Stephen Tobolowsky's got character

Groundhogged for life

 Big Bear Grizzly

Actor Stephen Tobolowsky will be honored for lifetime achievement at local film fest

September 14, 2011 5:00 am

By ARRISSIA OWEN Reporter

The monsters swayed Stephen Tobolowsky. As a little boy, he dreamed of becoming a professional actor so he could meet Frankenstein, Godzilla and the Wolfman.

“I thought Godzilla would be able to show me how to breathe fire,” says Tobolowsky, now a seasoned character actor with more than 150 films, a Tony award and numerous TV spots to his credit.

As he grew older, Tobolowsky kept the dream alive with a twist. “I thought actors sailed ships across the ocean, got to fight wars,” he says with a slight chuckle. “But, actors have no adventures. We sit in trailers, play Tetris, have lots of down time. The stuntmen see all the action.”

"Deadwood"

Tobolowsky does have plenty of life experience, culminating in 2005’s “Stephen Tobolowsky’s Birthday Party,” a film that shows him recollecting real life while preparing for his own birthday party. The idea since sparked a podcast series and an upcoming book published by Simon & Schuster.

On Sept. 16, the man you may or may not recognize from his character actor CV receives the lifetime achievement award for acting at the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival’s opening night gala.
Tobolowsky has a knack for bringing eccentric everymen to life on the screen—he was Ned Ryerson, Bill Murray’s former classmate turned insurance salesman in “Groundhog Day” and Sammy Jankis in “Memento.” Depending on your demographic, you may know him from recurring roles on “Deadwood,” “Californication,” “Heroes” or “Glee.”

“People often recognize me, but they don’t know who I am,” Tobolowsky says, taking his low-key fame in stride. “Or they think I used to work with their dad.”

As Ned Ryerson

The balding, bespectacled 60-year-old didn’t set out to become a character actor. The designation is assigned at moments that hardly appeal to one’s vanity. For Tobolowsky, it was after finishing a production of Tom Stoppard’s “Jumpers” in 1975.

Tobolowsky was playing an 85-year-old man. His hair, sprayed with streaks of gray, fell out in clumps upon a strenuous wash. “From then on, the romantic lead was pretty much out of the question,” he says.

Determined to stick with his art, Tobolowsky found his niche, taking to small roles and making them memorable. “As a character actor, you often play parts that don’t even have names,” he says. “But at the same time, you need to make them complete.” There is a backstory to every one, he says.
Developing stories comes naturally for Tobolowsky—he won a storytelling contest as a sixth-grader and held a reputation as a “fabulous” liar as a child—which lent itself to the evolution of “Birthday Party.”

Romantic lead days

The film opened to rave reviews at the HBO Comedy Festival in Aspen, South by Southwest and more. That led to a regular series of syndicated podcasts through slashfilm.com, “The Tobolowsky Files.”

Truth is often as entertaining as fiction, Tobolowsky has learned, and you don’t need creative editing for a clever ending, just time. Tobolowsky thought the one about the day he found out he was going to be a father was finished for years.

On location, alone, with no one to share the experience other than the hotel maid and bartender, Tobolowsky ran into an acquaintance, a stuntman, at the hotel restaurant. Over eggs, he shared the exciting news. The man said, “Well, things will never be the same for you ever again.”
Fourteen years later, Tobolowsky and his wife were at a sushi restaurant 2,000 miles away from that hotel when he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was the stuntman, teary eyed.

“I’ve been looking for someone to tell,” the man said to Tobolowsky. “My child just died, my firstborn. I knew I could tell you, because you would understand.”

The truth is as powerful as fiction, Tobolowsky says. “Sometimes it just takes longer to reveal itself fully.” It could even take a lifetime.

Contact reporter Arrissia Owen at 909-866-3456, ext. 142 or by email at aowen.grizzly@gmail.com.

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