Veteran actor moves from ‘Twilight’ into Texas ranger role
You may not know his name yet, but Gil Birmingham is recognizable as a familiar face in films and TV shows.
When the independent action thriller "Hell or High Water" opens locally Friday (Aug. 19), you won't be able to forget him as a stoic and steady biracial Texas Ranger. He brings out the humanity of his character, Alberto Parker, a Comanche with Tejano heritage.
"This movie was a real gift," he said during a phone interview from San Antonio.
'Hell or High Water" is a contemporary story of crime and brotherly love in an economically ravaged West Texas. Chris Pine ("Star Trek Beyond") and Ben Foster ("Lone Survivor") are brothers, robbing banks to avert a family farm foreclosure. Birmingham and Jeff Bridges are the Texas Rangers in pursuit.
But acting, like everything — if you're persistent and stick with it, things will turn around. Just when I thought things were not going to happen, I got 'Twilight' and that's when things really took off.
Gil Birmingham on his career
Directed by David Mackenzie ("Starred Up") and written by Taylor Sheridan ("Sicario"), the movie has been hailed by Rotten Tomatoes as one of the best of the year, with a 100 percent rating. The New York Daily News proclaimed that it "steals summer from the superheroes." The Washington Post declared that it "may be the first great movie about the failed economic recovery."
"We're so glad the movie is receiving the response it is. There is so much more to the relationships. To have a character-driven movie come out in August and do well is really great. It's very impactful," he said.
As a journeyman actor for decades, his career finally took off in 2008 with the phenomenal success of "Twilight." He played Billy Black Jr., Jacob's father and Charlie Swan's best friend, in the original and the four smash hit "Twilight Saga" sequels ("New Moon," "Eclipse," and "Breaking Dawn Parts I and 2.")
Birmingham, 63, started acting while a student at University of Southern California, where he received a bachelor's degree from the School of Policy, Planning and Development in 1981.
"Isn't everything acting?" he asked. "I had a girlfriend at the time who wanted to be an actress. I was tapped for a music video," he said.
He was cast in TV shows in such parts as Peruvian Man in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and Brave No. 1 in "Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman," but it wasn't enough work to make ends meet. He also worked as a petrochemical engineer.
"I had to do a number of things to earn a living," he said. "But acting, like everything — if you're persistent and stick with it, things will turn around. Just when I thought things were not going to happen, I got 'Twilight' and that's when things really took off. It was a great opportunity."
Since then, he has acted in two acclaimed Netflix series, playing Daniel Lanagin in "House of Cards" and Virgil in "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," and on Cinemax's "Banshee" as George Hunter. He is filming the latest "Transformers" sequel, due out next year.
To play Alberto, he chopped off 14 inches of his hair. Will he grow it back?
"I don't know. It's so hot this summer, and there's a cool aspect of having shorter hair," he said.
He delivers a monologue, tying in events of the 19th century to what is going on in the 21st century, one of the film's highlights.
Birmingham, a native Comanche, said he also has English, Spanish and Italian ancestry. He was born in San Antonio, but his father was in the military, and they moved around.
Birmingham said he and star Jeff Bridges had great chemistry on and off the set.
"He's a Zen kind of guy. It was really fantastic working with Jeff, who I admire for his work and personally. He is an original and unique human being," he said.
"The shooting was such that it was Jeff and me together, and then Chris (Pine) and Ben (Foster) together. It was like we were filming separate movies."
Birmingham, who has been playing guitar since he was 10 years old, and Bridges, who is also a musician, bonded over music and jammed quite a bit in their down time.
"Our spiritual and philosophical views are the same. We discussed the book "The Dude and the Zen Master" by Bernard Glassman and Bridges)," he said.
On screen, Bridges' character, wily Marcus Hamilton, is about to retire, and is tough on Parker, quick with the put-downs and ethnic jabs, but Parker dishes it right back, too. "There were barbs back and forth," he said. "But these men really love and respect each other."
Birmingham thinks people will identify with the plight of the west Texans, and was drawn to the message of the screenplay.
"Justice is not so black and white in this. There are generations living in poverty, and they are desperate. They have to do things to survive and provide for their family," he said.
"Many people have been affected by the economy. People lost pensions, companies are concerned about the bottom line, more middle class are impoverished."
He noted the many layers to the story.
“It has wit and humor and excitement," he said. "This is something we've not seen. A genre story has never been done like this before."
This story was originally published August 12, 2016 at 3:12 PM with the headline "Veteran actor moves from ‘Twilight’ into Texas ranger role."