Most people probably know actor French Stewart from his starring role on the ‘90s sitcom “Third Rock From the Sun,” or maybe more recently as Chef Rudy on the Chuck Lorre show “Mom.” But, in Tracie Laymon’s new film “Bob Trevino Likes It,” it’s Stewart like you’ve never seen him before.
“Bob Trevino Likes It” is a semi-autobiographical film that stars Barbie Ferreira as Lily Trevino, a young woman with an estranged relationship with her father, played by Stewart. One evening when searching her father’s name on Facebook, she comes across a different man named Bob Trevino (John Leguizamo) and strikes up a friendship with him.
Stewart came to the project through his wife, Vanessa, who is in the same writing group as Laymon. Lily’s father is a tough, frustrating character – the dictionary definition of “bad dad,” you might say – and the role posed an opportunity for Stewart to try something different.
Rough Draft Atlanta recently spoke with Stewart about his role in the film. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
I’ve heard you talk about the story of how you came to this project, which was through your wife’s writing group. You’ve been close to “Bob Trevino Likes It” from the beginning, so I’m curious how you watched it evolve over the writing process.
French Stewart: That’s a really interesting question. It was watching writers work with other writers and get a script really fine. I’d never watched that happen in real time, heard what they talk about and how they describe it. The thing that got me was that, when I first read it, it was just sort of like – oh, this is so great. It’s such an emotional story, and so beautiful, and it was so funny. But then, you start seeing how the sausage is made [laughs] and you also realize that there’s a very practical craft to getting that through. I had front row seats to the process of a very, very, very smart person [in Tracie Laymon].
How the sausage gets made and how actors factor into that too, because if I’m not mistaken, you read for John Leguizamo’s part at first, right?
Stewart: Yeah, what Tracie liked to do, and what a lot of those writers liked to do, was to hear actors say [the lines], but also move them around in different parts. Because if it worked with a lot of different actors, then they felt like it was a little more bulletproof – or actor proof [laughs]. You know, the writing was good. I read for the Leguizamo part so that she could hear that out loud, and then I read this part. Later on, she said, “I think I want you to be Bob.” I said, “Oh yeah, you know – Good Bob, of course!’ And she said, “No, no – the jerk.”
Bad Bob.
Stewart: I thought, oh – better! Because it’s not often that you get that, sort of cornered into other things. It’s just been a really refreshing way to go about work, and it’s been just a joyous thing, being in something that I legitimately like.
You just touched on this briefly, but you’re, for lack of a better term, playing against type a little bit here. This is not normally the type of role that I’ve seen you in. What was that experience like for you?
Stewart: You know, every now and then I’ll get a chance to do it in a guest spot on television, but they kind of come and go. Or I’ll do it in the theater, where less people will see it. But this was the most pronounced time that I was able to do it. It’s really nice, because it just opens up a huge new door for you. I just turned 61, and suddenly I get this sort of third act. I get this fresh start. I can’t stress how fun it is [laughs]. And it’s nice that I’m a fan of Tracie’s, a fan of the movie. At a certain age, that doesn’t happen anymore, so I’m very fortunate, and I’m very lucky that Tracie fought for me.
You mentioned opening doors – does this role open you up to the types of things you want to do in the future?
Stewart: Absolutely. Absolutely. It’s funny, I’ve had good scripts and I’ve had bad scripts, but a lot of times, your work as an actor becomes about hiding script problems. Or making weird things work [laughs]. I would like to do less of that. I’d like to actually just walk in on a script that I really like and just do that. It just saves so much time.
It’s funny you say that – I write movie reviews too, and I can’t tell you how many times I think, “Well, that was weird, but the actor made it work.”
Stewart: Yeah, it’s so funny. But, you know, at the same time, from time to time I’ve seen an actor get bombastic on a line that could have been so simple and lovely. So, I guess everybody gets it.
Yeah, happens to everyone. What was it like working with Barbie Ferreira, and building that very specific father/daughter relationship? You’re also working with a writer/director, and this story is very personal to her. What was it like for the three of you building that relationship?
Stewart: We were lucky enough, especially on a movie this size, to have one afternoon that was put aside before we started for just rehearsal. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but so often you’ll go do a TV show or a movie, and on the day you walk in, they say, “This is Carol, that’s your wife. So let’s run the lines and go ahead and get into bed with Carol.” [Laughs] You know? So it was nice to have that.
The strangest thing was that we sat down, and the first time we read through, you could feel that it was just happening, and that whatever life experience we had had, or whatever people that we had come in contact with, were informing us. It was lovely to just sit down and do the scene, and think, “Wow. That’s really working.” And then Tracie would whisper something, we’d do it again. And then she said, “Okay, let’s move on. I don’t want to mess with it.” She did that on all these scenes, so there was a certain degree of luck and magic. It just was easy, you know? It just came easy. The hardest part later on was just, in getting to know Barbie – she’s a magical person. She’s a magic actor. She’s very, very, very special. And so, having to, you know, have lunch and then go turn on a camera and be mean to her, that would be the hardest part. But you get past that just by knowing, this is a part of the story, and that it’s going to benefit her.
This movie was shot in Kentucky. We’re down here in the southeast, and Georgia has obviously become a hotbed of production over the years. You’ve been in this business for such a long time, and I was wondering, from your perspective, what it has been like watching the industry shift and change over the years, and watching these smaller markets pop up?
Stewart: I love it, and I think it’s really good for movie making. Los Angeles did such a great job, when you look at it, for so long. But after a while, movies smell like a certain place, and you need to go some place else and visit some new people and different people, and see what happens when the camera is in their hands. I’ve just found it really refreshing. As far as the art of filmmaking – they have that. These people go to film school, they become masters in their own way. But it’s just how the community infuses itself into the story. It’s wonderful.
I moved to Atlanta almost three years ago with my wife. We decided that after COVID, we needed a break, and so we moved. It’s been just a game changer – new scenery, new food, new people. People are people, but at the same time, it is different. It’s wildly different. It’s been wonderful. I think this is really good. I think it’s good when film goes to places like Wilmington and Atlanta and Kentucky, and Albuquerque. It’s just popping up wherever there’s a tax credit, and I think it’s the healthiest thing.
There was a screening of this movie on March 18 at the Tara Theatre. How has it been for you, going to screenings and getting to feel the reaction to the movie in real time?
Stewart: It’s wonderful. For one thing, I can’t stress it enough, seeing people in an actual movie theater for a movie that doesn’t have wizards or Batman [laughs], it’s just telling a very small, simple story, was really exciting. You start to feel like [watching movies is] just something people do at home, and I miss hearing an audible gasp, or people saying, “Oh no.” You can just feel the air in the room, and you’re all doing this together. I miss that. I miss going to movies and seeing adult movies. It’s just wonderful. We’ve got so many great new friends in Atlanta, and they all came out. They’re just really supportive. It’s been fantastic. So much fun – just so much fun.
