Go West, Kevin Kline
Actor Kevin Kline is a man of many faces. The star who began his career by doing commercials for Thom McAn shoes and Folger's coffee has become a Hollywood luminary, with box office sensations like The Big Chill, Sophie's Choice, and A Fish Called Wanda. Now, Kline hopes to add the summer thriller Wild, Wild West to his list of hits. CBS This Morning Co-Anchor Mark McEwen reports.
As Artemus Gordon, Kevin Kline is a master of disguise and creator of contraptions in the postmodern buddy western Wild, Wild West. Starring alongside Will Smith, Kline plays a madcap inventor who joins forces with Smith, a Special Government Agent, in an effort to thwart the assassination of the president.
Now 51, Kline has had a great deal of practice in disguise throughout his career. A frequent performer on stage in the New York Shakespeare Festival, and the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance, Kline realizes that stepping into character often requires stepping into costume. He recently donned a donkey mask for Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
In WWW, he winds up disguised as a woman. When describing himself in drag, Kline is selective in his words. "Striking," he suggests. "Handsome." But he admits he might not want to be fixed up on a blind date with himself: "If she had courtside seats..." he jokes.
Kline says understanding The Bard is a lot like enjoying music, in that repeated listenings mean everything. "You've got to steep yourself in it a bit," he says. "And once you do, this whole wonderful world opens up."
Kline's professional roots are on Broadway, where he made his debut in 1974 in The Three Sisters. He went on to win two Tony Awards for his work in On the Twentieth Century (1978) and The Pirates of Penzance (1980). While starring in Pirates, he caught the interest of the late director Alan Pakula, who cast him opposite Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice (1982).
His other movie credits include The Ice Storm and In & Out (1997), French Kiss (1995), Dave (1993), Grand Canyon (1991), I Love You To Death (1990), A Fish Called Wanda (Academy Award, 1988), Violets Are Blue (1986), Silverado (1985), and The Big Chill (1983).
Kline continues to combine theatrical roles with his movie career. For the New York Shakespeare Festival, he has played the title characters of Richard III and Henry V, the Duke in Measure for Measure, and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. He has played Hamlet twice, directing one of those productions.
He has been married for 10 years to actress Phoebe Cates. They have two children, Owen and Greta.