Carol Kane: ‘Once you break into comedy, you have a little more leeway with your looks’

Y es, the outrageously storied character actor Carol Kane is hired by filmmakers today for her chops. And that big, smoky, instantly recognisable New York growl of hers. But surely there’s an appeal to just having her sit on your set and tell anecdotes from her five decades in showbiz? Her stories are endless.

What it was like to be held hostage in Dog Day Afternoon , or slap around Bill Murray in Scrooged . How long it took her to be buried under those witchy prosthetics in The Princess Bride , or how nervous she was to converse in comfortable, romantic gibberish with Andy Kaufman in the seminal sitcom Taxi . Then there’s the rest of her extensive CV.

The Last Detail . Addams Family Values . Annie Hall .

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt . God, I wish I was stuck in a lift with her. Or at least an incredibly long car journey.

Instead we’re doing a phone interview, time is of the essence, and Kane keeps asking me questions. “How old are you, Adam?” Kane inquires, raspily yet softly. I tell her I’m 31.

She turns on a dime. “Oh, you’re a baby boy! Call me when you’re 60, goodbye!” The 72-year-old lets out a broad howl, befitting for a woman who’s made a career out of playing eccentrics and tricksters. I think I’ve just been Carol Kaned.

I’ve asked about whether she’s ever personally experienced a late-in-life transformation, the theme of her brilliant new film, Between the Temples . It’s a sensitive, odd-couple comedy, in which she plays a retired music te.