Steve Zahn Plays 'My Favorite Scene' With Movieline

Earlier this month, Steve Zahn rang Movieline from his Kentucky farm to discuss Treme, HBO's ensemble drama about post-Katrina New Orleans. As his character, Davis McAlary -- a charismatic disc jockey, amateur politician, and advanced stoner -- grows frustrated with the Big Easy's gradual recovery from disaster, so too have some Treme viewers grown frustrated with David Simon's sprawling series. Hopefully, this Sunday's finale will remind audiences why they enjoyed the series when it first premiered in April, and to celebrate the conclusion of his freshman year at HBO, Steve Zahn joined us for a round of the age-old Movieline classic, My Favorite Scene.

So which few minutes of cinema would Zahn pick as his favorite? "The Russian roulette scene in The Deer Hunter," he revealed, after a few moments of thought. "I just remember The Deer Hunter being pivotal. I was so blown away by those guys and I was young -- like in junior high -- when I saw it. I don't know, it just deeply affected me. Sometimes you see a movie and it sets off these little sparks in your soul and your mind and that's what Deer Hunter did for me."

Did the scene from Michael Cimino's Oscar-winning film influence his career path?

"Definitely. I remembering thinking, 'Wow, what would it be like to do that -- to be pretending in that scene? These actors are actually pretending. Oh my god. This is incredible. How do you do that? How do you get to that point? I want to get to that point.' I am always drawn to epic stuff where it is not always about the action but the intense drama. I was young and impressionable, and that really resonated with me."

Coincidentally, Sam Rockwell also cited The Deer Hunter's Russian roulette scene as one of his all-time favorites when Movieline spoke to him last November.