Dennis Farina holds the dubious distinction of appearing in two films that were delayed because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks: "Big Trouble," a Barry Sonnenfeld comedy that revolves around a stolen nuclear weapon, a hijacked plane and lax airport security, and the more sanguine "Sidewalks of New York," a romantic roundelay from actor-writer-director Edward Burns.
Although Disney Studios hasn't rescheduled "Big Trouble," in which Farina plays an exasperated hit man, the Burns comedy finally made it to theaters this week.
In the film, which opened in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Farina does a funny turn as Carpo, a slick seducer--a wolf in designer clothing--who keeps giving advice about women to Tommy (Burns), a TV producer looking for Ms. Right. Farina has the biggest laugh in the comedy, when, relaxing in a bubble bath, he suggests to Tommy that the way to a woman's heart is to put cologne on a part of his anatomy you might not ordinarily think of.
Farina, 57, and Burns met four years ago in Ireland during the filming of Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan." "We got along great," Burns recalls. "I think we connected immediately because he was a Chicago cop and my dad was a cop in New York for 30 years."
"We had a lot in common," says Farina, who sports a shock of gray, wavy hair and prominent dimples. "He told me about a few films he was working on. He told me he would give me a call one day [to do a movie]. I was lucky enough to get a call for 'Sidewalks.'"
"He's great, isn't he?" Burns says. "He is as down to earth as anyone you would ever meet. He is one of the good guys."
Farina did all of his scenes for the low-budget production in just one day.
"I knew right away that I wanted to do it," says the actor in his distinct Chicago accent. "We played around a little bit with it, played around with the sentence structure and came up with the character. It was an easy sell."
Everything went so smoothly on the set, that Burns decided to add another scene for Farina, one in which Tommy's girlfriend, Maria (Rosario Dawson) arrives at Carpo's apartment looking for Tommy. Carpo, dressed in a Japanese kimono, tries to turn on the charm with Maria.
"He wrote it in about 10 minutes," Farina says in a recent Los Angeles interview. "The only thing I contributed was the kimono. He said, 'What do you think Carpo would be wearing?' I said they have those Japanese kimonos. They are kind of funny when you look at them. There was a store down the street, and they bought a Japanese kimono and put it on. I think it fits right in. It was a good marriage between the dialogue and the wardrobe and the situation."
