December 13, 2005
A familiar face, a singular faith
By Kevin D. Thompson
Palm Beach Post
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
You know the face, but may not know the name.
Joshua Malina is one of those "Hey, it's him!" kind of actors. Although the scholarly Yale graduate has had roles in such movies and TV shows as A Few Good Men, The American President, Bulworth, The Larry Sanders Show and Sports Night, Malina isn't a household name like, say, Rob Lowe.
Yes, the same pretty boy actor Malina replaced on The West Wing when he was tapped to play Will Bailey, a nebbish presidential speechwriter on NBC's long-running White House drama.
The 39-year-old Malina is scheduled to speak Thursday at The Kravis Center to help kick off the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County's 2006 Annual Campaign Opening. We caught up with Malina who chatted about everything from his Jewish heritage to what it was like saving Aaron Sorkin's life.
Question: Your speech is titled "Being Jewish In Hollywood." What does that mean?
Answer: (laughs) Being Jewish in Hollywood — not a rare thing! What I really talk about is living a Jewish life in a very public way and supporting Israel and being part of Hollywood and unfortunately that's a little bit rarer.
Q: Why do you think that is?
A: That's an interesting question. This whole area, the idea of giving a speech or a talk, is something that doesn't come natural to me. It isn't something I pursued. It kind of fell in my lap after I attended a rally that was organized by the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles in 2001. It was a pro-Israel rally but it was completely apolitical.
It wasn't about endorsing (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon or endorsing any particular Israeli government policy. It was really just Israel has a right to exist. To me, it's sad you even have to have a rally to make that statement. As uncontroversial as the mission statement was at the rally, it was pretty well attended but it was almost completely avoided by celebrities. I was one of, I think, two.
Now, my own celebrity is questionable... but I was surprised (about the low celebrity turnout) given that there are so many high-profile Jews in Hollywood. It was explained to me that anything that has to do with Israel, there's very little support from the entertainment community. I think part of it is, for some reason Israel has become a terrible p.r. liability and considered to be so controversial. Even those who support Israel privately are sometimes hesitant to do it publicly. And in a town that is extremely liberal politically, it's somehow become a liberal no-no to be strongly in support of Israel. That's a conflict I don't feel. but I think some of my colleagues do.
Q: What made you step out and speak out publicly?
A: I can understand the people who say, 'Who cares what an actor thinks?' I certainly don't expect anyone to value my opinion because I'm an actor. But I've sort of learned as my career has progressed that people will sometimes put a microphone in your face and if I can say something positive on behalf of Israel, I feel a responsibility.
Q: You've said that not enough young Jews are connected to their religion. Why do you think that's the case?
A: First of all, I don't want to paint too broad a stroke, I meant lots of young people for whom Judaism is an important and vibrant part of their lives. A lot of times you hear young Jewish people saying that to them being Jewish is just a cultural thing — Woody Allen movies or Mel Brooks movies. Cultural but avoiding any type of real religious content. I think part of it (that) we, as Jewish parents, have to pass on is the beauties of Judaism in more significant ways.
Q: Switching gears, I read when you were hired for The West Wing, someone on the Internet referred to you as that "horrible little man who's replacing Rob Lowe." What was your reaction?
A: Well, I'm one of those people who has as thick a skin as you can have. I sometimes get a kick out of reading the horrible, horrible, awful things people write about me. If you Google yourself, you have to be willing to take what you find.
Q: Was Rob a tough act to follow?
A: He was in one sense. I definitely didn't go into it thinking 'Oh my God I have to turn every Rob Lowe fan into a Josh Malina fan.' I had no angst about it. But I did know that he was very popular as an actor and his character was hugely popular, so I didn't really concentrate on whether I could replace him, per se. I also think if you look at the two of us standing next to each other, it's quite clear who's the good-looking leading man and who's more the supporting actor type of player. I don't think there's any danger of me really replacing him.
Q: Why does everyone talk so fast on The West Wing?
A: (laughs) That's a good question, too. To start with, if you compare one of our scripts to your average one-hour drama, we have more pages. We have to fit more dialogue into the same amount of time.
Q: Your first day on the set of The West Wing fell on Rosh Hashana. You chose to observe the Jewish holiday. Did that cause any problems?
A: It really didn't ultimately. I was aghast when I found out. This is one job I certainly didn't want to jeopardize. But by the same token, I knew I wasn't going to work that day. I had never before in my life. Being Jewish is who I am, being an actor is what I do, so the priority was clear to me. I gathered my courage and called the producers and said while I was delighted to be offered this role, I had a problem with the first day of work. Luckily they couldn't have been nicer or more accommodating. I definitely got a little bit of ribbing from the cast when I showed up.
Q: What'd they say?
A: I remember Allison Janney saying, 'Oh, so today is not a Jewish holiday? You can actually do some work?'
Q: So, who do you want to see win the election on The West Wing?
A: That's an interesting question, too. After watching the debate, I thought they both came off very, very well. Vinick (Alan Alda) is a rare Republican I could feel good about voting for. And Santos (Jimmy Smits) is a terrific candidate. I guess being a real Democrat and a fictional Democrat, I'd have to lean towards Santos.
Q: If the show is picked up next season, what's your deal?
A: All I know is that I don't have one. If they wanted to write me in somehow and make me part of the Santos administration, I'd be delighted. I get the feeling if the show continues, they're going to move on and try to get some fresh blood. My guess is they won't ask me to be a part of it, but it's been a very, very good run for me.
Q: Is it true that you got your start in show business by performing the Heimlich maneuver on Aaron Sorkin? Tell me about that.
A: That actually is true. I knew him a little bit as a kid. He went to high school near me with my cousin with whom I was very close. When I graduated from college in 1988, I moved to New York City and he was living there and I called him and we got to be good friends. He hosted a poker game every week, and we got to be very good friends across the poker table. The first job he offered me was (the Broadway play) A Few Good Men. We used to go bowling once a week with the rest of the cast, and one night (Aaron) was choking on a piece of hamburger and I'm not sure I really knew what I was doing, but I got behind him, picked him up off the floor and I Heimliched him and in the process cracked a few of his ribs. But ultimately I saved him.
Q: So does he feel beholden to you? Is that why you're in every Aaron Sorkin production?
A: It's a fair question. I'd like to think that he thinks I'm a good actor, but I'm comfortable if he just feels he's paying off some sort of karmic debt. That works for me too.
Q: Do you have a favorite Sorkin project?
A: It's very hard to answer, but (the short-lived ABC show) Sports Night has a very, very special place in my heart. I was there from the ground floor. Sports Night was my first television series as a regular and it was a lot of fun being on the ground floor watching (Aaron) create this whole world. Golden memories for me.
Q: You were a production assistant on Fletch Lives — that really bad Chevy Chase film. What did you learn on the set?
A: (laughs) That was my first job on a movie. I learned how everyone took their coffee. Seriously, what I learned was who works hardest on a movie set. And the answer is — and I hate to give out the secret — anybody but the actors. The crew and everybody else involved in making a TV show or a movie are working the hardest and getting the least credit for it.
Q: You're an executive producer for Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown and a big poker fan. What's the key to a successful poker face?
A: Ah, that's good. Essentially, the ultimate poker face is one that is really utterly devoid of emotion. Very frequently people will project strength when their hand is weak and project weakness when their hand is strong. If you could essentially try to project nothing, that's your best bet.
Q: What are some of the cool things about looking nerdy and book smart?
A: (laughs) Aaron has helped me out by creating characters that are smarter and better than I am. Some of that bleeds over. People attribute to me greater intellect than I actually possess.
Q: You made your film debut with Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men. What was that like?
A: I learned a lot, although literally in that movie I had five words — and three of them were 'yes' and two of them were 'sir.' I learned a lot simply by observing Nicholson. When it was time to shoot my single — the shot of just me at the door talking to Nicholson — the camera is only on me and anybody could've been off camera reading his lines and very frequently big stars will go to their trailer or go have a bite to eat and have somebody on the crew read the star's line. But Nicholson stood their off camera, did all his lines and did a full 100 percent performance. I was really struck by that. I was a nobody and he was a giant star. He didn't have to do it. But he takes his job seriously. It reminded me always be professional. If Nicholson could do it and go above and beyond what you have to do, I'm always going to be there and giving what I can give.
