Once he played a divorced cop grieving his mom and struggling for custody of his daughter (Thunder Road). Years later, he played a Hollywood agent who gets all tangled up in a love affair gone wrong (The Beta Test). Now, acclaimed actor Jim Cummings is back on the big screen with yet another juicy leading role in a sort of Western, neo-noir type crime thriller.

Yes, The Last Stop in Yuma County is a lot of genres packed into one tight little film, and it pays off in spades — especially with Cummings leading the charge. Here he plays a knife salesman who gets caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, aka a diner where a couple of bank robbers have set up shop and taken hostages. Uh oh! We recently caught up with Cummings to learn more about his new film and career at large, including an exciting new satirical project in the works and his thoughts on the future of the biz.

Jim Cummings on Acting: 'I Rarely Get Asked'

On top of The Last Stop combining fun little subgenres of cinema, there are surprising plot points that even the most experienced of moviegoers might not see coming. "I was a bit shocked when everything happened," said Cummings, thinking about the first time he read the script by director Francis Galluppi.

"I was shocked... It was very different. It was not what I expected. And that's kind of what I like about Hitchcock films, like in Psycho. You're following this character, and then she's dead. Or in Evil Dead, you're following characters, and then that becomes a secondary character... So it's a bit of a pivot about 60 minutes into the film. That's kind of why I took to it. It wasn't a conventional, new Western. It was a classic Western."

Given that Cummings is best known for his work in the director's chair, it's interesting to see him acting in something he hasn't written and directed; this also happened, somewhat randomly, with Halloween Kills. "When it comes to acting, I very rarely get asked," explained Cummings. "Bill Hader asked me to be in the end of Barry, which is still insane." He then went on to add that other famous directors, including Christopher Nolan and Martin Scorsese, have personally invited him to audition. He half-joked, "The only times I really get asked is when somebody sees my movie on an airplane and then is like, 'Oh, this guy could be good for something.'"

When it comes to getting the part in The Last Stop in Yuma County, he tells us:

"So Francis asked me to do this, and I got the jokes. I got what he was trying to do. And then he had the same understanding of the history and the tapestry of cinema. He and I have seen every Criterion Collection movie. Basically, we're just cinephiles, and so we spoke the same language. And then also we love South Park, so we were able to kind of make the jokes actually work and actually be funny. So when it comes to acting, I really just respond to creators. If somebody comes to me and says, 'Oh, I think you'd be good for this,' I believe them."

Thunder Road Sat Tight and Took Hold

Film buffs might also recognize Cummings from his indie darling that won big at Sundance as a short film, and then at SXSW as a feature film: Thunder Road, named after the hit Bruce Springsteen song. The short film helped launch Cummings' career in many ways. "Thunder Road is about public speaking and mortality, the two biggest fears in American culture. If asked, people will say that, apparently, in polls," Cummings told us, reflecting on both projects. He continued:

"And also, [the short film is] very funny and cringe-worthy. And there's a bunch of gaffes, but he's also very earnest. So it feels a bit like a Pixar film, where you're laughing and crying. And the fact that it's a very copywritten, well respected song makes it feel even more taboo. [...] So I think the Jackie Chan of it all, of, 'Oh, my God, I can't believe he did that,' and then the connection that you feel with the creator, I think that's why."

Next on Tap for Jim Cummings: The Screener

Fret not, Cummings fans, if you're concerned about whether he's going to write and direct another feature (versus just star in more feature films). "I am probably going to return to more stuff like The Beta Test," he told us. His next feature film seems like The Player for the digital age, and Cummings is just the right person for the job.

"The thing that we're fundraising for right now is back in the agency world. It's another power-dynamic thing that takes place at an agency. I haven't spoken about it out loud yet. Nobody's asked me. But it's about an independent film screener leaking from a talent agency, and then the lawsuit that happens and the fight that happens inside, and the turmoil.

"It's very, very funny and scary. It's good... It's called The Screener. Wow, that's first time I'm saying it out loud... It becomes a courtroom drama. It's very fun, and I get to act on it, and then I get to cast all the people that I love, that have helped out."

Meanwhile, Cummings has kept busy with his passion for shorts, following the success of Thunder Road. "We did these two short films over the last year," he said. "One of them played at Tribeca, one of them played at South by Southwest called The Last Brunch... They're both kind of Ruben Östlund-inspired, power-dynamic, social-parody comedy. And I really am enjoying that. It's really fun to be on set making that kind of stuff."

This begs the question: Which does Cummings prefer tackling at the end of the day, features or shorts? "Ideally, I'd like to do both, depending on our schedules and budgets," he said. "I really love shorts. They are their own art form, and you get to affect people, certainly, more people with short films than you could with features. And so I really do want to continue to make that kind of stuff. One of the shorts couldn't be a feature because we don't have the rights to stuff. So it's nice to be able to make something that short..."

Then addressing feature-length films, Cummings added, "With features, you have to worry about making all the money back. So you have to make something that is very exciting, that is going to do well in the marketplace. With a short, you just get to make something beautiful. You debate something that is going to touch people around the world. And so I like jumping back and forth. I'm very good at doing shorts. I think that's how I started. So I like jumping back and forth."

Having Hope for the Future of Cinema After His Last Stop in Yuma County

And regarding the film industry at large, especially with big names like Jerry Seinfeld proclaiming that it's over, we were curious about what Cummings is feeling about it all these days. He explained that looking toward his heroes helps him maintain a positive outlook on the industry. "I had Alfonso Cuarón in the backyard a couple of months ago. And we were talking about the drought of good content," explained Cummings. "I was saying, 'Oh, this is terrible,' and he was like, 'No, man, no, I lived through the '80s. No, we have new Fincher, we have new Scorsese. You be happy with what you've got.' And so he always inspires positivity of like, 'This is a wonderful time to be able to make truly independent content.'"

Cummings continued:

"The entertainment industry isn't going away. It's just changing because these tech companies don't have to race for market share anymore. They're not competing with each other and trying to outspend each other. So there is going to be this recession that Jerry is worried about. But now I feel very vibrant and hopeful for independent film and truly independent film over the next several decades."

The Last Stop in Yuma County is more like the first stop, with a long future for indie film. From Well Go USA, The Last Stop in Yuma County will be released in theaters and on digital May 10. You can get the film here.