The Queen And The Buffoon
Actress Michelle Pfeiffer recently graced the cover of People magazine as one the year's 50 most beautiful people. But she proves that beauty is in the eye of the beholder when she falls for a rather asinine Kevin Kline in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
In the movie, Pfeiffer plays fairy queen Titania, who falls in love with Bottom, a mortal who has been transformed into half a donkey by the mischievous Puck (Stanley Tucci).
During an interview with Pfeiffer, 42, and Kline, 51, CBS This Morning Contributor Eleanor Mondale asked them if they prefer to make an audience laugh or to make it cry.
"Laugh," Pfeiffer replied. "Even though I think it's harder for me. I think it'sÂ…harder to do comedy than drama."
And Kline? "Well, I like to do both, simultaneously. And that's what you can do with Shakespeare. I mean, you can make them laugh and cry, because the play [is] funny and it's poignant. And I'm told people come out of it saying, 'I laughed so hard, and I also cried. It was touching and poignant.' That's Shakespeare."
And what did Pfeiffer think of Kline in his donkey makeup?
"All of the women on the movie found him very attractive as the beast," says the actress. "He loved being the beast."
Adds Kline, "I liked getting in touch with that part of myself, yes."
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, and he directed one of those productions.
He has been married for 10 years to actress Phoebe Cates. They have two children, Owen and Greta.
Pfeiffer's first major movie role was "Pink Lady" in Grease 2 (1982). But she considers her dramatic breakthrough to have been the role of Elvira James in Brian DePalma's Scarface (1983).
Her other movie credits include The Deep End of the Ocean (1999), One Fine Day (1996), Wolf (1994), The Age of Innocence (1993), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), Marrie to the Mob (1988), The Witches of Eastwick (1987), and Ladyhawke (1985).
Pfeiffer has been married for five years to writer-producer David E. Kelley, creator of such television series as Picket Fences and Chicago Hope. They have two children, Claudia Rose and John Henry.