Keith Carradine

Keith Carradine
Keith Ian Carradineis an American actor, singer and songwriter who has had success on stage, film and television. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Tom Frank in Robert Altman's Nashville, Wild Bill Hickok in the HBO series Deadwood, FBI agent Frank Lundy in Dexter and US President Conrad Dalton in Madam Secretary. In addition, he is a Golden Globe- and Academy Award-winning songwriter. As a member of the Carradine family, he is part of an acting dynasty...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth8 August 1949
CitySan Mateo, CA
CountryUnited States of America
I was actually filming in Atlanta when I got a call from Walter Hill saying, "Well, it could be your turn to play Hickok." I said, "Oh, well, great!" He said, "What's your hair look like?" I said, "Well, it's short, Walter, but... I've still got that wig!" . He said, "Well, bring it!"
Part of my claim to fame is that my first film was also Johnny Cash's first film.
My first feature film was a movie called A Gunfight, with Kirk Douglas, Johnny Cash, Karen Black, Jane Alexander, Raf Vallone... It was shot in Santa Fe, Mexico, in 1970, and it was directed by Lamont Johnson. It was the first gig I did when I got to California from having done Hair in New York on Broadway for a year. It was a Western, though! But that film was not a successful release.
This ["Sheriff John Taggart"] was an occasion where a studio was willing to spend a lot of money to make a film set in that time and place, but the hook was that they were also going to have aliens from outer space!
You have to realize that Mel [Gibson], he's a funny guy. He's got a wicked sense of humor.
Lee Marvin was there at the same time, and I knew obviously it was his movie [Emperor Of The North], and Ernie Borgnine was playing the other part in the movie.I met Marvin there at wardrobe, and he said, "What are you doing for lunch?" I said, "Nothing." He said, "C'mon with me!" And he took me to the commissary. I walked into the commissary with Lee Marvin at 20th Century Fox, and he introduced me to people. He said, "This's Keith Carradine. We're doin' this movie together." He was so cool. I mean, my God.
That was Robert Aldrich. And that [Emperor Of The North] was one of the only times I actually got a part in a movie in the conventional way: The role was there, I auditioned, I auditioned again, and then I actually did a full-fledged screen test, which they shot on a soundstage on the lot at 20th Century Fox. They put up a set, and Robert Aldrich actually directed me in this screen test.
I think people start rumors because it creates interest and it makes people look at things and become more interested in what they're looking at.
Lee Marvin was just the best. Just the best. And that was the beginning of a friendship that lasted until he died. And the same with Ernie Borgnine. You know, I went up there and did that movie [Emperor Of The North] with those guys, and I actually was with Ernie the night that he died.
There were rumors that flew about the two of us, which were complete poppycock. There was never any romance between Madonna and myself. I mean, we had a moment where we're kissing in that video [Material Girl], but she at the time was with Sean Penn, and I was married with two kids, so there was no funny business there.
I guess at that moment in time I had a certain... presence? A certain level of presence in the industry. But that was at Madonna's request. There was a concept for the video [Material Girl], and the idea was that it was kind of a Howard Hughes and Marilyn Monroe sort of idea, that there was this guy behind the scenes making it all happen. And she saw me as that guy, so she asked for me.
[Mel Gibson] played this kind of sadistic motorcycle cop. He was terrific. And he had this great sense of visual comedy.
Mel [Gibson] could stage physical comedy and put the camera in such a way... I mean, we did some really funny stuff, and he had some great ideas about how to do it. It was a delight to work with him in that regard.
I think it [Trouble In Mind] was the only time Divine didn't appear in drag, or certainly one of the few times, anyway. Alan created a time and place that was no time and no place, so it was not identifiable with any particular period or any particular city or any particular country, for that matter. I mean, everybody spoke English, but that was about it. So you couldn't pigeonhole that film.