The veteran character actor recalls roles from There’s Something About Mary to Deadwood to Scream.
He has loved and been loved.
He’s been a father, a brother, and a son.
Credit: Francois Duhamel/Lucasfilm Ltd.
He’s been a cop (a lot) and a crook (also frequently).
A Meat and a Loaf.
(Okay, that was one part.)
Bill Records/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images via Getty Images
He’s been two different men named Jimbo.
But thanks toThe Mandalorian,he’s finally been something he’s always wanted to be: A Weequay.
“We started out as actors at the exact same time in Chicago,” recalls Brown.
Sony
“I’d see him at every beer and truck commercial audition,” says Brown of Favreau.
The pair kept in touch over the years, crossing paths from time to time.
Until he heard who and what it was for.
HBO
He signed up for a torturous day in the make-up chair, his inner 13-year-old fanboy giddy.
I just saw one of them.
And my initial thought was ‘Oh, that’s so sweet.
Meat Loaf, born Michael Lee Aday.
The prop guy made a Baby Yoda.’
Just thinking it was just for fun, you know?
Not knowing that that’sThe Childin my scenes.
20th Century Studios
She never said a word."
I really appreciate it.
Would you be open to the possibility of doing this again?'
Miramax
And as beat as I was, I went, ‘Dude, A) it’s you.
B) it’s f—ingStar Wars."
“That was difficult,” recalls Brown.
“I was in Austin, Texas and it’s a pretty big, broad ensemble.
I was working one day a week.
But it was really heavy.
And being away from home, and living by myself, it wore on me psychologically and emotionally.”
He goes so far as to call it, “the greatest show that nobody watched.
It’s a demanding show.
you’re free to’t just easily pop in and pop out and be entertained.
You have to invest.
And it challenges your every assumption.”
Do you want to do it?’
“Working with David, I’ve never met another human being like him.
Almost invariably, there’s an emotional disconnect.
But his emotional intelligence is every bit as equal to his intellectual intelligence.
David’s able to see through people.
He sees who you are.
He sees your cracks.
And Dave, being Dave, wanted to repair them.
But then you ladle on top of that, David was the antithesis of a sandal-and-bead-wearing guru.
He could be a prickly pear.
So working with him was the most exhilarating time.
I would not trade those three years for anything.”
“ML is a capital K character,” he says with a laugh.
“And so I’m walking [on the lot].
So I keep walking.
And I hear behind me, ‘Earl.’
I turn around, and it’s Meat Loaf.
Standing behind the cameras is Meat Loaf and Cameron Diaz.
So, you want to talk about performance anxiety?
“The real Warren plays Freddie in the movie.
Although the film was a huge hit, it didn’t immediately result in more work for Brown.
“Marywas kind of a double edged sword,” he recalls.
“It exploded, and I thought, ‘All right baby, here we go.’
And then, nothing.
(Perhaps a window into the challenges faced in the industry for actors with developmental disabilities.)
When Williams realized that Brown had played Warren, he was taken aback.
Because he was always constantly entertaining.
I used to go to school and steal your jokes, and pretend that they were mine.
Well now, watching you steal from me is pretty damn cool.'”
He’s just like me.'
That was one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever been paid.
It was so heartwarming to me.
Everybody wants to and deserves to see their story told.
So, I could not be more proud of that film and my involvement in it.”
The actor’s fondest memory was of the film’s budget.
