Wausau's Ross Jirgl takes on role of Butch Cassidy in a Tubi original movie

WAUSAU - Something strange happened when he put on the hat.

Ross Jirgl, a Wausau native who gave up a football coaching career to become an actor, earlier had learned he landed a meaty role, that of the lead in a movie called "Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch." Jirgl had already appeared and starred in movies in the four-some years after he left his position as a strength and conditioning coach at Stanford University in California, including, most recently, "Love at the Christmas Contest," which aired on the Great American Family network.

But this role as Butch Cassidy was an opportunity on whole other level. Jirgl grew up a fan of the iconic film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," starring the equally iconic actors Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

Jirgl understood the pitfalls of following in those footsteps. He knew his movie would be significantly different than the 1969 classic, but he wasn't sure how he was going to bring a new voice to Butch Cassidy.

Then he put on the hat that he was to wear as Butch.

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"It was weird, man, when I put that hat on my head, and something happened to my face," Jirgl said in a phone interview from his home in Los Angeles. "I got this squinty, cheek raised, eyebrows lowered, pursed mouth thing going on. And I'm like, 'Where did that come from?'"

Jirgl said the experience with the hat was interesting, but just part of the process he used to inhabit a role. To become Butch Cassidy, he studied the real Old West outlaw; discussed motivation and character with the script writer and director; and he learned from two well-known veteran actors who also are in the film, Bruce Dern and Dee Wallace.

The results of the work is now streaming for free on Fox's streaming channel, Tubi. And even though he's been in other movies, this role represents a significant step in Jirgl's ongoing quest to become an actor who tells stories through deep and meaty roles.

What it's like acting with Bruce Dern

As for how this movie differs from the 1969 version, Jirgl's Butch is quieter, deeper, and carrying more baggage than Paul Newman's rakish, funny and fast-talking Butch.

"I think the Butch that was written for me was a lot different," Jirgl said. "He's a lot more reserved, calculating. He has a little more depth in that he had tragedy in life, and we're kind of playing off that."

The real Butch Cassidy, Jirgl said, was a very interesting guy, born into a Mormon family. His given name was Robert Parker. He took on the Butch Cassidy moniker after linking early on in his criminal career with an older outlaw, rustler Mike Cassidy. Mike Cassidy became a father figure for Butch, Jirgl said.

The movie delves into the what-ifs of that part of Butch's life. And that's where Bruce Dern came in; the veteran actor portrays Mike.

And akin to Mike tutoring Butch, Dern inspired Jirgl.

"I've got some great scenes across from him," Jirgl said. "He's just a legend. He was so intense. And in five or six scenes, whoa, he caught me off guard. I feel like acting across from him, I grew a lot. It was unbelievable."

Jirgl said Dee Wallace, who played the mother in "E.T.," played Alice Cassidy, Mike's wife. She also provided veteran expertise to the movie.

Four years into his dream career

Jirgl first raised his fame profile in a most unusual way. Jirgl was still a coach at Stanford when he found out that an ex-girlfriend, Becca Kufrin, was on the reality television show, "The Bachelor." He decided to travel to where the production was being filmed in Peru in order to win Kufrin back. It did not end the way Jirgl hoped, but the internet and other buzz around the television show was heavy for weeks.

That seems so long ago, now. Jirgl feels great about the place he's at, but it's taken four years of hard work to get there from being the coach at Stanford. And right now he has no regrets at taking the risk of leaving that high-profile position to pursue his dream of acting.

"To this day, I'm learning so much," Jirgl said.

Acting in "Butch Cassidy and The Wild Bunch" has "given me a different bags of tools to work with," he said.

If given the change to play Butch Cassidy again, Jirgl would jump at it, he said. "I would do Butch 1 through 5, and then hang up my hat."

Meanwhile he's promoting the "Butch Cassidy and The Wild Bunch," reading scripts and hustling to auditions whenever he can. He's working with his managers to find the next step up the ladder.

"We're trying to keep this train rolling," Jirgl said. "Especially when I'm having a lot of fun with what I'm doing."

Features reporter Keith Uhlig is based in Wausau. Contact him at 715-845-0651 or kuhlig@gannett.com. Follow him at @UhligK on Twitter and Instagram or on Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: Tubi film 'Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch' stars Wausau actor