John C. McGinley has always enjoyed a solid reputation as a collaborative actor who is a whip-smart improviser.
McGinley confirmed those abilities playing the caustic Dr. Perry Cox on the long-running medical TV sitcom Scrubs.
His portrayal of radio play-by-play announcer Red Barber in the biopic of revered baseball player Jackie Robinson was another story.
“I didn’t ad lib a syllable,” said the 53-year-old promoting the film, called 42, in a downtown Toronto hotel. “This is too important for me to be a distraction.”
Opening on April 12, the film chronicles Robinson’s 1947 season breaking the colour barrier in Major League Baseball while wearing the uniform number 42.
Not only did the pivotal time lead the way for African-American players in all major sports, the act signalled the unofficial beginning of the civil rights movement in the U.S.
Chadwick Boseman plays Robinson. Co-starring is Harrison Ford, who portrays Branch Rickey, the Dodgers’ executive responsible for signing Robinson. Lucas Black is loyal Robinson teammate Pee Wee Reese. Nicole Beharie plays Robinson’s wife, Rachel, and Christopher Meloni is opinionated Dodgers coach Leo Durocher.
The Brian Helgeland movie does mention Robinson’s season with the triple-A farm team Montreal Royals, but the focus is on the player’s unsettling first year with the Dodgers.
John C. McGinley
Despite that serious tone, there are some lighter moments, including McGinley’s take on Barber’s stylized descriptions used to inform radio listeners of the baseball action.
“I think Brian (Helgeland) deals with the bigotry and the racism by showing that Jackie was assaulted by it in an unrelenting and brutal way,” said McGinley. “But (Helgeland) also allows for a human face in all of this, too.”
That’s where Barber comes in. Born in Columbus, Miss., he was a veteran sportscaster by time he became “the voice of the Dodgers” during the critical 1947 season. And, he was already celebrated for his catchphrases — rhubarb for argument and sittin’ in the catbird seat for playing well, among many.
In 42, Barber provides some light touches to tense situations on the field of play. It’s a small but gem of a part and McGinley wasn’t the only high-profile actor who wanted to play him.
“I went through a series of auditions and said I would do what I needed to do,” said the actor. “Do I usually audition? No. But I wanted to be a part of this.”
When he got the gig, he immersed himself in the world of Barber. He listened to tapes of his broadcasts, even a few from the Dodgers’ 1947 season.
Besides reading his scripted lines, “I was allowed to cherry-pick expressions, so Brian (Helgeland) would have a ton of stuff to choose from.”
In the process, McGinley said that he tried to remain faithful to Barber’s intonation and patois.
“My obsessive-compulsive focus was on Red’s sound and his rhythm,” said the actor. “I knew I was going to be heard more than I would be seen, so I tried to capture that cadence and his crazy amalgamation of different American regionalisms.
“I also knew that if I had the spine to honour Red, I better bring my A game.”
“I also knew that if I had the spine to honour Red, I better bring my A game.”
By most accounts, he always does. He did in his movie debut playing Sgt. O’Neill in the Oliver Stone war picture Platoon. Later, he was memorable as Bob Slydell in the cult comedy Office Space. Before Office Space, he had co-starring parts in Point Break, Highlander II: The Quickening, Article 99, and The Rock.
Of course, there is his acclaimed Dr. Cox on Scrubs, which he defined in such a manic way from 2001 to 2010.
As a change of pace, McGinley showed up on the TV series Burn Notice this season playing a shifty spy for a six-episode arc.
“That was a fun show to do, and they are so terrific and they really know what they are doing,” he said. “And I am really happy for them because (Burn Notice) got renewed for another season.”
Recently, McGinley solidified his reputation by playing opposite Al Pacino in the successful revival of Glengarry Glen Ross, which ran for seven months on Broadway.
In a few weeks, he’ll re-team with Scrubs’ showrunner Bill Lawrence to shoot the pilot for a comedy series on TBS called Ground Floor: McGinley plays a financial boss caught in the middle of an office romance between two misfits.
“My chops are pretty clean because I just finished Glengarry with Al Pacino,” he said. “We’re going to shoot Ground Floor in front of a live audience like (Lawrence) did with Spin City, so I am ready to go.”
Indeed, McGinley is looking forward to a regular gig on TV again.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “We will shoot it and say, ‘Our fathers.’”
