I was beside myself with amazement when I picked last week’s Entertainment Weekly out of my mail and discovered a Q&A with one of modern cinema’s most reclusive superpowers: Corey Haim.
If you’ve witnessed the spectacular beauty that is Corey Haim’s E! True Hollywood Story, or his rare, infamous fan club video (where he spouts such wisdom as “Ready? I was born ready… we all are,” and shares that his greatest acting influence is John Ritter (because of Three’s Company) then you know what I’m talking about.
Anyhow, with the DVD release of his Corey Haim/Corey Feldman masterpiece known as License to Drive, our fave pop culture weekly mag couldn’t resist but have the following chat on the phone from Haim’s Toronto home (his mom’s house):
In his commentary, director Greg Beeman describes you as at the peak of your power. What was your power?
I’m assuming he means my adlibbing. It’s one of my special things that I feel maybe I was just born with. I can turn a “Hey, nice to see you” into “Hey, what’s up? What’s goin’ down, man? Good to see you” and kind of make it more real.
He also refers to you as “one of the best-driving actors I’ve ever worked with.”
I’ve always had a knack for hitting the mark perfectly. Even when I’m walking or running, I’m very good at not having to look down. And I’ve done everything, including snowboarding [in 1996’s Snowboard Academy]. That was the hardest to hit my mark on.
In your interview, you express some regret over your slack jaw.
I had a bad problem. At the premiere, Cloris Leachman came up to me and said, “You know, that smirk you have is cute, but sometimes it looks a little fake.” And I’m like, “Well, hey, that’s my smile, you know. Thanks.” And she was like, “Well, I would definitely do something about the opening of the mouth. You can practice closing it a little more.” That comment really helped me.
Do you still do it?
[Yells] Ma, do I keep my mouth open still? [She answers no.]
When was Corey Haim at his best?
I would say Lucas. I’m not one of these actors who, like, get Method on ya. But for me to turn into a nerd, who is much smarter than he should be and has a different way of looking at life, it was the most Method. That and Silver Bullet, where I’m a paraplegic.
What’s the biggest misconception about Coreys Haim and Feldman?
People are actually mistaking me for him. I’m not sayin’ I’m any better than him. But I just don’t see how it’s possible: He’s got very dark hair and he’s very much an American. I’m blond and very much a Canadian. How can there be a question of who’s who? But I’m sure it happens to a lot of people with the same name.
Will the Coreys work together again?
If we do another movie one day, I just hope there won’t be any competition, because there will be none coming from me. I love the kid. To this day, if I call him, he’ll be like, “Who’s this?” And I’ll be like, “Haimster.” He’s like, “What’s up?” “What’s up, Feldog?” It’s all good.
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