Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 5, 1994 TAG: 9402070249
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-18 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JACKIE HYMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
``You talk about doing it naturally, like it's me. That's the whole secret to acting - NOT seeing you act,'' says Garner, who stars with Joanne Woodward in the Hallmark Hall of Fame production ``Breathing Lessons,'' airing Sunday on CBS (at 9 p.m. on WDBJ-Channel 7).
``That's the hardest thing, I think,'' Garner says. ``You do something 30 times with rehearsals and blocking and retakes and make it sound like it just came out of your mouth.
``I've always had this thing - `It's just Jim.' Well, it ain't just Jim.''
On the other hand, he said, ``I don't think you can do any film without drawing on your own experiences.'' And that's what he did in ``Breathing Lessons.''
Garner plays Ira Moran, a long-married man whose sardonic view of life counterpoints the blithe optimism of his wife, Maggie (Woodward).
``Ira is somebody I understand,'' he said. ``He's an irascible old poop, but he loves her dearly. I know where they're at in their lives and I like it. I like the characters a lot. I think they're very real and honest.''
The gently humorous story, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Anne Tyler, follows the couple through a day that illuminates their marriage.
In private life, Garner, 65, has been married for 37 years to his wife, Lois. Woodward and Paul Newman recently celebrated their 36th anniversary.
``I see an awful lot of my wife in Maggie, and I'm sure Joanne saw a lot of Paul in me,'' Garner said. ``As a matter of fact, we commented about it. You just live with someone for so long, you begin to breathe with them. We finish sentences for each other.''
``Breathing Lessons,'' which was filmed in and around Pittsburgh, features Joyce Van Patten, Eileen Heckart, Paul Winfield and Kathryn Erbe.
Garner doesn't usually like to watch his own films, but he did see ``Breathing Lessons.''
``My wife was watching it and I went through the room,'' he recalled. ``I sat down and started watching it and damned if I didn't like it. I was so taken with Joanne.''
He got a kick out of Woodward off-camera as well.
``She would go into every grocery store where we worked and say, `Do you have Paul Newman's Own Pretzels? Well, you ought to. The money all goes to charity.' She's out there hawking pretzels! And she's so sincere. She's right - we need that kind of thing.''
Garner's fans also can catch him in the feature film ``Maverick,'' scheduled to open Memorial Day weekend, with Mel Gibson in the title role.
The casting of Garner, who plays a smooth-talking rival for the affections of Jodie Foster, was a sentimental, as well as artistic, choice. He starred in the TV series ``Maverick'' from 1957 to 1962 and in ``Bret Maverick'' in the 1981-82 season.
Garner doesn't begrudge Gibson the role.
``I don't own it,'' he said. ``He's wonderful. He's got such charm.''
Garner, who won an Emmy Award as an offbeat detective in the 1974-80 series ``The Rockford Files,'' has a long list of credits that include films such as ``Victor-Victoria'' and ``Murphy's Romance.''
He's starred in three previous Hallmark Hall of Fame productions and received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations last year for the HBO film ``Barbarians at the Gates.''
by CNB