Kattan can…

Photo: Kerry Monteen/IFC; Photo Illustration: Jamie DiVecchio Ramsay

In Bollywood Hero, comic actor Chris Kattan plays comic actor Chris Kattan. In IFC’s three-part miniseries, Kattan the character wants to tap into the romantic-lead vein; his opportunity arises with a Bollywood musical. In real life, the 38-year-old onetime Saturday Night Live actor insists, “I’d rather not be a superstar.” Still, he says, “I did have a dream of playing somebody more grounded and yet still be funny.” With Bollywood Hero, Kattan—and IFC—sets out to make his dream come true.

Time Out Chicago: Bollywood Hero had the same crew as Slumdog Millionaire. What’d they say about that film’s effect on the Indian film industry?
Chris Kattan: It’s opened up some things, but I don’t know if everybody was a fan of that movie there. They felt it didn’t realistically depict the slum situations.

TOC: Had you ever been to India before?
Chris Kattan: I was there maybe three years ago, but that was as a tourist. This was a much more raw journey.

TOC: What’d you see?
Chris Kattan: We were in Mumbai, which is kind of a ritzy area. There’s a lot of wealth there, but the caste system is extreme; you’re either superwealthy or struggling to survive. It’s a different taste than going to a charity, watching a video and donating money.

TOC: But that side of India largely doesn’t appear in Hero, right?
Chris Kattan: No, it doesn’t. [Laughs] There’s the orphanage scene, however. I go to the orphanage, and they’re real orphans that were taken off the street so they don’t get lost in human trafficking.

TOC: I hope you guys paid those orphans.
Chris Kattan: I paid them something. No, I did; I donated a bunch of money. Like, I sat and I didn’t autograph anything, and I said, “Here you go.”

TOC: Here’s a piece of paper.
Chris Kattan: Yeah, a piece of paper that says, “This is a piece of paper. Love, Chris Kattan.”

TOC: You’re very giving in spirit.
Chris Kattan: Thank you. Spiritually, I’m very giving. You may not see it, but you feel it.

TOC: In one scene, two guys in India recognize you from an American comedy show. When you were there, did people say, “Mr. Peepers!”
Chris Kattan: Not so much. Some people from other countries [did], but Saturday Night Live doesn’t air in India. They do get 30 Rock and Entourage, but somehow SNL did not make it.

TOC: They’ve been robbed, huh?
Chris Kattan: Eh, I don’t know about that.

TOC: We can talk about that if you like.
Chris Kattan: No, that’s fine. But they did see the Roxbury movie and Corky Romano and some of those things. I wouldn’t wear a badge [Laughs] in regards to my work in those.

TOC: So how was your SNL experience?
Chris Kattan: I had the time of my life. After doing maybe 16 Mango sketches, you get a little tired of it, but that’s my fault, too, ’cause I kept writing them. [Laughs] No one really encouraged me to play something grounded. At one point, a head writer said, “Kattan, why don’t you stick to characters that don’t talk?”

TOC: I wanted to ask about your background—
Chris Kattan: Okay. I am black. People confuse that.

TOC: I read that your dad’s of Iraqi-Jewish descent and your mom’s a Hungarian-born Buddhist.
Chris Kattan: And my grandfather, I just found out, was a letter carrier for Lawrence of Arabia; he was born in Baghdad. My mom was a model in the ’60s in England, like in the Twiggy days. She worked for Richard Lester in Hard Day’s Night.

TOC: Sorry, back up—
Chris Kattan: I’ve got an Iraqi-Jew dad and a Hard Day’s Night band-aid mom.

TOC: Did you ever travel to your parents’ home countries?
Chris Kattan: No, my dad was born in Chicago, and my grandfather opened up a hosiery shop there, which I think closed down due to World War II. And my mom was born in Budapest, but she escaped during the Iron Curtain to London.

TOC: And she was in Playboy in the ’60s?
Chris Kattan: She was photographed. I don’t think she made the issue—she was five foot. But she was photographed naked. She showed the butt, I think. I’ll get you—hold on, let me just e-mail it to you.…

TOC: What was her romantic life like?
Chris Kattan: She went out with Mitch Mitchell, the drummer for Jimi Hendrix. And she told me Michael Caine and William Shatner got into a big fight over her once.

TOC: Who won?
Chris Kattan: Caine. [Laughs] That’s just my opinion: I’d rather have Michael Caine win a fight if he’s battling William Shatner. Alfie over Captain Kirk any day.

Bollywood Hero airs Thursday 6–Saturday 8 at 9pm on IFC.

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