From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

King of the Gypsy punks

Eugene Hutz rules with his band Gogol Bordello and his role in Everything Is Illuminated.

by Barbara Lester

September 28 2005

The role of Alex, the English-mangling Ukrainian in Everything Is Illuminated (see review) was tailor-made for Eugene Hutz. Known in hip music circles as the singer, lyricist and leader of the Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello, Hutz has been described as "the Gypsy Iggy Pop."

In conversation, the 33-year-old, Ukrainian-born musician and actor appears to invent English as he goes along, so it's easy to understand how writer-director Liev Schreiber, who'd originally called him to inquire about using his band's music in Everything Is Illuminated, was inspired to cast Hutz the minute he met him. "My music led up to it," Hutz explains. "Somehow [Schreiber] had us on his radar when it comes down to searching for music that combines Eastern European and West. He had our CDs."

Hutz was actually reading Jonathan Safran Foer's novel on which the movie is based when he got the call about the big-screen adaptation. "I thought this was a great opportunity to put our music into the movie. Then, it happened on the spot," he recalls. "The way the book is written is very much how I write my music. Language is what I want it to be; screw the syntax. We had this lightning-striking moment in the room: 'l am that guy; let me do it, and consider it to be done. Can it be any more meant to be?' "

Clearly it can't. After Hutz got the role, he headed to Prague, Czech Republic, where most of the filming took place. The crew also traveled to Ukraine, which Hutz still visits regularly to get a fix of his native people and culture. "The Ukraine is not only red pants and accordions," he explains. "I know there is corruption, sex trafficking and radiation, but it's a beautiful country."

During the filming, he hit it off with co-star Elijah Wood, a big music fan with plans to create his own record label. "He's great. He's awesome. We immediately connected through music," Hutz says. "I never saw The Lord of the Rings. I met him as a person rather than a holographic image of fame."

The rangy, mustachioed Hutz also compliments Schreiber's adaptation. "I think he did as good of a job as could possibly be," he says of the actor turned filmmaker. "He was reasonable. He did not adapt the whole panoramic epic."

Hutz notes that Everything Is Illuminated represents a series of firsts. It was his first acting role, Schreiber's first time writing and directing a movie and Safran Foer's first novel. "We were learning all at the same time. I wouldn't look at it as difficult but as a moment of newcomerness," Hutz says. "We also had a lot of expertise in other areas, but there was a willingness to experiment and try a lot of innovative stuff."

Even though the star-is-born syndrome may still overcome Hutz, he's not abandoning his music. "I don't think it's a dilemma," Hutz says of juggling music and acting. "I don't think they exclude one another." Gogol Bordello just released its third CD, Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike. The eight-piece band, which played this summer's Warped Tour, will begin headlining a 32-city U.S. tour this weekend.

The spirited frontman is known for his crazy slogans, including "Think locally, fuck globally." On the band's Web site, www.gogolbordello.com, Hutz promotes "Gypsy fuck songs for you." Clearly enamored of the F-bomb, Hutz named his first band the Flying Fucks, which couldn't have been easy to promote in family-friendly newspapers. "It comes from a spiritual place," he jokes of his freewheeling approach to life and music.

As for Everything Is Illuminated, the fledgling actor can't say enough about the experience, and he reports the response has been overwhelming. Even before the movie's release, he has been offered other roles. Despite his accent and special way of speaking English, he's not seeking another Eastern European role. "I'm not necessarily going to top this," Hutz says.