Pe.com (16/Apr/2009) - Actor William Devane takes a quick look back

(c) pe.com (16/Apr/2009)

Actor William Devane takes a quick look back

In his more than 50 years of acting, William Devane has been to many places and done many things. Today he finds himself being honored in Riverside.

At the seventh annual Riverside Film Festival, Devane will be presented with the festival's Lifetime Achievement Award.

"It's nice to be recognized, but I am still thinking of what to say," he said. "Something like this forces you to look back on your career. And I usually don't look at yesterday: I look at the horizon."

Devane also stars in the opening night film "The Least Among You" which tackles the issue of race in the '60s after the Watts riots. Devane plays a seminary president who tries to work with a black student who is serving probation at the seminary.

"The story and the setting appealed to me," he said. "His (the character) heart's in the right place, but his decisions send him in another direction."

Working With the Best

Devane has worked with some of Hollywood's most talented people. One such privilege was working on director Alfred Hitchcock's last film "Family Plot." He has fond memories of Hitchcock.

"He was a terrific guy to sit with and talk. He told great stories," he said. Devane said Hitchcock was really organized and had the entire movie planned out in storyboards, so when it came to filming, he just followed the storyboards.

He also worked with director John Schlesinger on three films; "Marathon Man," "Yanks" and "Honky Tonk Freeway,"

"Schlesinger was a friend and a fun guy to work with. He was open to anything," he said.

Another great experience for Devane was working on the Clint Eastwood film "Space Cowboys," which had some scenes filmed at March Air Force Base.

"He never, ever puts the burden on the actor," he said. "He was a pleasure to work with."

The film was also fun for him because he had worked with a lot of the cast before in other projects and said it was like a party making that film.

One of his films that Devane didn't quite like was "Hollow Man," about a scientist who makes himself invisible.

Devane said he did the film because he wanted to work with director Paul Verhoeven, but thought the end result was "gross" because of some of the content.

Politics on TV

Audiences might also recognize Devane from all of the political characters he has played like on the television shows "The West Wing," "24" and "Stargate SG-1." He also played John Kennedy in the film "The Missiles of October." But, just because he plays politicians on screen, don't expect him to run for office anytime soon.

"It's much better to play one, I don't have the makeup to be a politician," he said.

Devane remembered something an acting teacher once told him, "Acting is having the mind of an infant and the hide of a rhinoceros." Something that could describe politicians too, he said.

On "Stargate" he played the president of the United States and really enjoyed the opportunity.

"I took the role because I thought the script was funny and thought I could parody the JFK role," he said.

He also had a great time working on the series "24" and thinks highly of the show's actors and creators.

"The thing about that is I'm still alive (on the show). Hopefully I'll go back," he said.

Devane is working on a pilot in Vancouver called "The Dealership" and is getting ready to start work on another "Jesse Stone" movie, the seventh in the series.

"The best is yet to come," he said.