afraid of the criticism that might come your way?
It is reported than Ivana Trump (his first wife) said that Trump kept a copy of Mein Kampf on his nightstand for a little light bedtime reading. He read passages to learn about manipulating the mob into doing your bidding. I’m not comparing Trump to Hitler; Trump is not in the least ideological. He doesn’t really believe in anything, except “Trump Uber Alles” (Trump above all). By the way, since I am Jewish, I think it’s good karma for a Jew to steal from Hitler.
9. Have you always been interested in politics? Are you concerned that some might dismiss the book as the rantings of another Hollywood liberal?
Actually, I was president of the student government association in my high school. The previous president convinced me to run to continue his work on The Student Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for Public Schools in Philadelphia. He then backed the guy opposing me, but that’s another story (and a good political lesson). But I did work with other high school presidents and the superintendent to pass the bill. So I learned that concerted action could create positive change.
As far as being “another Hollywood liberal”, I eat meat AND gluten, I read The Wall St. Journal, and I rarely workout. Okay, I drive a Prius, but with gas prices in Los Angeles, that’s just good sense. I hope they won’t dismiss something that makes them laugh heartily.
10. What would you like readers to take away from this book?
I think my book satirically skewers some points about the way we handle ourselves as the body politic, and certainly Trump and Putin. But my primary purpose actually is not anti-Trump — it’s pro-laughter. In these times, almost everything that comes out of the guy’s mouth, unless you’re a member of the Trump cult, makes people sick. The only way to deal with certain kinds of political or social catastrophe is to ridicule. Also, the book does end in a kind of dramatic way, but I’ve imagined something very dire. If you write it out, hopefully, it will never happen.
11. The 2020 election is right around the corner. What are your hopes? Is having Trump potentially out of office a loss to all comedic writers and actors?
I hope he suffers a humiliating defeat at the polls. I hope the Republicans can’t find a way to suppress the legitimate vote, as they have so often in the past. I hope there will be a paper trail in all states to prove that votes haven’t been flipped. I hope voters will read social media posts with skepticism. Trump’s removal may been a loss to comedians, but so worth it!