Back when they were brothers-in-law, married to two sisters, Mitch (Earl Lynn Nelson) and Colin (Paul Eenhoorn) were close friends, but they drifted apart after Mitch and his wife divorced and Colin’s wife died. Now Mitch, a retired surgeon who can’t quite admit to being retired, convinces a reluctant Colin to join him on a trip to Iceland — just the ticket to perk up a pair who have endured their share of disappointments but still have a spirit of adventure in them. Brassy, relentlessly cheery, and prone to colorful language (“…this is so delicious it’s like angels pissin’ on your tongue!”), Southerner Mitch is the live wire of the duo. Colin, a more reserved Australian, is picking up the pieces after a second marriage gone sour. But both men are grappling as best they can with aging, loneliness, and disenchantment with life.
Filmmakers Martha Stephens and Aaron Katz wring laughs and a lot of poignancy out of this fictional but somewhat freeform road trip through the gorgeous country of Iceland. While Paul Eenhorn (This Is Martin Bonner) is a respected Australian-American actor who brings his years of experience to the role of Colin, Earl Lynn Nelson, like his character, is an actual surgeon who happens to be Stephens’ charismatic, no-holds-barred cousin. She used him in a pivotal role in her first feature Passenger Pigeon and he was such a natural that she and Katz built the part of Mitch around Earl Lynn’s unique personality. The two men have a delicious chemistry that never strikes a false note. It was as fun sitting down with them in a hotel room in Los Angeles for a chat as it was to watch their hijinks in the Icelandic outback.
Danny Miller: This film was so funny, I hereby declare you two the new Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon!
Paul Eenhoorn: I see us more as Steve Martin and Michael Caine in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels!
Earl Lynn Nelson: And I’m going for Buth Cassidy and the Sundance Kid!
I have to say what a joy it is to see a movie that, for once, isn’t focused on twentysomethings!
And nobody’s getting shot at or blown up.
How much of your actual personalities are we seeing in this film?
We’ve been instructed to say about 50 percent!
Paul: No, that was about how much of the script we followed and how much we ad-libbed!
Earl Lynn: Oh, okay. Then I’ll say that Mitch has my personality exactly. That’s me up there!
Paul: Full on, a hundred percent of the time.
You two have such a great rapport. Did you know each other beforehand?
Earl Lynn: Nope. We met each other the first day we started filming. That opening scene with the vaccum cleaner was shot in Kentucky. I had Martha and Aaron staying with me. I taught everyone how to drink moonshine out of a mason jar.
Did you know all the notes you wanted to hit in the film or were parts of the story very freeform?
Paul: The directors had a story they wanted to tell but then we took it from there.
Earl Lynn: I think Martha and Aaron wanted our personalities to explode in the movie. The only hard part for me was that we didn’t shoot the movie in sequence so there were a lot of scenes where I’d say something and they’d have to stop and say, “Earl Lynn, that hasn’t happened yet!” That part was tough.
I really enjoyed all the supporting players that you came in contact with in Iceland. I know some of them weren’t actors either. The two women who visit you during the film were played by Aaron’s wife and Martha’s old writing partner. What about those nice newlyweds you give advice to at the hotel? Were they a real couple, Earl Lynn?
Oh, no. One was our publicist and the other our cameraman! They were hogtied into acting in that scene!
That’s funny — I thought they were great. Were there some scenes that were completely improvised?
Paul: Yes, that scene in the art gallery.
Earl Lynn: We had never seen any of those paintings before we walked in there and started shooting. Those were my real reactions.
Paul: And Martha would always say to me, whatever he says, take the opposite point of view.
Earl Lynn: The worst part of that was the Icelandic lady who did those paintings was sitting right there! Oh God, that was something! You should have seen her reactions and how her eyebrows moved as we were shooting that scene.
Paul, you’ve been acting for many years. Was this style of filmmaking more nerve-wracking for you?
Tell the truth, Paul.
Paul: (Laughs.) Yes, it was harder! We had to constantly bounce off each other, but if I had just used my actual personality, it wouldn’t have worked. Like Earl Lynn, I have opinions about everything and I’m pretty loud — well, maybe not as loud as he is! Few people have personalities as huge as Mitch and Earl Lynn’s!
And you’ve never trained as an actor, right, Earl Lynn?
Earl Lynn: Nope! I’m a surgeon.
With an obvious gift of gab. You’ve made a few movies now — do you think it’s something you want to pursue?
Well, I’m not gonna fly here or fly there to talk to anybody about a script, but if someone wants to send me one for a part they want me for, I’m happy to read it. I had a lot of fun doing these movies but I also like my day job!
Paul: I, on the other hand, will happily fly anywhere for the chance to be in a film!
Earl Lynn: People are already talking about us doing another movie together, and I think I’d have a good time if I’m just allowed to be myself. Look, I can barf back the Declaration of Independence or the Gettysburg Address if someone put those in my hand—
I’m sure our Founders would be touched to hear you put it that way!
(Laughs.) When I read the script for my first film, Passenger Pigeons, it was about a coal-mining accident in eastern Kentucky where I’m from. I told Martha that no one where I grew up would say some of the things the way she had them in the script so she was nice about letting me change the wording whenever it didn’t feel right.
But you’re not looking to play a French aristocrat in an 18th century period piece.
No, sir! I am not!
Did you ever even have the thought when you were younger that acting might be fun?
I feel like I’m an actor every day. I have a good time and squeeze life for every nickel I can get out of it! But after making a few movies I have a lot more respect for professional actors than I used to. There were many times where I’d get off-kilter in a scene and Paul would bail me out and get me back on track. He was great about doing that.
Paul, as an actor, did you ever think, “Why the hell does this guy get a lead in a movie without any training?”
Paul: (Laughs.) Oh yes, I’ve had those moments — sometimes you get a little possessive of your craft. You think you’ve got to do your time, you can’t just throw people into what is a finely honed skill that takes years to learn! But you know, I can’t deny how bloody well it worked! But not everyone has Earl Lynn’s natural abilities, I can assure you of that.
Was it grueling to shoot the film in Iceland?
Earl Lynn: Yes, sir!
Paul: For all it may look like a sweet little independent film, it was mentally and physically intense. I remember telling people it was like shooting a Die Hard film! And it was cold and windy all the time.
Earl Lynn: Remember that scene on the beach with that black sand? Man, the wind was blowing around 30 to 40 miles per hour that day!
Ugh, it must have felt like you were getting bombarded with tiny pieces of glass!
Yes — in our eyes, our nose, our teeth!
Are the people in Iceland as laid back as they seem?
They really are! They are very friendly and nice — just wonderful people.
Should we all move there? It seems like such a great country.
Paul: I think so! It was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. And it’s so diverse. It’s like seeing all of America in one day — you can go from glaciers to mountains to waterfalls to beaches, and you don’t have to cross through Texas!
Thanks so much for the chat. I enjoyed this movie so much.
Earl Lynn: If we helped put a smile on your face, that’s all that matters. That’s what we were going for!