Lou Diamond Phillips to play King Arthur at Phil
BY NANCY STETSON nstetson@florida-weekly.com
Lou Diamond Phillips is king.

SPECIAL TO FLORIDA WEEKLY Lou Diamond Phillips will be at the Phil in Naples March 18-23.

Again.

Last time, he was the King of Siam in "The King & I" on Broadway. (The role won him a Tony nomination, the New York Outer Critics Award and a Theatre World Award.)

This time around, Phillips plays King Arthur in the national Broadway tour of Lerner and Loewe's "Camelot." The musical runs at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts in Naples from March 18 through March 23.

Though from different times and cultures, the two kings have more in common than you might initially think.

"Both these kings are similar in the respect that they're very selfanalytical," Phillips says from his hotel room in Birmingham, Alabama, an earlier stop before they hit Naples. "They doubt their God-given right to be king. They're very human and sensitive. They want to be the best king they can be. They oddly enough have the same dilemma, for different reasons: they want to make their kingdom a better place to be.

SPECIAL TO FLORIDA WEEKLY Lou Diamond Phillips stars in Camelot from March 18-23 at the Phil.

"They feel they have to change themselves to do that. King Mongkut, the king of Siam, had to get past centuries of tradition, get past what he had been taught, to make himself a better king and prove to the English that Siam is civilized, and break from tradition, so that his country is not absorbed as a protectorate.

"With King Arthur, it's a time of war - the Dark Ages, if you will - a lot of violence, feudalism. He created the round table to raise the bar for chivalry, to create a moral code, to make people live peacefully."

Arthur, he says, is a reluctant king; he just pulled the sword out of the stone accidentally.

"People are looking to him for answers, but he doubts himself," Phillips says. "But by doubting, he becomes a better king. He's always trying to be the best king he can be. When he's betrayed by Lancelot and Guinevere, [his best friend and wife], he rises above his own anger and jealousy to do the best, not only for his country, but for the two people he loves.

"For both kings, it's interesting; it's love that trips both of them up," he muses.

For the role of Arthur, Phillips grew a beard and wears a long wig.

"I wanted to present this image of Arthur, I wanted the look of this character to be very specific to this play," he says.

The costumes are considerably heavier than what he had to wear as the King of Siam (in which, incidentally, his head was partially shaved, the costumes loose and his shirts open.) The clothes in "Camelot" don't breathe.

"I'm wearing velvet tights, capes, they're wool, and heavy, heavy boots," he says. "You're jumping up and down on stage in many, many layers. Excalibur is the heaviest sword up there; I have to be pretty fit for this and go to the gym several times a week. And the crown - the crown is always heavy."

The original Broadway show opened in 1960, starring Richard Harris, Julie Andrews and Robert Goulet, and received four Tonys. Prior to opening on Broadway, it played in Toronto, where the production ran so long it was well past midnight before the curtain fell.

"It was originally four hours long, or something ridiculous like that," Phillips says, and is quick to reassure that the current reworked and streamlined production runs two hours and 40 minutes, including a 20-minute intermission.

"It's not wearing anybody out," Phillips says. "Michael [Lerner, son of Alan Jay Lerner, who wrote the musical's book], went in and underlined what the play was about, the love triangle. It's much more clear to people also, what Arthur stands for. What he continually emphasizes in the play is creating a legacy, an end to war, a better society for his people. He creates the round table to bring peace to the land and make a better place for the peasants. That resonates greatly in an election year. Every candidate is talking about how they're going to make America better, fix the economy, get us out of Iraq. So much of this play is relevant to what we're going through now. And when it was first on Broadway, we were in the middle of the Cold War."

President John F. Kennedy's administration was called Camelot, he notes, and adds that the title of his famous biography, "One Brief Shining Moment," comes from a lyric in the show.

Phillips says he listened to the soundtrack while in college and his roommates wore out the record, playing it and going around the house, singing and dancing.

"I saw the film with Richard Harris [playing Arthur] in the '60s when I was a kid. I was just transported by it. It's been mythic and iconic for so long. I remember loving it, and 'Excalibur' too."

Ironically, Taylor Hackford, the producer of Phillips' first movie hit, "La Bamba," is married to Helen Mirren, who played Morgana in "Excalibur."

"Even back then, in 'Excalibur,' she's not like an Angelina Jolie stunner, but there's something so ridiculously sexy about this woman," he says. "I had a good chance to hang out with her. She gave me some of the best advice I ever got. When we premiered the movie...I got mobbed. It was the first time I ever dealt with being a movie star, if you will - I don't love the term. I was being overwhelmed. I got into a restaurant, made my way through the crowds, and sat next to Helen. I said, 'One of these days, I might get used to this.' And she put her hand on my arm and said, 'Don't get used to it, dear boy, then you'll think it's normal.' She's lovely. I never forgot that."

After the hit of "La Bamba," Phillips returned with "Stand and Deliver," for which he received the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actor and was nominated for a Golden Globe. He co-starred in "Young Guns" and "Young Guns II" and was in "Courage Under Fire," for which he received the Blockbuster Award for Best Supporting Actor.

On stage, Phillips has appeared in "A Few Good Men," "A Hatful of Rain," "Whose Life is It Anyway?" "Doctor Faustus" and "Hamlet," in addition to his Broadway role in "The King & I."

His mixed ethnicity - Filipino, Hawaiian, Chinese, Spanish, Scottish Irish and Cherokee - has been a doubleedged sword when it comes to being cast, he says.

"It worked for me in some instances," he says. "In 'Stand and Deliver,' 'La Bamba,' 'Young Guns,' ethnically I fit. At the same time, it's been difficult to hear, 'Oh, we're not going that way.' I'd be the first actor to say there are certain roles I can't play - a Nazi in Germany, or a Tom Cruise movie, or play Malcolm X. I've been fortunate that there have been people who seek outside of the box. Don't cast me for my ethnicity, cast me for my ability. I tell young actors, don't be the best Asian- American actor or Latino actor or African American actor, be the best actor, force people to respect you for what you bring to the table, talent-wise.

"I'm playing the King of England," he says, then adds, "Well, I am Scottish Irish, so I do feel genetically justified."

Phillips recently shot "Guerilla" with Benicio del Toro.

"It's in Spanish, and I don't speak Spanish, so I had to learn every line by rote," he says. "I was up 'til two in the morning. Then I'd get to the set, and they'd rewritten my scenes. I haven't been that nervous on a set since 'La Bamba.' It's a small role, but all of my work is with Benicio. I have such respect for him. He plays Che. I would've delivered coffee to the set to work with Steve Soderbergh. He's a brilliant director and a really nice person."

Phillips has also appeared on TV in episodes of "24," "Law & Order: SVU," "Psych" and "Numb3rs ."

"It's like doing 'Camelot,'" he says. "A lot of decisions I'm making now in my career, I'm taking things to have life experiences, as well, like 'Guerilla.' Just to work with some people that I admire myself. I don't have to be the star, I don't have to be the lead. Even stuff I'm doing on television. I do it to work with people. I said yes to working on 'Numb3rs' without even reading the script, because it meant working with actors that I admired, such as Rob Morrow... and I wanted a chance to work with them.

"I'm one of the lucky ones," Phillips says. "I've been in this business a long time. It's still nice to be asked to the dance."

if you go

>> What:"Camelot"

>> When: March 18 - 23

>> Where: The Philharmonic Center for the Arts, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples

>> Cost: $72

>> Information: Call (239) 597- 1900 or go to www.thephil.org