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An actor from Utah is getting his big break on the silver screen.
Kirby Heyborne, a 34-year-old who grew up in Sandy, plays a supporting role in the recently released film, "The Three Stooges: The Movie."
Heyborne is best known among Utahns for his roles in LDS-themed films such as "The Singles Ward," "The RM," "The Best Two Years" and "Saints and Soldiers." He received his big break when he became acquainted with "Stooges" co-director Peter Farrelly while doing a commercial. Later, Farrelly called him to read for the role of Teddy, a character that grew up in the same orphanage as Larry, Moe and Curly and is later reunited with the Stooges as adults.
"My experience was awesome," Heyborne said. "I’ve been a huge fan of the Stooges since I was a kid, and I'm a huge fan of the Farrellys, so being able to do a Stooge movie with the Farrellys was awesome."
Heyborne said he loved the antics and slap-stick humor of the Stooges. As a kid he related to the Stooges on a deeper level.
"They were always dealing with people in authority and always throwing a pie in their face, literally and figuratively," the actor said. "I think as a kid, you like seeing that. Here is this authority figure telling me what to do, and these guys are throwing a pie in their face. It's what you kind of want to do to authority when you’re a little kid."
Heyborne admits he was curious how a modern version of the Stooges would turn out, but said Larry, Moe and Curly (played by Sean Hayes, Chris Diamantopoulos and Will Sasso) pulled it off.
"They (the Farrelly brothers) wanted the spirit and the essence of the Stooges. In the first day, that was exactly how it was," Heyborne said. "Sean, Chris and Will are super funny and talented guys and they became the Stooges. My character is someone who cares about the Stooges, so it was easy, I didn’t have to act; I was in awe and the dialogue that came out was natural."
Heyborne appreciated the family-friendly enviroment he found on the Farrelly brother's movie set and enjoyed taking his family to the premiere. It was almost more entertaining to watch the gut-busting reactions of his 10-year-old son and his fifth-grade buddies than it was to watch the movie, Heyborne said.
"My kids loved it. They couldn’t sit up straight because they were laughing so hard. It reminded me of going to see 'Dumb and Dumber' for the first time," he said. "My 10-year-old and his five friends were leaning forward on the chairs in front of them, looking at each other, knowing they would quote certain lines the next day at school."
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