Q&A From Hollywood to KC:
Actor Peter Coyote stars
in a family movie filmed on a local horse farm
The Kansas City Star
Robert W. Butler
June 12, 2006
Peter Coyote, who is filming “Shadows of Atticus” at a
horse ranch in south Kansas City, says that working with
a bigger agency actually hurt his career for a while.
"I can honestly say I’ve never done a film that’s
offended my ethical standards,” actor Peter Coyote said.
“But I’ve offended my aesthetic standards time and time
again. I’m not going to tell my kid he can’t go to
college because Dad won’t do a Disney movie.”
Coyote, 63, is in Kansas City this month filming
“Shadows of Atticus.” It’s a family picture about a
young girl on the outs with her widowed dad (Jason
London) who goes to live with her grandfather (Coyote)
on his horse farm.
Co-stars include Peter Boyle, Vivien Cardone, Evan
Parke, comic Patton Oswalt, Vanessa Branch and April
Bowlby.
Coyote is well-known for his roles in films like “E.T.”
and TV series like “Commander in Chief” and “The 4400.”
His voice can also be heard on dozens of TV commercials,
as a narrator of documentaries and as a reader of books
on tape.
During a break in filming “Shadows of Atticus” at the
Stonecrest Farm, a sprawling horse ranch in south Kansas
City, Coyote talked about his beliefs and career.
His history with Kansas City: “This is the first time
I’ve been here in more than 30 years. I came to Kansas
City because I was courting Jessie Benton, the daughter
of painter Thomas Hart Benton. She ended up running off
with some other guy.”
Launching an acting career at age 39: “Actually that’s
misleading. I was an actor in my 20s with the San
Francisco Mime Troupe. I acted, wrote and directed … in
fact a piece I wrote called ‘Olive Pits’ won an Obie.”
The California Arts Council: “The council was formed in
1975 by Gov. Jerry Brown, and I got pulled in by my
friend, the poet Gary Snyder. He was the first chairman
of the council; a year later I was elected to succeed
him … During my 3 1/2 years the budget went from $1
million to $16 million a year. The legislature finally
passed a law to keep me from being re-elected. I was a
troublemaker.
“But all my years in the counterculture had given me the
ability to talk to all sorts of people, and that really
whetted my appetite for politics.”
Getting into Hollywood: “I was doing the world premiere
of ‘True West’ by Sam Shepard in San Francisco. An agent
came up from L.A. to see the show and signed me. I
started getting leading roles right away. But Hollywood
only gives you two or three shots as a leading man. If
your movies don’t make lots of money, you’re relegated
to character actor. And that’s pretty much what happened
to me.
Regrets: “At first I was with an honest, gutsy agent
named Susan Smith who took me from nothing to being a
leading man. But hers was a small agency and at age 48 I
figured I’d better get to a much bigger agency with lots
of directors and writers and actors. So I left Susan.
“Well, at the new agency they put me in a corner and
basically let me rot until one of the partners took pity
on me and told me to get out of there.”
Voiceovers: “When I was working for the California Arts
Council … I was broke. So I started doing voiceover work
and have been very successful at it.”
Coyote has narrated dozens of documentaries like “Enron:
The Smartest Guys in the Room” and “Unprecedented: The
2000 Presidential Election.”
“Then there are the celebrity voiceovers for
commercials. I don’t have to appear on screen, just
talk. I’ve been the voice of Oracle, General Motors,
Cadillac, Acura, Mazda, Mutual of New York, Tylenol,
Claritin … I make half my income from commercial
voiceovers.”
Making “Shadows of Atticus”: “It’s a good story — no
sex, no violence, but it still manages to be
entertaining. Being a grandfather, it’s nice to be able
to watch a movie you’re in with the kids and not have to
wince at something that happens on screen.”
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