People: James goes from a king to a queen
Kevin James knows the secret to a more perfect union.
It’s called compromise.
Take his relationship with Adam Sandler and their conflicting sports affiliations.
“Adam’s a big Yankees fan and I’m a big Mets fan, so we went to one (baseball game) of each,” James says.
The two actors put their bond to the test playing straight Brooklyn firefighters who pretend to be gay to get domestic-partner benefits in the new movie comedy “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.”
At age 42, it’s James’ first lead role in a film after wrapping up nine seasons of the CBS sitcom “The King of Queens,” for which he received an Emmy nomination.
“Chuck and Larry” has earned the endorsement of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. But James says he and Sandler were just out to get some laughs.
“Adam and I aren’t necessarily going to change the world. If things happen that are good out of the movie, that’s great,” he says.
“But on the other hand, we didn’t want to offend anyone, either. Honestly, we didn’t.”
He did have a problem with the film’s firehouse shower scene, in which the actors appeared to be naked but actually wore flesh-colored thongs.
“I was so out of shape. I gained 20 pounds during the movie – we were in New York, eating and partying and having fun. All the pizza here,” James groans.
“And I find out that next week we’re shooting the shower scene. I asked for a toiletry bag to cover up. It looks ridiculous.”
Not that James minds looking silly, or having his weight mocked.
“I did nine years of ‘The King of Queens,’ and fat jokes are great. I would write them,” he says.
As much fun as he might have had with Sandler, James’ heart belongs at home with his wife, Steffiana De La Cruz, and their daughters Sienna, who’s almost 2, and Shea, 1 month.
On his one day off during the publicity push for “Chuck and Larry,” he shot an episode of “Sesame Street” for the girls to watch.
“When it comes to the kids, they control me,” James says. “The new one doesn’t do much at all except for grunt and cry for food. Which is, oddly enough, the same thing I do.
“But Sienna, my older one, we have a lot of fun just playing and rolling around.”
Like their fathers, the James and Sandler children get along, too.
“Sienna and Sadie (Sandler’s 1-year-old daughter) play. Sienna has been teaching Sadie how to eat crayons, which is nice,” James says.
“And I’ve been getting on (Sandler and his wife, Jackie Titone) to catch up and have another one.”
The birthday bunch
Actor Orson Bean is 79. Actress Louise Fletcher is 73. Actor Terence Stamp is 68. Game-show host Alex Trebek is 67. Singer-actor Bobby Sherman is 64. Singer Don Henley is 60. Actor Danny Glover is 60. Actor-comedian-director Albert Brooks is 60. Actor Willem Dafoe is 52. Actor-comedian David Spade is 43. Actor John Leguizamo is 43. Singer Rufus Wainwright is 34. Actress Franka Potente is 33.