When we finally bite the bullet and sell The Playlist to TMZ for an obscene sum, one of the first things we’ll do with the money is set up The Luis Guzman Memorial Club in Hollywood; a private member’s bar exclusively and only open to great unsung character actors. You know the type; the guys who don’t win awards or headline movies, but elevate everything they’re in purely with their presence — Richard Jenkins, William Fichtner, Allison Janney, Titus Welliver, Peter Stormare etc. And one of the first people that we’ll offer membership to? Stephen Root.
Root’s probably best known for the cult sitcom “NewsRadio” and for his role in “Office Space,” but he’s been consistently excellent in everything from “The West Wing” and “Dodgeball” to his frequent collaborations with the Coen Brothers. The actor appeared in both “The Conspirator” and “Everything Must Go” at Toronto, and recently joined the surprisingly high-calibre cast of Kevin Smith’s “Red State,” and now he’s come on board the cast of the Working Title comedy-drama “Everybody Loves Whales”
The based-on-reality film, directed by “He’s Just Not That Into You” director Ken Kwapis, follows a joint US/Soviet effort during the Cold War to save a trio of trapped whales, and already features a solid cast, led by John Krasinski and Drew Barrymore, with Kristen Bell, Tim Blake Nelson, Ted Danson and Vinessa Shaw all in support. Root will play Gov. Haskell in the film — presumably the governor of Alaska, then? It’s not something we’re particularly excited about, but any gig that Root books has to be a good thing. In the meantime, he’ll also appear in the Ed Helms comedy “Cedar Rapids,” and as a voice in Gore Verbinski’s “Rango,” as well as the aforementioned Toronto movies which both have been picked up by distributors. [The Hollywood Reporter]