Failure™ Magazine

Being Custer

Steve Alexander as George Armstrong Custer.

Written by Jason Zasky   Filed under History, Life

When you are in character, if someone brings up the subject of a modern invention like Indian casinos, how do you react?
I do the life of General Custer from cadet to the Little Bighorn, and sometimes I’ll do events where it’s supposed to be 1861 or ’62. At that point in General Custer’s career he would not have been exposed to the Indian wars, so when people start asking about Indians I can’t answer the questions. Those people think I’m ignorant [laughs].

Sometimes I’m put into circumstances where I’m at a roundtable with, say, Adolf Hitler, Cleopatra and Alexander Graham Bell and we’re discussing modern inventions and how we might have reacted to them. In all likelihood, Custer would be for Indian casinos because he was against the reservation system where the Indians were made to be wards of the state and there was no incentive for Indians to better themselves.

How long do you plan to continue “being Custer”?
As I age that becomes a very big concern of mine. A good parallel would be Pierce Brosnan, who used to portray James Bond. For the most recent film [Casino Royale, 2006] they got a younger actor [Daniel Craig] because they said he was getting too old. I thought Brosnan was doing a great job and got a raw deal.

For me, my whole life has been involved with the study and creation of this character and accumulating the props. I would like to think I could go another ten years, but it’s going to depend on how many people are calling. Are they going to put me out to pasture for a younger guy? I don’t know.

Is there a successor on the horizon?
There are competitors, but as for a successor it’s going to be very difficult. You can put a uniform on some of these guys but that doesn’t mean they are General Custer. It’s something you have to spend a lot of time with.

Do you love portraying Custer?
I don’t know myself any other way so it’s hard to say what it would be like if I wasn’t doing this. But I am very happy. I think if I were interested in any other subject I would pursue it just as passionately. That’s just my personality.

Official Web site of ‘The General’

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