Entertainment

The indie smash Little Miss Sunshine slowly became one of the most beloved films of 2006, and now finds itself a dark horse contender for the Oscars. Veteran character actor Alan Arkin plays the character of Grandpa. He talks about that movie, now out on DVD, and more.

Question: Community or camaraderie with actors is important to you. You stress it in the acting workshops you teach.

Answer: The supportive aspect of it frees you to do better work than you ordinarily would. A lot of people I've known in film protect their own turf, but I don't think it really does the work any good.

Q: How is that camaraderie between a cast built on a set?

A: Smaller, less comfortable trailers and a significant rehearsal period. We had that on Little Miss Sunshine. I can remember vividly the movies that had it, and I feel like it shows. You often have little more than a cursory 'Hello, how are you' relationship with the people you're having intimate scenes with – which is nuts. You can't do it. It's phony.

Q: But you jelled with the cast of Little Miss Sunshine?

A: It felt very, very much like we were all on the same page. After a couple of days, that became very clear. It's a very specific tone that everybody's got in the film – even the people that have small parts.

Q: What do you look for in a part?

A: There's a lot of things I'm not looking for. I'm not looking for any long speeches any more. I don't want to learn any more foreign languages – I've done enough of that. I'm not looking for any night shooting. I'm not looking for any directors that are going to save the world with this particular movie. I just basically want to enjoy myself and not knock myself out. I don't feel like there are any more mountains I particularly want to climb.

Associated Press