Video: Patrick Page Talks Playing Jacob Marley In SPIRITED on Apple TV+

Welcome to Backstage with Richard Ridge

My guest, Patrick Page, is one of the most respected actors of his generation

He is also a renowned playwright and teacher. You know him from such shows as The Lion King, Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark

Casa Valentina, Spring Awakening, A Man for All Seasons, and from his stunning performance as Hades in the Tony Award-winning musical, Hades Town

Well, now he is co-starring opposite Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds, in the new holiday movie musical, Spirited

which is an all-new adaptation that takes Charles Dickens' classic novel, A Christmas Carol, to the glittering streets of Manhattan

It is currently playing in theaters and will begin streaming on Apple TV Plus on November 18th

Please say hello to my friend, Patrick Page. Hello. How are you, my friend

First off, how are you and where are you? I'm great. I'm home. I'm in my bedroom

And Georgie's on the bed behind me. Paige is getting ready to go out for her day

And it's lovely to see you. Now, did you have an exciting premiere the other night or a big screening of spirited

It was like Cinderella. I was Cinderella at the ball. I said to Paige, you know, if this never happens again

I've done one of these incredible red carpet movie premieres. It was quite remarkable

At Alice Tully Hall and red carpet, all of the, everything you would expect from a movie premiere

And then we had this marvelous party at the Rainbow Room afterwards. So I'm flying high

Well, no one does it better than Apple TV Plus. I mean, I heard it was absolutely spectacular

I mean, first of all, congratulations on co-starring of this incredible movie

How excited are you? It's just it's such a thrill, you know, after 30 years in the theater on Broadway

to have my first big role in a movie. I've had nice opportunities

You know, Lynn asked me to be in the heights and things. So pop up here and there in movies

This is the first time I've been able to, you know, go from the beginning of a movie to the end of one

So explain this new incredible version of Spirited, like, what's the new take on it? What can you tell us

Okay. So, in terms of it being a Christmas carol, it kind of is, but it kind of isn't

I suppose it bears the same resemblance as when you take characters from one setting and place them in another setting

So this is 2021, 2022 Manhattan. And the conceit is that when

the ghost of Jacob Marley, Christmas present, Christmas past, and yet to come, redeemed of

Aneser Scrooge in the 19th century, it was such a good idea, and it worked so well that since then

they have done it every single Christmas with a different jerk every year. And the jerk this year

turns out to be Ryan Reynolds. And Will Ferrell plays the ghost of Christmas present, who is

really the head of the Ghosts team. Marley is the boss, the manager, but Will Ferrell, as

Christmas present, is sort of the quarterback. And he really wants to haunt Ryan Reynolds because

he believes Ryan Reynolds is a person who is so toxic and whose reach is so wide because he

does most of his villainy online. He manages a company that, that creates

conflict on Twitter and on Facebook and so on. And I imagine there are real companies who actually do this, you know

And so he's chosen as someone that if we were to redeem him

it would make a difference and it would ripple outwards. And then it becomes a kind of a buddy comedy between Ryan and Will with Marley

my character trying to hold it together as these two gentlemen experience conflict and fun and all those other things

Of course, along the way, it happens to be a musical with incredible songs by Pesick and Paul

I watched it last night. It is such an homage to New York City, and they have done such a gorgeous job

And it's the holiday movie that we need right now. It was so joyous to watch

I mean, I cannot wait to see it again. Let's talk about your character of Jacob Marley

How cool was it playing him? Oh, you know, Christmas Carol's been in my life since I was a little boy

I think I played Scrooge first when I was about 12 years old. I played him again in my first professional job

In other words, first time I was really paid as an actor. I wasn't Equity yet

But in a little melodrama theater in Oceano, California, I played Scrooge when I was about 23

Then I played him again when I covered Roger Daltrey at Madison Square Garden

but I also played Jacob Marley that year at Madison Square Garden. I wrote a version of a Christmas Carol, which has been done for the last 20 or 30 years in Oregon

which my father played Scrooge in. And then, of course, I played Scrooge for a couple of years at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera

So this show just keeps coming back into my life. play Jacob Marley in this is really a dream come true. And I, you know, I didn't need to do any

research. I knew Marley. And I, and I'd imagined what that relationship must be like between

Scrooge and Marley, that Marley, you know, was the only person at Scrooge's funeral. So I think

they were very close friends. And we don't hear anything about Marley's private life. I don't

think he had any other friends. I don't think he had any family that he was connected to in the same way

that Scrooge had no family that he was connected to. So I think Scrooge was his one and only. And so that's

that was kind of my way into this character in this film. Yeah. Let's talk about being on the set

To me, this is an incredible homage to a glorious time when Hollywood made these big, splashy

beautiful musicals and it's just, it's so glorious to watch. Tell me about being on the film set and what that was like for you

Oh, just unlike anything I had ever imagined, the size of, you know

I'm used to being on stage and in a very big Broadway show

As you know, I was sort of in the biggest one, right? I was in Spider-Man, which is a great, great, great, great big show

and I thought I'd never see anything bigger than that. And, but of course, you know, you might have

if you have a huge cast you might have 20 dancers on stage and in this you might have 100 dancers you know So it just a question of scale and quite overwhelming and wonderful and like waking up

in a fairy tale when you're on set. And then, of course, in making a movie, you're shooting in shorter sections and doing it

over and over again, covering it from a number of angles. and so you have a chance to

rehearse on the day as well as beforehand although we did do a full month, six weeks

I think the dancers did two months of rehearsal before we even started principal photography

All right. Talk to me about being on the set with Will Farrell, Ryan Reynolds

all these incredible people. I mean, what was that like working with them

I think the thing that people would be surprised by is, and maybe they wouldn't be surprised

But I think it's just how nice and normal and competent and cool everyone is

You know, there's no diva attitude from these gentlemen who are major, you know, movie stars

or from the director or from anyone involved and everybody is, you know, good

They've got their heart in the right place and trying to make a movie that people will love

No sense of cynicism. Just trying to, as the song says in the movie

do a little good, you know. I think that's what's most surprising

It has been a wonderful kind of surprise, perhaps, as I've gone through my career

which is that the people at the highest level of the industry very frequently have gotten there not just by their talent but by their character

And so when I've met people and worked with people like Denzel Washington, like Bono

you know, like Will Ferro, Ryan Reynolds, they turn out to be these not just nice people

but extremely thoughtful, competent, caring people who show up, do their job, take care of the people around them

And that's a, if there's a surprise, perhaps, there seems to be this kind of mythology out in the world right now about the entertainment industry being a nest of vipers

I have not found it to be so. Yeah, neither have I

I mean, these are two of the biggest stars in the world, making a gorgeous holiday movie for Apple TV

I mean, where did you film it? And how long was the shoot? We shot in Boston

So we had to make Boston look like New York. So that wonderful scene that I was just referring to

do a little good, what they've done on, I forget which street in Boston

but it was, you know, several streets in downtown Boston, closed for the night, shut down

and it was an all-night shoot and all the storefronts have been made to look like

New York storefronts and they put in a fake subway entrance that goes down to nowhere

because there's no subway in Boston and so yeah it's virtually all shot in Boston

which was wonderful because Paige and I hadn't really spent much time in Boston

we traveled all over the country and all over the world together one of the wonderful things

about this job is how much of the world you get to see

And of course, when Paige was doing trading spaces, she saw the whole country

But neither of us had spent much time in Boston. So to spend the full summer there was really wonderful

Yeah. So while there are some favorite moments being on the film set

like pinch me moments for you are like, oh my gosh, I'm doing this big splashy Hollywood musical

I mean, favorite memories from being on the set. Oh, my gosh. So many, so many. I almost can't count them. But I will say that since we're sticking sort of with this one number in my mind right now, that that night that we shot do a little good. And the director, Sean Anders, he had a sort of an inspiration. I had been staged in rehearsals to be down amongst everyone

dancing. And you know, I think it was because I couldn't do the dance very well. He said, put Patrick

on top of the bus. So now I'm on top of the bus. I don't have to do the dance moves. And I sort of

preside over this number from the top of the bus. But it gave me this bird's eye view of everything

that went on in terms of the production of that number for that night. So spending that night on top of

that bus watching and participating in this number being filmed, I would say is my

if I had to choose one, that's the one. Okay. How funny are Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds on the set

Well, they're very, very funny when the camera goes on. And they are masters of ad lib and they joke around and have a lot

But remember that, you know, these time is always of the essence

on a film set. And so they're light and easy and congenial

but I wouldn't say that everybody's joking around all the time on set because you've got dance moves

to learn that you're practicing between takes, you're running your lines, you're getting into makeup

and costume, and then you're going to shoot. So there's not a lot of waiting around

And it's very fun and congenial. And, of course, we would have lunches together

and then we would joke around a bit. But it's a serious business making a movie

Yeah. Now, the first time you saw yourself, I love your look is Jacob Marley

I'm like, wow, no one does it better than Hollywood either. I mean, when you saw yourself made up in wig

and outfit and makeup, like the first time you saw yourself, what went through your mind, Patrick

Well, there are two looks, right? I mean, there's Marley as he appears in the

in the majority of the movie, in which he's a nice Dickensian gentleman

And then there is Marley as a corpse, as a ghost, who haunts Clint and wants to look as terrifying as possible

There was a piece in the movie that didn't make the film, actually, where you see me transform from one to the other

And, you know, the movie, like every movie, you shoot more than you can

ונה and so that that isn't in the movie. But both of the looks I was so tickled with And of course the what I call the mask of the character the look of the character is a huge and important part of I think many actors process right I can speak

for myself, it's a big part of my process. So I work pretty closely with the designers to create

the look. So the particular look of the wig, the cut of the wig, the mutton chops

all of that, I worked with him on to get this man sort of looking the way he appeared in my mind

And I was just absolutely thrilled with the result. And then when we put on the ghost makeup, my goodness, it's a work of art in and of itself, you know

the way they sculpt these faces and apply them. It takes about three hours to do and then just moves perfectly with your face

And as you know, like from something like Spider-Man or The Grinch, I love mask work

I think that when you have that kind of mask, it can free you up impulses that you normally wouldn't know you had emerged through the mask

So that was thrilling. Well, the movie is brilliant. Like I said, I cannot wait to watch it again

So when you all watched it the other day, I know everybody was there. Like, what was it like sitting there with everybody watching this

at this beautiful screening. You ask such perfect questions, Richard. It was an experience I've never had

And so I was observing myself. I was very interested in the fact that it was the first time

I'd ever sat in an audience to watch myself in something I cared about

I've, of course, watched things at home on television with other people when I'm on a show as a guest shot or on the Gilded Age or whatever

But this is different to be in an audience of eight or 900 people or whatever it was in Alice

Tully Hall and to think, ooh, you know, I didn't land that laugh or oh, I want that

And, of course, it's done. There's nothing you can do about it

And so it's really an exercise in letting go and enjoying the tremendous

gift of seeing yourself on screen. Because I love how all these actors do that

They all look at it technically. It's such a glorious, glorious film

You are so good in this as everybody else is Octavia Spencer

I mean, singing. It's wonderful. I mean, everybody. I was telling Octavia the other night, I said, you know

I just find myself caring about the relationship because she's in it

Whereas if it had been cast differently with an actress who was less dimensional, it would be very easy for that plot to go nowhere because you could only cover so much of the romantic plot when you're doing essentially a buddy comedy

And she grounds it because she has so much depth and gravitas just in her being

And you care about Will and Octavia getting together. You know, it's such a feel-good movie

It's something we need so much right now. I mean, just tell me why this is such an important picture

a wonderful picture to have for the holidays now and why it will become a classic

Well, when I first read it, I was like, you know, I really, really want to do this

because I've been so troubled by the way we treat each other online in particular

and how that behavior, which has become so, almost ordinary online, the name-calling and the vilifying of other people, other human beings

become so normal. Even people that I've noticed, even some people I admire who I would never imagine these words

coming out of their mouths will say something online that I just, I can't even picture them saying

So it's as if that it brings out a toxicity. and then that toxicity then carries into everyday relations

as well as online relations. And this movie, not to say it's a downer in any way

but it really addresses that problem head on. And sort of offers a solution

And the solution is in this wonderful, what turns out to be almost the finale of the movie

the great 11 o'clock number do a little good. where it's like, no, maybe I can't turn from, you know, a sinner into a saint in one day

but I can take a little step. I can do a little good. I can not call someone a name

I cannot post that nasty thing. I can just step back just a little bit

And so I was just so proud to be part of something that was putting that out into the world

Yeah. It's so cleverly written. It's so beautifully done. Like I said, in the story itself, the Christmas Carol, there was always turning a sinner into somebody good

And now they've turned something that happens now in 2021, 2021, and like, oh, wow, you know, this is the new spin on this

And it's so great. We've got to talk about the music for a second. Passack and Paul, some of the most glorious songs in this movie

What was it like recording them and watching them on the screen? You know, here's, I have to tell you a secret

I actually didn't know their work that well. You know, I have an issue with my hearing

So I don't tend to go to musicals that are sung through

because I can't really understand what's happening. And it's rare that I can attend to caption performance or whatever

So I didn't really know La La Land or Great Showman or Deer of Enhancer

And so when I got the movie, I began listening to their stuff. And I went to page and I said, my goodness, these

These men, I was going to say boys, because they're so much younger than me, but these men are, they're so gifted

The songs are like, I take them to heart. They don't just get caught in my head like an earworm, but a song like Do a Little Good or Christmas Morning Feeling

I think Christmas morning feeling could become a perennial Christmas song, you know, and I loved the song I was given, which was a song called The Story of Your Life

incidentally the album comes out on November 18th and I can't wait to buy it I think people are really going to like it I'm excited to see what's on the album maybe there are some things that didn't make the movie so oh I'm doing the same thing November 18th I'm there to get one of these finals I know it's a very limited a limited amount of albums coming out I believe so I cannot wait for that that's another clever thing that Apple TV did I said wow that's a great way to it is this is starting of a classic

you know just moving away from this for a second because we almost out of time you are currently known for your stunning performance as Hades in the Tony Award musical Hades Town Your run comes to an end on December 30th

What have you enjoyed the most and what are you going to miss the most about Hades Town

Well, you know, I've been with that show since 2015, I think I did my first lab of it

Then we did the first production in New York Theatre Workshop in 2016

I remember, oh gosh, I remember it was summer. It was about to become, and the conventions were happening

the political conventions. And I sing this song, Why We Build the Wall

And Donald Trump at the time was running for the Republican nomination

but no one I knew thought that he could really win because he was so clearly a psychopathic buffoon

And then he was campaigning on this wall thing. So the wall had this sort of cheeky pop culture reference

that Anaeus never intended when she wrote it 10 years before. But then when he became the nominee and then became president

the song became darker and darker because it wasn't just a metaphor anymore

It was a real thing happening on the southern border. And we were walling ourselves in the way the Soviet Union had

with the iron curtain or North Koreans had, we were becoming one of these states

that builds a wall around itself. And it was terrifying. And so I think

and then now, after the pandemic, as Trump has been voted out of office

and things are beginning to calm down, the metaphorical resonance of the song

starts to take precedence again over the literal. So I would say that sort of watching

the audience over the course of six years, react to that song has been one of my great takeaways

And then, of course, this wonderful company you've worked with all these years, too

the company of actors. Unbelievable. Not just actors, although that, of course, is paramount

I get to work with the most extraordinary group of performers, but creators

And I had a front row seat. to watching the creation of this musical

watching it go from an album and a kind of series of ideas

to a fully fledged musical over the course of six years. Rachel Chavkin, Mara Isaacs

Anaeus Mitchell, Ken Cornelia, watching them craft this thing step by step by step

block by block, inch by inch, putting the puzzle together piece by piece. It was the kind of education that you just don't get. And I was so privileged to

have a front row seat to that. Yeah. Well, my final question is, what has made being a part of

Spirited so special for you and what you hope audiences take away from this glorious holiday

musical? For me, it's a childhood dream. come true, you know. In particular, a movie musical of a Christmas Carol-like material

It's just, it's almost, it literally is like I dreamed it because I would watch

you know, Albert Finney's movie Scrooge over and over and over when I was a child

And Oliver, and imagine myself in those circumstances. and then it happened in my life, you know

And what I hope people take away from the movie is, I don't know take away

but what I hope they experience is just joy. I hope they sit down with people they love

with a big bowl of popcorn and, you know, something they like to drink

and just sit back and have a blast, have a ball, laugh, bop, love each other, open your presence

I think it's going to be a great holiday tradition for many, many years. See, I do too

Like I said, I watched it last night. I had a smile on my face from, you know, left to right

I got out by the felt I was 12 inches off the floor. I cannot wait to watch it again

Well, everybody watching once again, Patrick Page is co-starring opposite Will Ferrell

Ryan Reynolds, and Octavia Spencer in the new holiday movie musical spirited

which is currently in theaters and will begin streaming on Apple TV Plus on November 18th

and you can catch him as Hades in the hit musical Hades Town, now through December 30th

Patrick, thank you for joining me, my friend. Thank you, Richard. All right, everyone, stay well and we'll see you at the theater

Take care, everyone. Bye-bye. I'm your ghost of Christmas present. We're bringing back Christmas

Like a Christmas Carol? Eve. One dark soul is selected for redemption by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and yet to come

A tradition that continues to this very night. Like a Christmas carol

Yes, yes. If you would just let me get this out, sit. So out of all the people on the planet, murderers, people who do gender reveal parties, I'm the guy you're going to hunt

You know what? Forget it. I told you, the guy is a little

Never printed fame in the dickens. Come on, I can take this guy

I'm your ghost of Christmas present. La la la, la, I'm not watching your dramatic reencratment

Hey, I'm haunting you. You can't just run away from me when I'm haunting you

Hello? We're bringing back Christmas! I believe he can be a positive force for mankind

And he's got his hands all over everything. Yeah, I wish. Maude, are you texting HR

No. People don't change. We got a runner! That's just fun to watch

I'm here to change him to be a more positive force for humanity. Clint

Yeah. Do you Photoshop yourself into these pictures of my executive VP

I don't think so. Oh, you want that. What I want is for you to shut up and let me do my job

Is there a ghost of Christmas grumpy? Because you could do that job. This is more to feel it

The jingle with the jingle bells are feeling. This is where real change begins

La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la Oh

Oh, that's... Oh, he's dead. Yeah, he's definitely. No, he's fine. He's good

Well, he's... Well, none of us real anyway