The Biker Does the Bard

It was his Oscar-nominated portrayal of a humble, understated beekeeper in “Ulee’s Gold” that opened the door for Peter Fonda to play a larger-than-life magician who conjures up a world of trouble in the NBC adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” which premieres Sunday.

But it was the boy in Fonda that ultimately made him jump at the role of Prospero.

“I said, ‘Far out, I get to be a wizard in a tree house,’ ” Fonda said. “The 8-year-old said, ‘A tree house! Goody, goody, goody.’ ”

It was a very fit and handsome 58-year-old Fonda who was munching on a salad at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills recently. Dressed in a stylish gray suit and with slightly thinning hair neatly coiffed. it’s a 180-degree turn from his hippie, motorcycle-riding Captain America image from the seminal 1969 film, “Easy Rider.”

For years, Fonda has been locked inside that ‘60s time warp by many in Hollywood, waiting to break out. But with “Ulee’s Gold,” and now “The Tempest,” under his belt, the actor believes he is beginning to write a new chapter in his career.

“I didn’t know when it was going to happen,” he says. “I knew it was going to take longer than most [actors]. There was that thing about the motorcycle and the man aboard it,” Fonda explains, his blue eyes staring intently. “I knew when I read the screenplay for ‘Ulee’s Gold’ that it would be a breakthrough for me.”

After the breakthrough, Shakespeare was offered in the form of an NBC movie based on a play the Bard wrote in 1611. The story is set on a mystical isle ruled by Prospero, a magician and former duke of Milan who has been driven out of Milan by his evil brother Antonio. Though his royal subjects are few--his daughter Miranda; his servant, a spirit named Ariel; and a half-monster Caliban, whom he keeps as a slave--Prospero rules with a heavy hand.

But the NBC version is a long way from the 1600s in texture and tone. In the adaptation, Gideon Prosper (Fonda) find himself banished to an enchanted island in the center of a Mississiippi bayou during the Civil War. But true to Shakespeare’s original, Prosper’s magical powers are still impressive,transforming people into birds and turning seas into raging tempests.

Harold Perrineau Jr. plays Ariel, the slave whom Prosper frees but still keeps enslaved with his magic. John Glover is Anthony, Prosper’s evil younger brother who usurped his plantation years ago and plots to lead Union troops into an ambush. And Katherine Heigl, as Prosper’s devoted daughter Miranda, finds herself torn between her father and the Union soldier with whom she falls in love. John Pyper-Ferguson rounds out the cast as the truly bizarre Gator Man.

“The character is pretty much the same character as in Shakespeare’s play,” Fonda explains. “The whole part of the wizard who can change people into crows and changes himself into an eagle. I love doing that.”

The majority of the audience tuning into “The Tempest” won’t have any previous knowledge of the Bard’s play, says Fonda. “They will be able to take this show on its own face value. So I don’t worry about running into people saying, ‘Oh, you really slaughtered Shakespeare.”

“The Tempest” was filmed in Charleston, S.C. this past summer during the two hottest months of the year. “It was 98 degrees with 98% humidity with a heat index of 121 degrees,” Fonda recalls with a smile. He flew into Charleston 10 days early to prepare for the role and to get acclimated to the heat.

Fonda also worked on his portrayal of Prosper with his acting coach in New York. “What we do is go over the part and help me find different tools, because . . . when you get on the set that day the temperament or whatever isn’t happening. It’s not like you set it in stone.”’

Just as he did with Ulee Jackson, Fonda offers a very low-keyed portrayal of Prosper. “My approach was to find out those moments when I could keep it down, play it down.”

He did the same thing with Captain America in “Easy Rider” nearly 30 years ago, he says, “but nobody picked up on that. The most important line in ‘Easy Rider’ is at the end where I said to Dennis [Hopper]: ‘You know what Billy? We blew it.’ I put no spin on it. I had an enigmatic face. It was the most powerful line in the show.”

There’s more than Shakespeare for Fonda in the wake of the critical acclaim for “Ulee’s Gold.” He published his autobiography, “Don’t Tell Dad” and filmed the upcoming Showtime drama, “The Passion of Ayn Rand” with Helen Mirren. And his latest film, “The Limey” directed by Steven Soderbergh, just wrapped.

Though Fonda and his late father Henry had a difficult relationship, he says that his dad would be proud of him. “I am sorry he didn’t get a chance to see ‘Ulee’s Gold,’ ” Fonda says softly. “I did get to break some ground with him. When he died we had come to a wonderful settlement of our characters and our roles together as father and son. I am a very fortunate man.”

“The Tempest” airs Sunday at 9 p.m. on NBC.