Fran Kranz may not be a household name yet, but hes a familiar face to fans of Joss Whedons beloved short-lived TV series Dollhouse. And, luckily for Kranz, the cult herowriter and director behindBuffyandAngelhas made a habit of taking actors under his wing and casting them in multiple projects (see: Nathan Fillion, Eliza Dushku).
Kranz, whose first movie role was a bit part in Donnie Darko, is returning to Whedonverse with a starring role in the filmmakers topsy-turvy, anything-goes horror flick The Cabin in the Woods, which, after being shelved for more than two years due to distribution problems, could become his breakout role.
Rolling Stone spoke with Kranz about The Cabin in the Woods, his man-crush on co-star Chris Hemsworth and what its like working with Whedon.
Nabbing a role on Dollhouse dropped you into the rabid world of Whedonverse. Whats that been like?
Im so lucky. If I stop and really think about how much Joss has done for me, its embarrassing. When I first got the part someone asked me, Are you ready for Whedon fans? And I just kinda said, I dunno, whatever. [Laughs.] And sure enough, they were rating the cast online and I was consistently at the bottom. I remember there was an IMDB post saying I was the most annoying person in the world. But my character, Topher, had such a wonderful arc that people came around to him. So then I had people saying, I hated you at first but now youre my favorite character on the show. Thats definitely indicative of Joss work.
Why did your Cabin in the Woods character, Marty, appeal to you as an actor?
Ill be honest, playing a stoner is fun. But Marty really goes on a journey. Hes not your typical slacker-stoner. Reading the script, I couldnt believe where it went. Even though hes stoned, hes suspicious of whats going on and hes the first to put his finger on the reality of the situation. Hes kinda like Shaggy meets Scooby. I knew immediately he could be an audience favorite, and the journey he makes shows some versatility for me as an actor. Ive played a slacker before, but Martys in a league of his own.
Ive heard you got into character by smoking various substances. Care to elaborate?
We have to kill those rumors about me smoking real pot on the set. I take my job very seriously. Im always sober on set. But I had to smoke a lot of fake pot. In the rehearsal process everyone had various jobs to do to rehearse for the film. Chris Hemsworth learned how to ride a motorcycle; Kristen Connolly and Jesse Williams did scuba diving training; and I went to pot school. I literally spent hours a day rolling joints, smoking various pipes and bongs. I was jealous of Chris [learning to ride a motorcycle], thats what you really want to be doing. Now that guy can do everything. Hes like running around on horseback wielding hammers and stuff in Thor.
Cabin was shot back in 2009, before Chris even landed the role of Thor. While working with him were you like, This guys going places?
I swear to God, early on I was telling everyone, This guys a movie star. Hes a natural at this stuff, hes gorgeous and he gets it. I have the biggest man-crush on him. It was love at first sight. When he was talking about auditioning for Thor, we were all like, Thats perfect! I think Joss even called [Thor director] Kenneth Branagh asking, What are you waiting for? Then one day we were all having lunch, and Chris got up from the table and when he came back he was a movie star. [Laughs.] He got the phone call and that was it.
You also star in Joss upcoming adaptation of Shakespeares Much Ado About Nothing. What can we expect from that?
It was all done at Joss house in 11 days. It was such an organic process that I didnt realize we were making a movie till halfway through shooting. I know that sounds bizarre, but Joss has people over all the time to sit around, drink wine and read Shakespeare in his backyard. So I got an email saying, Im doing another reading, but I want to film this one. I want you to play Claudio as a temperamental jock. He talked about releasing it on the Internet, like Dr. Horrible. Then on the last day of shooting, he mentioned festivals like Toronto and Venice. Now everyone is expecting The Joss Whedon film,Much Ado About Nothing. I cant imagine what the budget was, but theres no way it was over half a million. But Im not about to say its a home video, even though that literally is sort of what it is. I have high hopes, but you never know, you know? [Laughs.]
Have you talked to him about working on anything else together?
No. I did tell him, though, that I wanted to be killed by Thor in [his upcoming film] The Avengers. I just wanted to be a random bad guy who gets a hammer to the face, but he didnt come through. I imagine there might be a second Avengers, and if hes at the helm Im really gonna be persistent. I dont need to be paid, I dont need credit, Ill bring my own lunch to set. Its more for me to say, I was killed by Chris Hemsworth! Joss is well aware of the sort of love affair Chris and I have, so Im confident itll work out.
Youre currently appearing in Death of a Salesman on Broadway alongside Philip Seymour Hoffman. How does live theater compare to film and TV?
Its my first time on Broadway, and its such a big deal for me and in so many ways overwhelming, but its also given me a lot of confidence and been very comfortable. Each day is amazing and perplexing and inspiring and humbling. In film and TV, you have several shots to get it right and everyones there to make sure you get it right. In theater you cant be afraid of getting on stage and [potentially] making a fool of yourself. I feel like that will help me return to the film and TV process with a greater amount of relaxation.
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