Stacey Keach finds good, evil in Nixon role

Preparing for his co-starring role in Peter Morgan's hailed docudrama, "Frost/Nixon," Stacy Keach studiously avoided seeing the play on Broadway, or the respected film based on it.

But the veteran thespian couldn't erase his own memories of the disgraced ex-U.S. president, Richard M. Nixon — played by Frank Langella in London, New York and on film, and now by Keach in a national tour that opens at Seattle's Paramount Theatre on Wednesday.

"I had tremendous antipathy for Nixon during the Watergate era," recalls a gracious Keach by phone, in his imposing rumble of a voice. "And I never fully exonerated him in my mind.

"There's no question his behavior was erratic," Keach continues. "He did ruthless things. But I've come to appreciate his love for his family, his loyalty to his friends, associates, children. By not being more open about Watergate, he felt he was protecting people."

Though Keach never hit the Hollywood heights that had been predicted for him in the 1960s, the 67-year-old actor can add his turn as Nixon to a bounty of stage and screen achievements. Alongside his many TV stints (e.g., detective Mike Hammer, and the patriarch in the sitcom "Titus"), Keach has won acclaim starring in such plays as "An Inspector Calls" (at the Paramount in 1996) and in a 2006 "King Lear," at Chicago's Goodman Theatre.

Keach sees parallels between the aged monarch Lear and the former U.S. president, who in "Frost/Nixon" battles to save his ruined reputation by agreeing to series of 1977 TV interviews with Britain's David Frost (who will be played here by Alan Cox).

Both Lear and Nixon "have a tremendous need for love and adulation, and tremendous passion for their own sense of entitlement. Both believe they're above the law, as king or president. And they're both tragic, in realizing the truth of their dilemmas so late."

To prepare for the "Frost/Nixon" tour, Keach said he "went first to the actual interviews with Frost, and Nixon's resignation speech."

That televised 1974 address was not seen in the film, but in the play "it's a very quick overture for what's to follow, particularly as to the range and depth of Nixon's eccentricity. He's constantly preoccupied with image, how he looks."

Many have speculated Nixon lost his first bid for the presidency in part to how he appeared (5 o'clock shadow, facial sweat) compared to his suave opponent, John F. Kennedy, in their TV debate.

"The nature of TV is a very important theme in Peter's play, more so than in the movie," Keach says. "Frost is hoping to be taken seriously as a TV journalist, not just as a talk-show host. And Nixon wants to harness the power for television to rehabilitate himself."

But don't expect a detailed physical impression of Nixon from Keach. "Because the play is close to the truth but also a revisionist form of history, which takes liberties, it doesn't require a physical impersonation from me. It's more about capturing Nixon's essence."

Keach was playing the role in Los Angeles in March when he fell ill and was treated for a minor stroke. He says he's well now, and "very grateful it was a mild situation and I had great doctors."

He also feels hale enough to tackle another big gig in June: an encore of "King Lear," staged again by Goodman Theatre head Robert Falls, at Washington, D.C.'s Shakespeare Theatre.

"It's set in Eastern Europe in the 1970s," he explains. "It's a very controversial production, very ferocious, sexually explicit and violent. Since we last did it, I've found a lot more emotional colors I'll be able to express in the part."

In chatting about his own career, Keach expresses no such bitterness or regret. "I couldn't be happier. I'm blessed with good fortune. I've been able to appreciate it even more since I had that little health ripple."

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com