Actor and NYU alumnus David Call — whose résumé includes roles in “Gossip Girl,” “Smash,” “Fringe,” Lena Dunham’s film “Tiny Furniture” and much more — took a moment to discuss his role in the upcoming Western drama “Dead Man’s Burden” with WSN.
The re-emergence of the American Western has been in large part due to the success of Quentin Tarantino’s acclaimed and unconventional “Django Unchained.” Call feels a sense of nostalgia toward the classic genre, both personally and as a tribute to America.
“I grew up watching a lot of Westerns with my dad as a kid,” Call said. “I’ve always been a huge fan, and there’s always been a big part of me that wanted to be in a Western, playing a cowboy. I love it on a personal level, but also I think it’s really important because it’s such a uniquely American genre, and part of American his- tory, American mythology and American cinema. So I’m really happy to see that coming back, and I think it’s important for us to take a look at our own history and illuminate it.”
Call mentioned that he is very much influenced by the genre’s patron saint, Clint Eastwood. He also discussed how shooting in the wide open spaces of the New Mexico desert offered an ideal location.
“It was heaven, actually,” he said. “It’s always great to shoot in that sort of location because it really concentrates everybody and allows you to sort of immerse yourself in that world and that time. Going up to a cabin in the mountains and watching the sun rise every morning is not a bad way to spend the day. It’s sort of a paid vacation.”
Call has dabbled in many different genres, but perhaps his most notable role is that in Dunham’s “Tiny Furniture,” which he said took a page from real life.
“We’re friends, so she wrote that part for me, and half of those scenes were based on conversa- tions that Lena and I had actually had,” he said. “We talked a lot about the character, but she was very averse to actually rehearsing any of the scenes. She wanted to keep it sort of as loose and natural as possible.”
Call would love to work with Dunham again. About a possible guest spot on “Girls,” he said, “Of course. Anytime Lena wants me, I’m there.”
When asked about his time at NYU, Call discussed how being a student is what you make of it.
“There are a lot of amaz- ing opportunities that come with attending a school like NYU. There’s amazing faculty, there’s New York,” he said. “But NYU is also a bit of a behemoth in that there are a lot of students, and there’s a lot going on. If you really want to get everything out of your NYU experience, you really have to work hard to find those opportunities and maximize them.”
A version of this article appeared in the Wednesday, May 1 print edition. Isabel Jones is a staff writer. Email her at [email protected].