Burt Reynolds Discusses Dog Years and Reminds Us Why He Is Still the Best
In the 1970s, Burt Reynolds was a man who needed no introduction—the mustachioed macho star of Deliverance, The Longest Yard, Smokey and the Bandit, and Semi-Tough was the starriest of Hollywood stars, dominating the box office and the talk show circuit with ease. For the last two decades, however, the aging Reynolds has been largely forgotten; he hasn’t starred in anything relevant since 1998 when he was in Boogie Nights, a film he loathed.
Director Adam Rifkin wanted to change that, so he wrote a film called Dog Years, about an aging, forgotten movie star trying to cope with growing old and living with regret. The character, Vic Edwards, travels to Nashville to be honored at a festival, only to find it is nothing more than a bunch of film geeks screening his old movies in a bar. Edwards then sets off on a journey into his past, aided reluctantly by the sister of the festival organizer, played by Modern Family’s Ariel Winter. The film, which just debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival, was written with only one star in mind, Rifkin says. If Reynolds had rejected the script, Rifkin would not have made the film.
“Burt Reynolds has always been my hero. He is, to me, the personification of the term movie star. He had a larger-then-life persona. I still love Burt Reynolds so much I wanted to give something back to Burt for all that he’s given to me,” Rifkin says.
Reynolds, who is sitting next to the director in a Tribeca Film Festival interview room, interrupts, sotto voce, to ask with perfect comic timing, “When are you going to do it?”
Despite a cane that underlines the amount of pain this former stuntman deals with, Reynolds still exudes the casual charm that made him a legend four decades ago.
Paste: Were you wary when you initially got this script from some guy you don’t know?
Reynolds: You don’t usually know the writers, unless they’re friends and then they’re sending bad scripts. But this was terrific and then I liked Adam immediately. He has a terrific way with actors, and he likes actors, which is rare, and he’s kind, which is important to me.
Paste: What was it about the script that struck you?
Burt Reynolds: It’ s very different for me—I didn’t beat anybody up, and nobody beat me up. Plus, it was fun yet it ended with a two-handkerchief ending, which I’ve never done before. It was sweet. I liked the idea of doing something new.
Paste: Adam talked about how he wrote the script eight years ago, but the financing fell through on several occasions. He praised you for being so gracious each time—did you feel it incumbent on you to reassure him?
Reynolds: There was a time in my career where if I said yes, the money was there. But now it’s different. It’s a wake-up call. I don’t have the power I had. But it only takes a couple of hit pictures.
Paste: You went from your early 70s into your 80s while waiting for the film to come together. Did those intervening years give you more insight into Vic’s character, into the idea of reflecting back on your life.
Reynolds: Yes, I think so. I grew into the part. I was too handsome and young for it back then. I have grown old, but it’s wonderful—I like growing old. Still, if it took any longer I’d be a character actor.
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