Andy Griffith will always be Sheriff Andy Taylor on ‘The Andy Griffith Show” or lawyer Ben Matlock but now he’s playing a different type character in the comedy film “Waitress.” The movie stars Keri Russell as Emma who works at the diner that Griffith’s cranky character owns.
“I’m glad to back. I loved working in the film, and I just thought it was actually wonderful,” Griffith said. He also tells about the writer and director of the film, Adrienne Shelly, who was found dead in her home after “Waitress” was accepted at the Sundance Film Festival.
Griffith tells about the making of the film. "She wanted me to be very firm, and she kept after me to be firm, be firm," he said. "I said, 'I'M TRYING.' She said, 'That way.'"
Griffith lives with his wife Cindi very privately in North Carolina. He had not appeared in a film since 2001. He took the part in “Waitress” and was only on the set four days out of the 20 day shoot.
Producer Michael Roiff said he and Shelly were fortunate to have Griffith as a part of the cast. "We were so excited about the performance he was delivering," Roiff said. "In the editing room, putting scenes together, she and I would just look at each other and think, 'How did we get so lucky? Who let this happen in our movie?' Literally, on the set and in the editing room, there was a continuous process of looking at each other and breaking out in that wise, small smile and realizing we were working with one of the best out there."
Griffith was also excited about the film and said Ron Howard, who played Opie on ‘The Andy Griffith Show,” thought the movie was great. "Ron Howard called me a few mornings ago. He and his wife had seen it and he wanted to tell me how much he liked it. And he thought I was good in it, too," Griffith said. The 81-year-old said he is still looking for work and would like to do another movie.
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