Peter Gallagher stars in new film ‘Palm Springs’

Four decades into a celebrated career, Peter Gallagher knows this much: “One of the most toxic things in the world is success.”

“All the great ones from Jack Lemmon to Peter O’Toole were in on the joke. They knew that success didn’t make them better. It just makes them effin’ luckier,” he said during a Zoom call on a sunny summer morning.

Gallagher’s lucky streak continues with the new film “Palm Springs,” currently playing on Hulu. Andy Samberg stars as Nyles, who meets peeved maid of honor Sarah (Cristin Milioti) at a Palm Springs wedding. Life gets complex when they, including the father of the bride (Gallagher), keep living the same day over again.

Gallagher, a 64-year-old New York native, is known for mixing it up with unforgettable roles, including patriarch Sandy Cohen in the teen series “The O.C.”; a vengeful husband in Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts”; a lawyer in bed with his wife’s sister in “Sex, Lies and Videotape”; and a real estate sleaze in “American Beauty.”

On the small screen, he’s a father who cannot move or speak on the NBC hit “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” as well as Jane Fonda’s new husband on “Grace & Frankie.”

Review-Journal: Do you have cabin fever during the pandemic?

Peter Gallagher: The tragedies of COVID break my heart. For me, though, being home is a normal thing, as I wait for something new to film. So, I think of it like being out of work. The good news is my wife and I love being home together.

How do you spend Sundays?

We’ve been doing some home improvement projects and sprucing up the nest we’ve had for 13 years. If you have to be home, it’s good to make that home nice.

You’ve been married to your wife, Paula, since 1983. What is the secret?

The secret to being married a long time is simple: Don’t get divorced. That’s it. Otherwise, I know how lucky I am. I love her. I met her the first week of college, freshman year. I still remember the exact day. She is one of the most impressive people I know, and she had two genius children. I’m also lucky that she hasn’t kicked me out yet. My wife and I joke, “The only way out of this is horizontal.”

Oddly, every day is sort of the same in your new film, “Palm Springs.” That feels like real life these days.

What I couldn’t anticipate doing this movie was that it would come out at this profoundly appropriate time when, in real life, it feels like we are all trapped in a loop of “What day is it?” All of a sudden, another week goes by and it’s like, “Another week has gone by?”

Your character Mitch died of a rare degenerative brain disease in the last episode of “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.” Are you finished with the show?

There is a chance of bringing me back in some aspect. I love this show. It’s about all of the things that connect us. We’re in this bizarrely dreadful divided time, and this show is about all the things that we have in common.

Is it true you based this character on your mother and her fight with Alzheimer’s disease?

I did base the character, in some part, on my mother, who had Alzheimer’s for 20 years. I would sing and dance with her in order to reach her. I was with her when she died. As unable as she was to communicate, I always felt she was there in some way. I was never sure, but I had a feeling.

Is it true that director Robert Altman once said to your face, “Gallagher, you’re so good looking, it makes me sick”?

Yes, but I don’t see what the big deal is about my looks. You go to certain areas in Ireland and I’m a dime a dozen. The dark hair. The eyebrows. Everybody in my gene pool has got ’em, so why the hell is it a big deal? It’s just eyebrows.

What is the secret to being happy at age 64?

It’s about showing up every single day. You try to get as many at-bats as you can. The beauty in life is showing up.