David Rasche Dishes on 'About My Father,' Says 'Succession' Finale 'Doesn’t Pull Any Punches'
Succession actor David Rasche has a new movie out this weekend, About My Father, the release of which coincides with the series final of his hit HBO show, Succession. In the new comedy film, Rasche plays hotel business billionaire Bill Collins. He stars opposite Sebastian Maniscalco, who plays his would-be son-in-law, as long as he can the family's blessing to ask for Bill's daughter Ellie's (Leslie Bibb) hand in marriage. That is, if his quirky-but-well-meaning father (Robert De Niro) doesn't mess up his plan. PopCulture.com had a chance to speak with Rashe about the new film, as well as the ending of Succession, which he says "doesn't pull any punches."
Speaking first of About My Father, Rasche joked, "Everybody says it's a family movie, but it's not Benji or something. It's not dirty, but it's really funny and anybody can see it." He added, "People come together at the end for the right reasons. It's not overwritten. I think it's a lovely movie and everybody adds." Praising some of his co-stars, Rasche said, "Bob De Niro is just so charming and so funny and so touching and he's the thread that goes through. Then Leslie... She's got this sort of lovely energy that... Every time you come back to her, she bounces it along."
The cast is rounded out by Kim Cattrall as Bill's wife Tigger, and Anders Holm and Brett Dier who play Collins sons, Lucky and Doug, respectively. "The boys are nuts. Crazy. The stuff they add... nobody asked them to do that. They made all this stuff up," Rasche revealed. "Not the bowls, but the flute, [Dier] brought his own flute and stuff and Anders, Lucky. He does all this physical stuff, he brought all that and it just really makes the new movie go."
Later joking about the characters that Holm and Dier portray, Rasche quipped, "They're both completely useless. We know that. I [Bill] hope it wasn't my fault, but I think probably it was. So all we can do is watch and pray and then not sleep. Those are the things we do."
Rasche also praised the film's "wonderful" director, Laura Terruso, saying, "She's a sweet little girl and like that, but she's a rock, you wouldn't know it. She's soft-spoken, but she kept this thing going and she knew what she wanted, she knew what she wanted to do with it.... She's Italian, as is Bob, both from Sicily, so they had a lot in common... Her mom used to talk to her in Sicilian. So, she would give Bob these lines... A lot of it comes from her." He then added, "I think it's really a lot of fun and people should see it, and the people who worked on it are really great."
Rasche went on to note "the wonderful combination of things" that brought the movie together. "The script was really good. I mean, the fact that Mr. De Niro did it," he said, "He brought everything to this and it's really genuinely heartfelt. It isn't manipulative. You don't have strings playing you into the crying. There was a wonder of the music in it. Is it just very artful? It's a little bit, sometimes, sort of accordion Italian and stuff."
Finally, we asked Rasche about Succession, which comes to an end on Sunday night. "You're in for it tonight," he said at the time. "It's really... You'll never guess where it's going. It's really serious. It always has been, right? It's about our government and politics and money and who runs it and what the hell's going on. So yeah, they don't pull any punches. In the end, you can't guess... You'll have fun."
About My Father is now playing in theaters. The Succession series finale airs Friday night on HBO and the Max streaming service. Keep it locked to PopCulture.com for more great entertainment news, reviews, and interviews!
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