Don Knotts said there was a bit of Barney Fife in this film character
“I’ve tried to capture the kind of comedy these stars used to do - where there was a little guy constantly getting beaten down, then riding the crest for a while, and finally falling back down,” said Knotts.
Of slight build and stature, Don Knotts understood that being an underdog was nothing to be ashamed of. The actor began pursuing comedy at a young age, working as a ventriloquist during WWII.
Of course, Knotts became known to a widespread audience when he began playing Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show. There, he mastered the art of playing a bumbling fool with a heart of gold. Though the actor made his awkwardness seem effortless on screen, he admitted that there was a method to his acting style.
“I’ve tried to capture the kind of comedy these stars used to do - where there was a little guy constantly getting beaten down, then riding the crest for a while, and finally falling back down,” Knotts said during an interview with the Jackson Daily News.
Watch The Andy Griffith Show on MeTV!
Weeknights at 8 & 8:30, Sundays at 12 PM
*available in most MeTV marketsHis preparation served him well during his time on The Andy Griffith Show, and even in the years following, when Knotts became a successful movie actor.
Knotts starred in movies like The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966), where he played a similar role to the character he had become known for. The actor even acknowledged there was a “bit of Barney” in Luther Heggs.
“The Ghost and Mr. Chicken is about a newspaper employee in a small town who wants to become a reporter,” said the actor. “When making this picture, we tried to evoke the familiar nostalgia of a small town where little things become very important.”
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