Rupert Friend Learned The Lap Steel Guitar For His Asteroid City Role As A Singing Cowboy
"Asteroid City" is yet another of Wes Anderson's star-packed, quirk-filled extravaganzas, one that weaves in his love of American theater, cinema, science and music. That last aspect has been integral to Anderson's films since he hired Devo mastermind Mark Mothersbaugh to score his debut feature "Bottle Rocket." Since then, the filmmaker has delighted audiences with his ear for various genres of music, which sometimes serve as needle-drop cues but also enter the movies organically via on-camera performance. Think of Brazilian recording artist Seu George's acoustic guitar covers of David Bowie classics in "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" or Pulp's Jarvis Cocker performing his "very bad song" around the campfire in "Fantastic Mr. Fox."
George and Cocker are back for "Asteroid City," playing singing cowboys who drift into town and, for reasons you'll learn when you see the movie, can't leave. They're joined by British actor Rupert Friend, who acquits himself nicely on the lap steel guitar. If you're impressed with his playing, Friend thanks you dearly, because he had to pick up the instrument on the fly. Considering the talent of his on-screen band members, this was quite the challenge.
Be-Friending the lap steel guitar ain't easy
You're probably best acquainted with Friend from his Emmy-nominated performance on Showtime's "Homeland" or his turn as the fearsome Grand Inquisitor on Disney+'s "Obi-Wan Kenobi." "Asteroid City" marks his second go-round with Anderson after 2021's strangely underrated "The French Dispatch," so he was used to the director's approach and temperament.
What Friend perhaps wasn't quite prepared for was having to keep up with George and Cocker on an instrument he hadn't played before. Though he'd played guitar as a teenager, the lap steel guitar is a different beast entirely. As he told Variety:
"It has two necks lying on your lap, there's more strings and it is a finger picking nightmare, but the sound of it is completely beautiful. I love working with Wes, because he'll just casually say, 'Oh, you could play the song live, right?' [Laughs] Of course, I said yes, and then I get to Spain where we filmed it and the other band members include Jarvis Cocker, who I grew up listening to in Pulp!"
Invented almost 138 years ago by Oahu musician Joseph Kekuku, the lap steel produces a gorgeous moaning sound that's probably most closely associated with country music, particularly the work of Hank Williams. Don Helms is one of the best to ever pick the lap steel, but Deadheads will tell you Jerry Garcia was no slouch himself (that's him on Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's "Teach Your Children).
Can Friend measure up to these legends? He's probably just happy to come off as above-average. You can judge for yourself when you check out "Asteroid City," which opens in limited release on June 16 and expands nationwide on June 23.