1 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:05,280 Speaker 1: This is Alec Baldwin and you're listening to Here's the 2 00:00:05,320 --> 00:00:11,479 Speaker 1: Thing from iHeart Radio. With more than eight hundred film 3 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:14,960 Speaker 1: and television credits to his name, Eric Roberts is one 4 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: of the most prolific actors in Hollywood and one of 5 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:24,800 Speaker 1: the most misunderstood. Born into a family of actors and playwrights, Roberts. 6 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:26,280 Speaker 2: Grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. 7 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: His parents co founded one of the city's first integrated 8 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:34,479 Speaker 1: theater companies, the Atlanta Actors and Writers Workshop. From the 9 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: age of four, Roberts performed in repertory theater. His two 10 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 1: younger sisters were also child actors, one of whom would 11 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 1: go on to become one of the biggest movie stars 12 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:50,000 Speaker 1: in the world, Julia Roberts. Eric Roberts left home at 13 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: eighteen to move to New York City. Just a few 14 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 1: years later, he was cast as the lead in Frank 15 00:00:56,680 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 1: Pearson's nineteen seventy eight film King of the Gypsy. The 16 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:05,360 Speaker 1: performance earned Roberts his first Golden Globe nomination and made 17 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:06,880 Speaker 1: him an international star. 18 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:09,640 Speaker 2: He would go on to receive. 19 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 1: Golden Globe nominations for his performances in Bob Fosse's Star 20 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: eighty and an Academy Award nomination for andre Konchulovski's Runaway Train. 21 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:23,480 Speaker 1: In September twenty twenty four, Eric Roberts published his memoir 22 00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: Runaway Train, or the Story of My Life so Far. 23 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:29,679 Speaker 2: I was curious what it was. 24 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:32,919 Speaker 1: Like growing up in a family where a theater wasn't 25 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 1: just a passion but a way of life. 26 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 3: I got out of school, Actually I didn't give ass 27 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 3: back to school, Ada the American Academy. I was in 28 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,480 Speaker 3: New York by this time. I didn't get askedpect to 29 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 3: be a senior. So I went across town and auditioned 30 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 3: for the Actors Studio. Got in, and so just dropped 31 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 3: the American Academy out of my condescence, went straight to 32 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:00,840 Speaker 3: the Actors Studio, got in, started working, started to having 33 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:03,560 Speaker 3: fun there, and then got my first movie very quickly 34 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:07,520 Speaker 3: and was very lucky. I became an international movie start 35 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:11,239 Speaker 3: at twenty two years old. It was King of the Gypsies, Yeah, 36 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:15,160 Speaker 3: with Susan Sarandom played my mom, jed Hurst played my dad, 37 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:18,920 Speaker 3: Shelly Wyner's playing grandmother, Certain Hayden played my grandfather, and 38 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:22,320 Speaker 3: Brooke Shields played my baby's sister and my god thirty 39 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:25,080 Speaker 3: years later, I played Brooks husband in a movie. 40 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:27,080 Speaker 2: Who directed King of the Gypsies. 41 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 3: Frank Pearson, the cool ass Frank Pierson. 42 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:31,239 Speaker 2: B Frank Pearson who I love. 43 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, he wrote Doddy Afternoon. He won Oscars for Cat Blue, 44 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 3: all kinds of stuff. 45 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:37,920 Speaker 1: So you go to the American Academy and my brother 46 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: Stephen wasn't invited back there, by the way, so he's 47 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:41,360 Speaker 1: in good company with you. 48 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 2: But you go and that's your first movie? How old 49 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:44,800 Speaker 2: were you? 50 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:46,919 Speaker 3: I got the movie at twenty one and it came 51 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:48,079 Speaker 3: out when I was twenty two. 52 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:50,080 Speaker 2: That was your first movie? 53 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 3: Yeah, and you did You've done plays before. I grew 54 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 3: up in repertory theater. I did my first play at four. 55 00:02:56,720 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 3: I did my first TV series at eight. But I 56 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,120 Speaker 3: was in reptuee theater my whole life. I did eight 57 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:04,360 Speaker 3: to twelve plays every year in my life up until 58 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 3: I left home. 59 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 2: And the repertoire theater was owned and managed by. 60 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 3: Who by my dad and my mother. It's called the 61 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:12,440 Speaker 3: Actors in the Writer's Workshop, and it was funded by 62 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,560 Speaker 3: the Martin Luther King Foundation, And we patterned after Joe 63 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 3: Papp's theater in that we toured the underprivileged areas all 64 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 3: week and then on the weekends we had theater in 65 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:23,480 Speaker 3: our central park which is called Piedmont Park, and we 66 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 3: had theater and we did two places on Saturday, two 67 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:29,720 Speaker 3: places on Sunday. And that was my life for I 68 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:30,960 Speaker 3: don't know, fifteen years. 69 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 1: So it's safe to say you grew up in a 70 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 1: show business family. This involved your other siblings as well. 71 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: Were they all in the REP company? 72 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 3: Well, I'm a lot older than they are. I'm eleven 73 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 3: years older than Julie. I'm nine years old than Lisa's 74 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 3: so I was already getting ready to leave home by 75 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:47,600 Speaker 3: the time they were cognizant. I like change a lot 76 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 3: of diapers, but I didn't do a lot of plays 77 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 3: with them. 78 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:53,400 Speaker 1: Really, yeah, did they eventually do any Were they involved 79 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 1: in that work at a whole now? 80 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:57,240 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, yeah, but only in the children's place in 81 00:03:57,280 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 3: the afternoon. And my father wrote a play called Little 82 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:02,880 Speaker 3: Lisa for my sister Lisa. It was all we knew, 83 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 3: all we did. And I left home very young. I 84 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:08,240 Speaker 3: went to New York at eighteen. 85 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:10,720 Speaker 1: And when you did the film with Frank, when you 86 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: did the film with Pearson and that took off, what 87 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:15,120 Speaker 1: did that do for you. Well, how did you feel 88 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:17,360 Speaker 1: about that burgeoning film stardom? 89 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:19,320 Speaker 2: Were you ready for it or you weren't. 90 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 3: Well, you're never ready for that because you can never 91 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 3: really understand when it's going to be up to you're 92 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 3: in it. What happens, as you know, Alec, when you 93 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:31,120 Speaker 3: get famous, you don't change, but everybody thinks you're going to, 94 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 3: or you're about to, or you might, and everybody acts 95 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:37,599 Speaker 3: differently with you. You're not the one who changes, but 96 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 3: you're around you treats you differently, and it's so silly, 97 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:43,720 Speaker 3: and you say to them, this is so silly. It's 98 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 3: not you, but they don't understand. You have to be 99 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 3: in it to understand it. It's the kind of thing 100 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 3: that if you talk about you sound like, well it's me. 101 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:53,160 Speaker 3: It's so hard to be famous, and you sound like 102 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:55,920 Speaker 3: a big asshole. So you can't do that. So yeah, 103 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,160 Speaker 3: have to avoid that. But everybody does treat you differently. 104 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:01,800 Speaker 3: It is not you who changed with the stardom. It 105 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 3: is the world around you, how it adheres to you, 106 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:06,560 Speaker 3: how it likes you, how it does that thing it 107 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:11,200 Speaker 3: does to stars, And it's very silly and very overstated. 108 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 3: And what you just have to do is just ignore it. 109 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:16,919 Speaker 1: I made a couple of movies, mostly supporting roles in 110 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:18,919 Speaker 1: films in the late eighties, and I always mentioned that 111 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:22,039 Speaker 1: I did a play Prelude to a Kiss, off Broadway 112 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 1: with Mary Louise Parker, and we got a very very 113 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:27,560 Speaker 1: love letter from Frank Rich back when that really mattered. 114 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 1: And the point is is that I went through my 115 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:33,880 Speaker 1: career and I relied on these instincts that I thought 116 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:36,360 Speaker 1: were good instincts, and they were very decent instincts. And 117 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: then all of a sudden, when Prelude moved to Broadway 118 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:42,240 Speaker 1: and I didn't go with the show, and Tim Hutton 119 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 1: did the show on Broadway and I went to go 120 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:46,000 Speaker 1: to a movie to make a lot of money. That's 121 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:49,560 Speaker 1: when I ignored my instincts. And everything went wrong from 122 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:52,760 Speaker 1: there for me. The instincts that got me somewhere, I 123 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:55,039 Speaker 1: started to abandon those because all of a sudden, you 124 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 1: have something to protect. 125 00:05:56,320 --> 00:05:58,640 Speaker 3: No, but I would disagree with you, Alec. It didn't 126 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:01,600 Speaker 3: go wrong from there. You've had a great career, You've 127 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:05,560 Speaker 3: done some really awesome, awesome work. That's just a fact. 128 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:08,960 Speaker 1: But when you do King of the Gypsies, does everything 129 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: start to get more precious, and everyone's telling you you 130 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:11,640 Speaker 1: can't do that. 131 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:14,239 Speaker 2: You got to do this, Oh yes, to lose. 132 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:17,479 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, I was telling now. The reason I work 133 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:21,080 Speaker 3: so much now is to make up really for lost time, 134 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:25,920 Speaker 3: because back in those days, everything was so precious, supposedly 135 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:30,080 Speaker 3: so precious, and stuff like Breaking Away, for instance, was 136 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:32,720 Speaker 3: the first big movie that he had me turned down 137 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:35,400 Speaker 3: because yes, Eric, it's going to be a hit. Yes 138 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:36,680 Speaker 3: you're going to be a star, but you're going to 139 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:39,080 Speaker 3: be an adolescent star, and they're gonna have to overcome that. 140 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:40,640 Speaker 3: We want you to be an adults. 141 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:42,279 Speaker 2: Who's telling you this. 142 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:45,159 Speaker 3: Bill Tresh. Bill Tresh my manager, So we'll have another 143 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:47,800 Speaker 3: hurdle to get over. If we make you an adolescent star, 144 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 3: we have to make an adult store. So you must 145 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:52,720 Speaker 3: turn down Breaking Away. I didn't want to, but I 146 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:55,279 Speaker 3: did because he's smarter than me. I thought about the industry, 147 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 3: so he knows what to do and what not to do. 148 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:00,080 Speaker 3: So I do what he suggested. But I did that 149 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 3: with dozens and dozens of movies. So all it really 150 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:06,880 Speaker 3: ended up being was I was not employed. I was 151 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:09,400 Speaker 3: just waiting for some perfect piece or something. 152 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:11,080 Speaker 2: So what's the next thing you did after King of 153 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:11,640 Speaker 2: the Gypsies. 154 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 3: After King of the Gypsies, I went back to the 155 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:18,120 Speaker 3: theater and I did a massive appeal with my low O'Shea. 156 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:20,240 Speaker 2: I did on Broadway. 157 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, but yeah, I went back to the theater and 158 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,679 Speaker 3: oh yeah, I did Paul's Case for the American Short 159 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:29,120 Speaker 3: Story Series. That's right. Everybody fought me over that. I 160 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 3: really wanted to do that piece, and Bill and everybody 161 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 3: else thought it was it was not worthy of me. 162 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 3: But I did it because I wanted to. And then 163 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 3: I got the nicest review in the New York Times. 164 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:43,920 Speaker 3: It had a little picture of me on the back 165 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 3: page and it said the perfect Paul Eric Roberts, King 166 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 3: of the Gypsies was no Fluke. That's my proudest interview 167 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 3: I ever got. 168 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:53,480 Speaker 2: What was the next movie? 169 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:56,400 Speaker 3: The next movie would have been A Raggedy Man with 170 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 3: Sissy Spacey and Jack Fisk, her husband was the director. 171 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,400 Speaker 3: That was a glorious piece as Sissy got to play 172 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 3: a single working mother back in the forties. And I'm 173 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:09,760 Speaker 3: a sailor who blows through town and leaves her with 174 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 3: a kiss and makes her friends with her sons, and 175 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:15,320 Speaker 3: it's just a wonderful wonderful story, and that's when I 176 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,000 Speaker 3: met Sam Shephard for the first time. He and I 177 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,160 Speaker 3: ended up making four movies together, but that was our 178 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,440 Speaker 3: first time and we made fast friends. Sam was a 179 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:26,000 Speaker 3: cool guy to work with and I'm miss him. 180 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 2: How far awayway from Pope. 181 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:33,160 Speaker 3: Pope was my fifth or sixth film. Yeah, I said. 182 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:37,600 Speaker 3: There was Raggedy Man, then some TV stuff in Star eighty, 183 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 3: and then Pope. 184 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:40,600 Speaker 2: Star eighty was before Pope. 185 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:43,319 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, I was twenty five when I did Star eighty. 186 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:47,839 Speaker 1: I tell people that in order to play a role 187 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:51,480 Speaker 1: like that of her husband of Paul, if you said 188 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:54,480 Speaker 1: to me, give me the twenty five top performances by 189 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:58,079 Speaker 1: a male actor of the last seventy five years inhabiting 190 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:00,920 Speaker 1: a really serious dramatic role, you're on that list. 191 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:01,440 Speaker 3: Wow. 192 00:09:01,559 --> 00:09:07,160 Speaker 1: Thanks, I mean that performance in that movie, no apologies, 193 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: no pulling your punches. You play him as determined and 194 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:17,080 Speaker 1: is self seeking and is driven, not reading the room 195 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 1: very well, not a lot of self awareness. But those 196 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:22,560 Speaker 1: scenes when you're there at the mansion and all that stuff, 197 00:09:22,559 --> 00:09:26,559 Speaker 1: you're dying for this guy. You're dying, You're looking at him, 198 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:28,880 Speaker 1: You're looking at the TV, going, oh, Paul don't do that. 199 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:32,320 Speaker 1: If you don't do that, maybe this will work. And 200 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:36,080 Speaker 1: you just see Hugh playing this character who believes he 201 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 1: has everything. Who wouldn't want me, who wouldn't want to 202 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:41,959 Speaker 1: be in business with me, who wouldn't want to fuck me? 203 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:45,760 Speaker 1: Everybody wants to be me or be with me, But 204 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:48,160 Speaker 1: you play it not in a loud but in the 205 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:51,560 Speaker 1: most nuanced way. That is one of the greatest performances 206 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 1: I've ever seen in my life. 207 00:09:52,960 --> 00:09:54,760 Speaker 3: Oh wow, brother, thank you so much. 208 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:54,960 Speaker 2: Phil. 209 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:58,000 Speaker 3: Let me tell you why it is. It's not me. 210 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:01,640 Speaker 3: I am the instrument. I am the vessel. But it 211 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:06,199 Speaker 3: was all Bob Bossy. He wrote an incredible screenplay. And 212 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:09,080 Speaker 3: then we shot all the stuff up in Vancouver and 213 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:11,440 Speaker 3: we come down to La We shot in Maccoova for 214 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:14,040 Speaker 3: a month. We're down in La now. We had two 215 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:17,520 Speaker 3: days off in between. I'm living at Paul Jabora's house, 216 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:21,280 Speaker 3: which which is a great, big mansion. Anyway, in the 217 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:24,000 Speaker 3: middle of the night, suddeny, somebody's banging on my door. 218 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:26,679 Speaker 3: Paul's Jabara has some weird living he does, so I 219 00:10:26,679 --> 00:10:28,360 Speaker 3: think it could be anything at the door, so I 220 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:31,319 Speaker 3: grab a hammer. His construction the house, there are tools out. 221 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:33,240 Speaker 3: I grab a hammer and I go answer the door. 222 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:35,640 Speaker 3: What the fuck? And is Bob Bozzy. He's got a 223 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:38,960 Speaker 3: little portable typewriter and he says, how you doing. I said, 224 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:42,559 Speaker 3: I'm sleeping. He said, well, we have to work. I said, okay, 225 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:44,640 Speaker 3: come on in. He comes in. He says, I type 226 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:47,600 Speaker 3: you dance. I said okay, And that's his expression for 227 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:51,400 Speaker 3: he types improv. I type you dance. So it's a 228 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:53,720 Speaker 3: mill of the fucking night. Okay, I guess we do that. 229 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:55,720 Speaker 3: And so he started doing that to me. He would 230 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:58,559 Speaker 3: come over every day after work and he type I dance, 231 00:10:58,679 --> 00:11:01,760 Speaker 3: and he would work and he would rewrite. And I 232 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:04,640 Speaker 3: also got from him the most personal note from a 233 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:07,120 Speaker 3: director I ever got. I'm doing a scene one day 234 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:09,720 Speaker 3: with my guitar and I mess up the song and 235 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:12,360 Speaker 3: I said cut. Well, you don't say cut on a 236 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:14,400 Speaker 3: Fossy said le's you're a fosse. And he goes, what 237 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:16,520 Speaker 3: are you doing? I said, I fucked up. He goes, 238 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:19,080 Speaker 3: God damn it, Come here and he walks across that 239 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:21,160 Speaker 3: big sound change of zoa trub, you know, the big one. 240 00:11:21,360 --> 00:11:24,319 Speaker 3: He walks across it. He goes, come here, and I'm 241 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:26,079 Speaker 3: in my underwear, and I got the crew behind me 242 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:27,840 Speaker 3: and I got a guitar and I walk over there. 243 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:30,240 Speaker 3: What he's look at me? I said, I'm looking at you. 244 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:33,640 Speaker 3: Look at me. I'm looking at you, dude. He goes, Okay, 245 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:37,920 Speaker 3: you're playing me if I weren't successful, do you understand? 246 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:43,240 Speaker 3: And I did, and I really did, so I started 247 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:45,040 Speaker 3: imitating even how he walked on the way back to 248 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:48,400 Speaker 3: the set at that moment, I basically played him in 249 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:50,760 Speaker 3: that movie, even though it was somebody else. 250 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:55,320 Speaker 1: Now Mary Elle, I would imagine with Fosse Fossey, some 251 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:58,320 Speaker 1: of the women in his projects suffer a great deal. 252 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:00,320 Speaker 1: Did she have a tough time on that film? Did 253 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:01,880 Speaker 1: he direct her heavily as well? 254 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 3: Let me tell you one quick story that won't hurt 255 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:08,040 Speaker 3: her feelings. I'm crazy about her, by the way, as 256 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:11,000 Speaker 3: a person and an actor. But here's the deal. So 257 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:13,960 Speaker 3: we're like shooting maybe two three days, and we're in 258 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:17,400 Speaker 3: Vancouver and he says, to get your voice out of 259 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 3: your face, I want it coming from your chest. You're 260 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:22,080 Speaker 3: telling and he started and he kind of imitated her, 261 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:25,920 Speaker 3: kind of made fun of her, and she started crying. Okay, well, 262 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:27,440 Speaker 3: you know when a woman cries on his set the 263 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:28,959 Speaker 3: makeup runs, I got to get up and go, so 264 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:31,160 Speaker 3: she got some good So it helds up like two hours. 265 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:33,839 Speaker 3: And he says to me, quote, she can't take it, 266 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:35,959 Speaker 3: I hope you can. And that was all that was 267 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:36,840 Speaker 3: ever said about it. 268 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:38,480 Speaker 2: That was all that was ever said. 269 00:12:38,559 --> 00:12:41,760 Speaker 3: But yeah, he was a passionate lunatic and when he 270 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:44,040 Speaker 3: was onto something, he wanted you write with him, and 271 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:45,840 Speaker 3: if you warnt, he would drag you by the hair. 272 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:49,600 Speaker 3: It's no abused and abused word. But he was a genius. 273 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:52,880 Speaker 3: And once you work with a real genius two things 274 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:56,040 Speaker 3: that you're not one and that they're hard to find. 275 00:12:56,480 --> 00:12:58,920 Speaker 3: And man, he was the most special thing in my 276 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:01,560 Speaker 3: life ever had that I didn't expect. 277 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:05,080 Speaker 1: Now, there weren't many movies I've ever done. We're all 278 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:07,079 Speaker 1: watch a movie and I'll go, my god, who is that? 279 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:07,280 Speaker 2: You know? 280 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:11,240 Speaker 1: I tried to become someone else dispositionally and attitudinally and 281 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:14,400 Speaker 1: everything and emotionally. When you saw Star eighty, did you 282 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:16,440 Speaker 1: freak out? Because you'll sit here there and go, oh 283 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:20,160 Speaker 1: my god, who is that guy? Who is that guy? 284 00:13:20,559 --> 00:13:23,640 Speaker 3: It's the same feeling when you watch a project that 285 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:27,439 Speaker 3: you hit. It's like hitting a Ball perfectly. It's like, yeah, 286 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:28,120 Speaker 3: that's it. 287 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:32,240 Speaker 1: Wow, Now when you do that movie. I was always 288 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:34,360 Speaker 1: explaining to people who don't work in this business. I said, 289 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:35,880 Speaker 1: you have got to pick up where you left off. 290 00:13:36,679 --> 00:13:38,600 Speaker 1: If I don't see an actor for five years and 291 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:40,760 Speaker 1: I run into them at a film festival, we're hugging 292 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:41,920 Speaker 1: like I saw you last week. 293 00:13:42,679 --> 00:13:44,040 Speaker 2: I said, it's very parapatetic. 294 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:46,200 Speaker 1: We're all on the go, we're all moving around. But 295 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:48,400 Speaker 1: if I had a good experience with you, when I 296 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:50,640 Speaker 1: see you, I keep in touch with some people, and 297 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:52,040 Speaker 1: a lot of them move see I don't. Did you 298 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:53,480 Speaker 1: stay in touch with him at all? Or was it 299 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:55,280 Speaker 1: out of sight, out of mind for him? 300 00:13:55,559 --> 00:13:59,040 Speaker 3: Well, he was discussing he wanted me in his next movie, 301 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:01,959 Speaker 3: and it was maybe going to be about the Kennedy 302 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:04,280 Speaker 3: guy got shot in the face up in Harlem. He 303 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:06,640 Speaker 3: had talked to me about it and he was working 304 00:14:06,679 --> 00:14:10,199 Speaker 3: on it. And so I waited about eight months after 305 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:13,200 Speaker 3: he died, and I called Gwen and I said, Gwen, 306 00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:15,080 Speaker 3: he was working on a piece ball Blame. Talked to 307 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:17,320 Speaker 3: me about it. Can I see it? And she said, 308 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:21,080 Speaker 3: let's just let it be. I was heartbroken. That's that, 309 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:22,680 Speaker 3: and so I thought, if you. 310 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:25,440 Speaker 1: Were age appropriate, he would have put you in every movie. 311 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:27,160 Speaker 1: You could have done all that jazz, but you were 312 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:28,920 Speaker 1: too young. I love all that jazz. 313 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:29,280 Speaker 2: Love. 314 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:31,440 Speaker 3: Oh it's a great movie. 315 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:32,000 Speaker 2: I know. 316 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:34,400 Speaker 3: Cabaret is great. Yeah. 317 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:36,240 Speaker 2: I love all Bob stuff. Yeah, I know. 318 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, he made perfect movies. Yeah. 319 00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:41,720 Speaker 2: So then when you do Pope, the director is who 320 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:43,240 Speaker 2: We had two directors. 321 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:45,040 Speaker 3: We had one director who got fired and we had 322 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:47,640 Speaker 3: Sjo Rosenberg, who ended up really directing the film. But 323 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:49,720 Speaker 3: at first it was this. I got that script in 324 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:53,280 Speaker 3: January of that year. We're not shooting until September. I 325 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:55,200 Speaker 3: got a script in January. Back of the old days 326 00:14:55,240 --> 00:14:59,720 Speaker 3: when you get warnings. I got this script in in January, 327 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:02,520 Speaker 3: and I got the book in the script from Cotching Kirkwood, 328 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:05,520 Speaker 3: and it said pick apart Paulie or Charlie. So I 329 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:08,080 Speaker 3: read the book, I read the script, I read the 330 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:11,480 Speaker 3: book again, and I decide, I'm going to pick Paulie, 331 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:13,160 Speaker 3: but I'm going to play him differently. So I have 332 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:15,920 Speaker 3: to ask because it's not on the page. So I 333 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:19,479 Speaker 3: call Cotching Kirkwood and say, hey, guys, I picked Paulie 334 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:22,240 Speaker 3: and they said why, I said, because he's a fun 335 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:24,400 Speaker 3: ass part, and I want to play him, but I 336 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:26,880 Speaker 3: want to be allowed to play him as he is 337 00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:30,000 Speaker 3: done on the page. I've talked to you guys, I go, okay, 338 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:32,320 Speaker 3: But we wanted you to pick Charlie, and we thought 339 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:35,200 Speaker 3: you would because he's the leading man. He's cool, he 340 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:37,200 Speaker 3: gets dressed up, he's got the babe blah blah. We 341 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 3: thought you'd picking. I said, no, he's a good part, 342 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:43,640 Speaker 3: but I like Paulie because he's better. If I can 343 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:47,600 Speaker 3: be allowed to play him like this. He's written as 344 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:51,320 Speaker 3: a tough, dumb thug that's been done ten billion times 345 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:53,520 Speaker 3: by ten billion actors, even though I've done it eighty 346 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:56,160 Speaker 3: five times. Can I do something else? I want to 347 00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:59,080 Speaker 3: play a mama's boy who wants to be this guy 348 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:02,520 Speaker 3: but is not this guy looks up to Charlie because 349 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:05,240 Speaker 3: he sees Charlie as this guy. I want to be that. 350 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:08,520 Speaker 3: And they said, whatever you do, Eric, you do it 351 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:11,800 Speaker 3: because we're hiring you because it's you, So whatever you do, 352 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:19,080 Speaker 3: we're behind you. I said, okay. So that was January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August. 353 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:22,760 Speaker 3: I'm dieting. I dropped thirty pounds. And I purmed my hair. 354 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:25,560 Speaker 3: I learned my script from back to front. I'm ready 355 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:28,360 Speaker 3: to go. I shot, ready to go, and we have 356 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:31,200 Speaker 3: five days of rehearsal and we start to shoot. We're 357 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:34,640 Speaker 3: all staying at the Mayflower Hotel in Manhattan. I'm living 358 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:37,800 Speaker 3: in Westport, Connecticut at the time. Next shor to Chris Walking. 359 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:40,200 Speaker 3: After the third day of rehearsal, the director asked me 360 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:42,200 Speaker 3: to stay after to talk to him. Okay, I do, 361 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:46,440 Speaker 3: what's up, dude, Why are you so skinny? I said, well, 362 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:49,480 Speaker 3: that's the sky. I want to be a walking Spas attack. 363 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:52,400 Speaker 3: He goes, why'd you perm your hair? I said, same thing, 364 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:55,160 Speaker 3: walking spas attack. And then he gets angry. What the 365 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:55,760 Speaker 3: fuck is a. 366 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:56,880 Speaker 2: Walking spas attack? 367 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:00,920 Speaker 3: It's going well, I said, John Belushi, only skin He goes, no, No, 368 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:02,840 Speaker 3: that's not this guy. This guy's a tough thug. This 369 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 3: guy is tough and stupid. Blah blah blah. I said, no, 370 00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:06,919 Speaker 3: that's how he's written. That's not what I'm playing. And 371 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:09,120 Speaker 3: I told the producers and I thought they would tell you, 372 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:11,639 Speaker 3: but yeah, they gave me the go ahead to not 373 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:14,280 Speaker 3: play what's on the page. He said, well, I don't 374 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:16,080 Speaker 3: agree with them. I don't agree with you, and I'd 375 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:20,239 Speaker 3: like you to resign. I said, well, I'm not doing that, 376 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:22,160 Speaker 3: But I say to him, let me think about it, 377 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:23,000 Speaker 3: and I. 378 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 2: Go up to Goodness. 379 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:27,480 Speaker 3: I go up to Mickey's room, knock on the door 380 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:30,400 Speaker 3: and say, Mickey, the boss just asked me to quit. 381 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:33,560 Speaker 3: He said what. So we called the producers and they 382 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:36,920 Speaker 3: fired that director and they brought in Shoer Rosenberg, who 383 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:38,920 Speaker 3: directed a great movie. 384 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:40,240 Speaker 2: You're One and knowly with Mickey. 385 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:42,919 Speaker 3: Micky and I have worked together now, I don't know 386 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:47,119 Speaker 3: four times, five times. Our other big thing was he 387 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:51,280 Speaker 3: plays a speed dealer and I play his boss who 388 00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:54,399 Speaker 3: sells him the speed. Now, when they offer me that part, 389 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:57,680 Speaker 3: that's also another character change, they call me, we're gonna 390 00:17:57,680 --> 00:17:58,760 Speaker 3: hook you up with Mickey Rourke. 391 00:17:58,880 --> 00:17:59,120 Speaker 2: Cool. 392 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:01,400 Speaker 3: I love Mickey. Great. What's the part bill? They send 393 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:03,479 Speaker 3: me the script. I love the script. But he's a 394 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:05,840 Speaker 3: tough guy and he has his body exposed, and he 395 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:08,920 Speaker 3: has all these girls and he sells Mickey speed and 396 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:11,560 Speaker 3: he's all cool and all this stuff and all cliche. 397 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:14,320 Speaker 3: Watched yeah, and I said, you know what, that's been 398 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:17,000 Speaker 3: done a lot too. Can I plan the opposite? Can 399 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:22,320 Speaker 3: I play a screaming queen with boys, and they said, yes, oh, 400 00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:23,920 Speaker 3: it was called spun Spu. 401 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:25,479 Speaker 2: I'm watching it tonight. 402 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:26,560 Speaker 3: It's called Somebody. 403 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:27,919 Speaker 2: It's in my basket tonight. 404 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,560 Speaker 3: And this cool Swedish director and he said, Eric, of course, 405 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:35,120 Speaker 3: I love the idea of god. Jonas Ackerlin Nikki has 406 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:37,479 Speaker 3: the best death scene of any of us guys who 407 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:40,160 Speaker 3: played bad guys in the history of motion pictures. Wait 408 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:42,760 Speaker 3: till you have to watch. You're not going to even 409 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:44,800 Speaker 3: give you a hint. It is so moving and it 410 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:46,440 Speaker 3: is so immediate. 411 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:49,280 Speaker 2: Oh, it's so good. Eventually, go on, what year did 412 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:50,240 Speaker 2: you do Runaway Training? 413 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:51,240 Speaker 3: Nineteen eighty five? 414 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:53,920 Speaker 2: And it's by and large I don't remember every frame 415 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:55,520 Speaker 2: of the film. Great film. 416 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:56,959 Speaker 1: I always tell people, you go to watch you if 417 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:00,160 Speaker 1: you want to watch a smart and intense and well shot, 418 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:03,879 Speaker 1: well edited film. It's essentially a two hander. Now they 419 00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:05,040 Speaker 1: hired him first. 420 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:05,399 Speaker 2: Or you first. 421 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:08,520 Speaker 3: They hire him first, and then they bring in John 422 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:11,520 Speaker 3: and I and we meet him and we have a 423 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:15,560 Speaker 3: great lunch talking about stuff each other and how much 424 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,040 Speaker 3: we love each other's work, all that stuff everybody does, 425 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:21,080 Speaker 3: you know when they get together. And then I say 426 00:19:21,119 --> 00:19:23,960 Speaker 3: to him the same thing I said to the Pope people, 427 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:26,879 Speaker 3: this guy's kind of cliche because he's in he's in 428 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:30,240 Speaker 3: jemp with statutory rape. So I want to make him 429 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:33,840 Speaker 3: not gross. I want to even make him not incestiarily 430 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:35,919 Speaker 3: a man. I want to even change his voice so 431 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:38,679 Speaker 3: it's up high so he's not lack a threat. And 432 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:41,080 Speaker 3: if he's country, everybody think he's stupid. So you know, 433 00:19:41,119 --> 00:19:43,239 Speaker 3: I have to talk about his education, you know. So 434 00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:44,800 Speaker 3: I asked him if I could do that. He said, 435 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:47,320 Speaker 3: you can do anything you want. But he's Russian. He 436 00:19:47,359 --> 00:19:48,440 Speaker 3: couldn't hear the accent. 437 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:49,159 Speaker 2: He didn't know. 438 00:19:49,359 --> 00:19:51,159 Speaker 3: He didn't know what the fuck you were doing, I know, 439 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:55,760 Speaker 3: but he allowed it. And John Voight is one of 440 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:58,800 Speaker 3: my three favorite actors I've ever worked with. Oh my god, 441 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:01,520 Speaker 3: we never came I might have character to each other. 442 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:05,040 Speaker 3: We lived in those characters for the whole shoot and 443 00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:08,920 Speaker 3: we just did it and it was just satisfying. 444 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:09,840 Speaker 2: Where did you shoot them? 445 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:13,160 Speaker 3: We're supposed to shoot in Montana, and we get to Montana, 446 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:16,159 Speaker 3: the whole cast, the whole crew, and the thaws. Where's 447 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:16,600 Speaker 3: the snow? 448 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:16,840 Speaker 2: Oh? 449 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:22,119 Speaker 3: So the producers Golden Globus, they'd say, well, let's go 450 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:25,000 Speaker 3: to Alaska. Place in Alaska. We shoots in Alaska, so 451 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,560 Speaker 3: we moved Anchorage and they got forty miles a track. 452 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:31,119 Speaker 3: There was just our track, forty miles back and forth, 453 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:33,480 Speaker 3: and we shot a movie. 454 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:36,720 Speaker 1: John, who I've begged to do this show, and I 455 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:38,639 Speaker 1: told him when I ran intoim, I said, listen, I 456 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:40,200 Speaker 1: don't want to talk about politics. I don't give a 457 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:42,840 Speaker 1: shit about your politics or whatever. I said, I am, 458 00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:45,960 Speaker 1: you know, you're a great admirer. And I when he 459 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:50,080 Speaker 1: popped up on Ray Donathan and was just completely knocked 460 00:20:50,119 --> 00:20:52,800 Speaker 1: out by how great John is at this stage of 461 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:56,440 Speaker 1: his career. I mean, he was so what a fox. 462 00:20:57,200 --> 00:21:00,000 Speaker 3: John is a mega talent. John is a megata. Look 463 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,800 Speaker 3: at his list of movies. I mean coming home all 464 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:04,800 Speaker 3: those I mean, oh my god, eh, I mean, I'm 465 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:08,320 Speaker 3: a cowboy. I'm in my conference. I know, dude, it's endless. 466 00:21:08,359 --> 00:21:12,880 Speaker 3: And he's always great, always, I know. And we never 467 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:16,000 Speaker 3: talked politics. We never came out of character, either of us. 468 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:20,000 Speaker 3: We've taken character from starting to finish. 469 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:26,400 Speaker 1: Actor Eric Roberts. If you enjoy conversations for the claimed 470 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:30,119 Speaker 1: stars of the stage and screen, check out my episode 471 00:21:30,119 --> 00:21:32,560 Speaker 1: with the legendary Lrie Metcalf. 472 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:34,639 Speaker 4: Greta sent me the script and I read it and 473 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:38,119 Speaker 4: really responded to the material. And it was very small 474 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:40,840 Speaker 4: independent movie in so I thought, oh, I haven't done 475 00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:42,800 Speaker 4: a movie in about ten years, so this will be 476 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:44,720 Speaker 4: a nice little way to put my toe back in 477 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:47,640 Speaker 4: the water and see how it is. When Ladybird exploded, 478 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:50,800 Speaker 4: I was unprepared for. I had no idea what that 479 00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:54,360 Speaker 4: publicity circus train was. That you have to get on, 480 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:56,880 Speaker 4: you know, and ride for about three months. 481 00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:01,240 Speaker 1: To hear more of my conversation with ry Metcalf, go 482 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:05,560 Speaker 1: to Here's the Thing dot org. After the break, Eric 483 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:08,959 Speaker 1: Roberts tells the story of Bob Fossey showing up at 484 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:12,000 Speaker 1: his door in the middle of the night with a typewriter. 485 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:26,520 Speaker 1: I'm Alec Baldwin and this is Here's the Thing. Eric 486 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:30,760 Speaker 1: Roberts has always been deeply committed to his preparation as 487 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:34,520 Speaker 1: an actor, from his days studying at the Royal Academy 488 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:37,240 Speaker 1: in London to working with some of the most sought 489 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:41,640 Speaker 1: after directors in Hollywood, Roberts has developed a meticulous approach 490 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:46,400 Speaker 1: to building characters from the ground up with diverse roles. 491 00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:50,159 Speaker 1: In films like King of the Gypsies star eighty, Pope 492 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:53,600 Speaker 1: of Greenwich Village and Runaway Train. I wanted to know 493 00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:56,800 Speaker 1: whether his instinct to stray from what's written on the 494 00:22:56,840 --> 00:23:01,480 Speaker 1: page has served him well across five decades of filmmaking. 495 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:05,080 Speaker 3: I'm old school. I'm like you. I'm old school. I 496 00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:08,280 Speaker 3: do mountains of homework. I live for my time at 497 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:11,640 Speaker 3: my desk. That's the most precious time I have. Besides 498 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:13,440 Speaker 3: my time alone with my wife, is my time my 499 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:16,480 Speaker 3: desk with homework. Those two things are my joys in life. 500 00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:18,879 Speaker 3: I get a bunch of choices and stuff. I do 501 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:21,080 Speaker 3: my thing. I'm gonna go this way, go the other way. 502 00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:23,840 Speaker 3: And then I say to my director, what do you 503 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:27,360 Speaker 3: want to see? And he'll tell me, and I'll take 504 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:29,160 Speaker 3: what he wants and I will try to fit into 505 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:33,520 Speaker 3: what I've done, and they're presented all because he's the boss. 506 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:35,919 Speaker 3: And see what I love about show business and what 507 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:38,840 Speaker 3: people don't like about show is but I do is 508 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:42,760 Speaker 3: It's an authoritative system. You have a dictator and everybody else, 509 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:45,440 Speaker 3: and that's how it works best because you have one 510 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:48,400 Speaker 3: guy with his idea, his drive, his vision. Okay, let's 511 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:51,280 Speaker 3: all get behind this guy because it's good. Here we 512 00:23:51,359 --> 00:23:53,640 Speaker 3: go and you get behind him and you drive for him. 513 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:55,800 Speaker 3: He's the guy out front pulling us all. 514 00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:58,280 Speaker 1: As I'm working now in films, I mean, by the 515 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:01,040 Speaker 1: time they get the funding together and they're really ready 516 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:02,760 Speaker 1: to give you a plane ticket and send you there, 517 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:05,840 Speaker 1: it's Thursday, and this you're on a plane Friday, and 518 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:08,679 Speaker 1: saturday's your wardrobe fitting. It's so different from what it 519 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:11,240 Speaker 1: used to be. No rehearsals, a lot of time, no rehearsals. 520 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:13,320 Speaker 1: What I want to talk to you about is then 521 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:18,119 Speaker 1: and now. You made great films, you gave historic performances 522 00:24:18,119 --> 00:24:18,760 Speaker 1: in movies. 523 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:20,880 Speaker 2: But when you show up on the set with. 524 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:23,439 Speaker 1: The director who you've made more movies than everybody on 525 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:25,479 Speaker 1: the whole fucking crew combined. 526 00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:26,960 Speaker 2: What's it like for you now to do that? What 527 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:27,440 Speaker 2: do you do? 528 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:30,760 Speaker 3: That's not a conscious thought, really, it's all the same process. 529 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:33,840 Speaker 3: It's just I have less time now. As you pointed out, 530 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:36,760 Speaker 3: we have no time. So I arrived with my same 531 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:38,959 Speaker 3: question every day. Hi, Hey, okay, what do you want 532 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,600 Speaker 3: to see? Boss? I always call them boss to establish 533 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:44,960 Speaker 3: they are my boss. I let them boss me around, 534 00:24:45,359 --> 00:24:46,160 Speaker 3: tell me what to do. 535 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:46,680 Speaker 2: Now. 536 00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:48,560 Speaker 3: I have my idea of what I'm going to do. 537 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,000 Speaker 3: But I let them pull it in the direction that 538 00:24:52,040 --> 00:24:54,119 Speaker 3: they want it, and usually they thank me. 539 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:54,520 Speaker 2: Right. 540 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:57,280 Speaker 3: A lot of times they don't, but usually, yeah. 541 00:24:57,119 --> 00:24:57,240 Speaker 4: I know. 542 00:24:57,240 --> 00:24:58,680 Speaker 1: It's funny you say that because I had one guy 543 00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:00,119 Speaker 1: I worked with on a film over in London and 544 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:02,720 Speaker 1: they had whatever the financing was where we had to 545 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:04,320 Speaker 1: run over to London and shoot this for a weekend. 546 00:25:04,359 --> 00:25:06,000 Speaker 1: It was one of these tech thrillers and I'm the 547 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:09,960 Speaker 1: CIA boss screaming at everybody. But the director was really 548 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:13,160 Speaker 1: interesting because he wanted to direct and he was really 549 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:16,840 Speaker 1: this very boisterous us, this big Icelandic guy or Norwigi 550 00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:18,639 Speaker 1: go Ia figure out he was from lovely guy. But 551 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:20,280 Speaker 1: as soon as we were on the set, he was 552 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:23,520 Speaker 1: very gentlemanly. He was very solicitous. He said, oh, I 553 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:24,879 Speaker 1: would love for you to do my film. 554 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:25,479 Speaker 2: I met with him. 555 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:27,600 Speaker 1: I talked to him finally when we're there and we're 556 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:29,879 Speaker 1: making the film, he was like okay, everybody, you know, 557 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:32,760 Speaker 1: he was really like booming, oh do this do that? 558 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:34,679 Speaker 1: I thought, my god, I haven't been around that in 559 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:37,359 Speaker 1: a while. I'm usually around guy. So we're talking to 560 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:40,000 Speaker 1: the DP and talking to the lighting people and look 561 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:41,440 Speaker 1: at video playback and they. 562 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:43,640 Speaker 2: Don't have a fucking word to say to me. They 563 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:45,879 Speaker 2: think I'm good. They're like you, you do what you 564 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:47,320 Speaker 2: do well, you hired you to do what you do. 565 00:25:47,359 --> 00:25:49,440 Speaker 2: You figure it out. And I like to be directed. 566 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:50,720 Speaker 2: Do you like to be directed? 567 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:53,000 Speaker 3: I love to be told what to need to ask 568 00:25:53,119 --> 00:25:56,639 Speaker 3: my wife. That's how we're trained to be, to be 569 00:25:56,760 --> 00:26:00,280 Speaker 3: able to do whatever they want. When I try to 570 00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:02,600 Speaker 3: do what we want to do, We're trained to do 571 00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:06,000 Speaker 3: whatever they need. And it's a great feeling. I love 572 00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:07,320 Speaker 3: to be told what to do. Yes. 573 00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:10,320 Speaker 1: Now, I want you to know that I was gonna 574 00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:13,199 Speaker 1: do a film once which was the most macabre and 575 00:26:13,359 --> 00:26:16,520 Speaker 1: strange and insane movie, and I was actually kind of 576 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:18,919 Speaker 1: excited to do it. But it didn't work out. And 577 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:23,640 Speaker 1: then the director rewrote the film and a gender reversal. 578 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:26,280 Speaker 1: All the men were gone. He wanted me to play 579 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:30,000 Speaker 1: a doctor who gives my wife cancer. I inject her 580 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,360 Speaker 1: with cancer cells to watch or die, and I masturbate 581 00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:36,399 Speaker 1: to her dying decomposing. But I thought, this guy's the 582 00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:39,800 Speaker 1: most fucked up guy, Tom six. He did the show. 583 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:43,920 Speaker 3: When you find yourself in those kind of hands, what 584 00:26:44,119 --> 00:26:47,760 Speaker 3: I do is I completely give over to them. Okay, 585 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:51,439 Speaker 3: I'm here for them, So whatever weirdness they're gonna take me, 586 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:54,600 Speaker 3: have me present, I'm gonna do, Well, what do you 587 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:56,600 Speaker 3: want to see? What are you looking for? And I 588 00:26:56,680 --> 00:26:58,800 Speaker 3: let them tell me and I go deliver for them. 589 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:03,720 Speaker 3: Sometimes it's a he Sometimes you're like, okay, well I 590 00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:06,840 Speaker 3: wouldn't have thought of that, but okay, yeah, but we 591 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:08,000 Speaker 3: work for them. 592 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:13,200 Speaker 1: So, you know, talk about actors then and now. When 593 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:15,720 Speaker 1: you're working now and you're doing films with younger, less 594 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:18,439 Speaker 1: experienced actors, you think actors are different today than they 595 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:19,840 Speaker 1: were thirty years ago. 596 00:27:20,119 --> 00:27:22,520 Speaker 3: Well, yeah, sure they are. It was it was a 597 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:26,000 Speaker 3: vocation thirty years ago. It's like it's like a moment 598 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:28,119 Speaker 3: now it's like I'm going to be famous. It's not 599 00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:30,320 Speaker 3: like I'm going to do this and it's going to 600 00:27:30,359 --> 00:27:33,000 Speaker 3: make me famous. But I'm doing this and this makes 601 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:34,960 Speaker 3: me famous. But I'm not in this to be famous 602 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:35,239 Speaker 3: for this. 603 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:38,600 Speaker 2: To do this, We'll do a sequence of things right 604 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:39,600 Speaker 2: and build my way up. 605 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:43,040 Speaker 3: Yeah right, yeah, I'm sure every generation has some kind 606 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:46,479 Speaker 3: of version of this. But the younger guys have gotten lazy. 607 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:49,120 Speaker 3: They don't want to work. They just want to be famous, 608 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:52,639 Speaker 3: and uh, you know me too. But I love the work. 609 00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:55,480 Speaker 1: Now, when you make films for me, I have my 610 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:58,639 Speaker 1: example of this. My example is Mission Impossible. You go 611 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:01,240 Speaker 1: along and you're doing small things. I was joking with people. 612 00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:04,359 Speaker 1: I'd say, I do an independent film and the entire 613 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:07,639 Speaker 1: budget of the film was a budget for gum on 614 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:13,320 Speaker 1: the set of Mission Impossible, and I said the reason 615 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:15,200 Speaker 1: that that was always tough. Then I go on the 616 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:17,600 Speaker 1: set of Mission and I go, oh god, I remember this, 617 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:20,560 Speaker 1: big movies, big budget. So when you show up on 618 00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:22,800 Speaker 1: Nolan's set to do Dark Knight, what was that like 619 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:23,080 Speaker 1: for you? 620 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:26,480 Speaker 3: Well, if you're a movie geek, which I am, it 621 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:29,400 Speaker 3: was even even more than you're asking about, because. 622 00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:29,600 Speaker 2: It was this. 623 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:32,560 Speaker 3: We shot all the Chicago stuff in Chicago and then 624 00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:35,720 Speaker 3: all the other stuff. We're gonna We're gonna shoot at Pinewood. Okay, 625 00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:37,520 Speaker 3: we've all shot pine Well, we all know what it's like. 626 00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:40,440 Speaker 3: But we get there. That was a lie. We're not 627 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:44,240 Speaker 3: shooting Pinewood. It's a secret because we're hiding from the press. Okay, 628 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:46,840 Speaker 3: so where are we. We're the old Zeppelin hanger, thirty 629 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:50,080 Speaker 3: miles north. Go there. So we got the old zeppelinanger. 630 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:53,040 Speaker 3: We walk in. It's about three football fields wide, about 631 00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:55,960 Speaker 3: three stories tall, and you walk in and it's all 632 00:28:56,120 --> 00:29:00,360 Speaker 3: Gotham City. It is so cool. And if you are 633 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:03,800 Speaker 3: a movie geek, which I am, it's heaven, man, it's heaven. 634 00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:06,640 Speaker 3: And me and Gary Aleman would play all day long. 635 00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:09,800 Speaker 3: We weren't on camera. It was just so much fun, dude, 636 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:12,320 Speaker 3: to be there, and it was like a dream. It 637 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:14,720 Speaker 3: was like it was like it was like a movie 638 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:17,200 Speaker 3: about a movie. It was like we weren't even working. 639 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:20,480 Speaker 3: We're making a movie about a movie. Even though we weren't. 640 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:21,800 Speaker 3: It was just it was heaven. 641 00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:24,600 Speaker 1: So Nolan, what is the director of his ilk, the 642 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:26,120 Speaker 1: modern blockbuster director? 643 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:27,480 Speaker 2: What was he like to work with? 644 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:33,040 Speaker 3: Really sweet, a perfect gentleman. His wife Emma is kind 645 00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:35,920 Speaker 3: of the boss and she says things like all right, 646 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:38,920 Speaker 3: moving along, Christopher. But he gave me my favorite note 647 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:41,520 Speaker 3: I ever got from a director. We're doing this big 648 00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:44,160 Speaker 3: party scene and I had the last line and it's 649 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:48,000 Speaker 3: kind of a closing line, baboom, and I say it 650 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:54,240 Speaker 3: cut dead silence on the megaphone. Eric Roberts, don't be funny. 651 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:58,240 Speaker 2: Not to take now. 652 00:29:58,280 --> 00:30:00,400 Speaker 3: I'm not known to be funny. So that was my 653 00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:01,760 Speaker 3: favorite note I ever got. 654 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:04,680 Speaker 1: God to be on those sets. They asked me, what's 655 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:07,120 Speaker 1: it like to work with Cruise? And of course everybody 656 00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:08,920 Speaker 1: says the same thing, but it happens to be true, 657 00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:10,600 Speaker 1: which is he's just the hardest. 658 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:12,200 Speaker 2: Working guy you've ever met in your life. And he's 659 00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:13,040 Speaker 2: all about work. 660 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:15,320 Speaker 1: We come to work, he wants to talk, he wants 661 00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:18,120 Speaker 1: of a nice he knows the perfect timing. It's ten 662 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:20,280 Speaker 1: minutes of good morning and high and give you a hug, 663 00:30:20,320 --> 00:30:22,160 Speaker 1: and let's get a coffee. Then we're gonna get into 664 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:25,120 Speaker 1: rehearsal in the next twenty and it's all the same 665 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:29,360 Speaker 1: every day, pretty much management by him and Chris. But man, 666 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:31,520 Speaker 1: was it a joy to work with him because they 667 00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:34,600 Speaker 1: took their time. You know, they didn't luxuriate in toime. 668 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:37,800 Speaker 1: But whenever they paused and decided that something wasn't working 669 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:40,320 Speaker 1: and they needed a change or some amendment to the 670 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:42,600 Speaker 1: text or whatever it was, with a purpose. 671 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:43,840 Speaker 2: They weren't just jerking off, you know what I mean. 672 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:45,840 Speaker 1: And God, when I did mission, I had two small 673 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:47,600 Speaker 1: parts of mission and it was the time of my 674 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:49,280 Speaker 1: life to work with with Tom. 675 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:52,200 Speaker 3: Well, Tom Cruise is so famous that he gets undermine. 676 00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:54,880 Speaker 3: He is so talented he is so handsome and he's 677 00:30:54,880 --> 00:30:57,320 Speaker 3: so famous that everybody wants to take something away from him. 678 00:30:57,640 --> 00:30:59,320 Speaker 3: But he's one of our permanent greats. 679 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:06,600 Speaker 2: Forever dude, or yeah, forever, forever Actor Eric Roberts. 680 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:10,320 Speaker 1: If you're enjoying this conversation, tell a friend and be 681 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:14,040 Speaker 1: sure to follow Here's the Thing on the iHeartRadio app, 682 00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:19,360 Speaker 1: Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. When we come back, 683 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:23,800 Speaker 1: Eric Roberts discusses why his role on HBO's The Righteous 684 00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:28,040 Speaker 1: Gemstones was one of the best jobs of his entire career. 685 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:43,600 Speaker 1: I'm Alec Baldwin and this is Here's the thing. Eric 686 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:48,320 Speaker 1: Roberts is many things. An OSCAR nominated actor, a stage veteran, 687 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:53,400 Speaker 1: a memoir writer, and recently a contestant on ABC's Dancing 688 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:57,520 Speaker 1: with the Stars. Roberts says he joined the cast because 689 00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:02,160 Speaker 1: it's his wife's favorite television show. Having recently watched my 690 00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:05,719 Speaker 1: wife perform on the latest season, I wanted to know 691 00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:11,080 Speaker 1: what Robert's experience was like performing on Dancing with the Stars. 692 00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:17,600 Speaker 3: I am not a dancer, Alec, but you know, I 693 00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:20,760 Speaker 3: had this incredible partner, Britt. She was so good to me, 694 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:24,320 Speaker 3: and you know, I fell over my four feet and 695 00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:26,440 Speaker 3: tried to get through it. It didn't do very well. 696 00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:29,400 Speaker 3: I think I lasted four cuts. My wife is a 697 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:32,080 Speaker 3: fan of the show. She's a huge fan of the show, 698 00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:35,280 Speaker 3: and she loved your wife on the show. She went 699 00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:37,239 Speaker 3: nuts through your wife. She thinks your wife has made 700 00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:39,880 Speaker 3: those beautiful women on the planet and will say so 701 00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:40,680 Speaker 3: to everybody. 702 00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:43,040 Speaker 1: I would agree, yeah, but I'll tell you my wife 703 00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:46,120 Speaker 1: went there and you realize eventually, you realize pretty quickly 704 00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:48,880 Speaker 1: that she's bringing to the event what the pros bring. 705 00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:51,160 Speaker 1: So it's like, where's the drama? You know, she comes in, 706 00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:52,760 Speaker 1: she nails that, she goes home. She comes in, she 707 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:54,880 Speaker 1: nails it, she goes home, and she only lasted four 708 00:32:54,920 --> 00:32:56,920 Speaker 1: cuts and they sent her home, and she was very 709 00:32:56,960 --> 00:33:00,120 Speaker 1: despondent about that because it's not a dance competition, it's 710 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:00,680 Speaker 1: a TV show. 711 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:03,440 Speaker 2: I mean, Andy Richter lasted longer than. 712 00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:06,280 Speaker 1: My wife didne Dancing with the Stars, which tells you 713 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:08,720 Speaker 1: everything you need to know. I got two more questions 714 00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:10,920 Speaker 1: for you now. One is one of the more recent things. 715 00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:13,320 Speaker 1: I was told. What we read you said was one 716 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:15,920 Speaker 1: of the best experiences you've had in your career was 717 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:20,880 Speaker 1: righteous Gemstones. Talk about that man, what part did you play? 718 00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:23,520 Speaker 3: I played a guy named Junior who was the next 719 00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:28,440 Speaker 3: partner of our lead when they would promote wrestling. But 720 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:31,360 Speaker 3: here's what happened. That was an open call. So my 721 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:33,680 Speaker 3: wife and I shot an at home audition and we 722 00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:36,120 Speaker 3: sent it in and I got the part. Like that 723 00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:38,400 Speaker 3: day he called it. Yeah, well by blah blah, Yeah, 724 00:33:38,400 --> 00:33:42,600 Speaker 3: you're it, We got ya Okay. It was the best scripts, 725 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:46,520 Speaker 3: the most fun character, the best actors to work with, 726 00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:51,480 Speaker 3: the best location. Everything was perfect. I have never had 727 00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:54,600 Speaker 3: a job I liked anymore than Righteous Gemstones. I had 728 00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:57,320 Speaker 3: so much fun making that show. And those people are 729 00:33:57,400 --> 00:34:01,160 Speaker 3: all geniuses. The actors are great, the right directors are great. 730 00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:03,880 Speaker 3: I just loved everybody. I can't say enough nice things 731 00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:07,080 Speaker 3: about that because I was allowed to play this really 732 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:12,560 Speaker 3: fed up guy completely and three dimensionally, and they were 733 00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:12,879 Speaker 3: just so. 734 00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:15,120 Speaker 2: The show is right, if the tone of the show 735 00:34:15,160 --> 00:34:17,080 Speaker 2: is right, you can have a ball like oh yeah. 736 00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:20,280 Speaker 3: And it was perfect because of them, and they invited 737 00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:23,120 Speaker 3: me in for a season. It was such a pleasure. 738 00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:23,959 Speaker 2: I love John. 739 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:26,919 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's my favorite job I ever had. 740 00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:30,720 Speaker 2: That's amazing. That's amazing. What's something that you haven't done? 741 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:30,920 Speaker 4: Now? 742 00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:33,120 Speaker 1: You've done a lot of movies and TV, a lot 743 00:34:33,120 --> 00:34:35,480 Speaker 1: of things on film, a lot of theater in your 744 00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:38,279 Speaker 1: youth so forth. Is there something that you haven't done 745 00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:40,640 Speaker 1: you wish you're looking forward to doing one day? 746 00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:44,400 Speaker 3: Maybe they're sure, is man, I'd like to play Nuriev 747 00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:45,800 Speaker 3: after he stopped dancing. 748 00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:48,080 Speaker 2: Is somebody writing something for you? 749 00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:51,759 Speaker 3: No, it was talked about years ago. This person came 750 00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:54,200 Speaker 3: to me from Russia and said, how'd you like to 751 00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:57,719 Speaker 3: play Nuriev? I said, I don't have those legs and 752 00:34:57,760 --> 00:35:00,279 Speaker 3: I can't dance, so we can't do any dancing. It 753 00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:03,520 Speaker 3: was like, yeah, but yeah, I mean he was as 754 00:35:03,560 --> 00:35:06,200 Speaker 3: fascinating guy in a fascinating time, and he was gay 755 00:35:06,239 --> 00:35:09,480 Speaker 3: when you was against the law to be homosexual, So yeah, 756 00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:11,759 Speaker 3: I'd be interested in that. But that went away. But 757 00:35:11,800 --> 00:35:14,120 Speaker 3: I did a bunch of homework then in the interim, 758 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:17,080 Speaker 3: and I really know the guy now and I really 759 00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:20,120 Speaker 3: want to play him, and he needs to be played 760 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:25,080 Speaker 3: because he wrote ranks with everybody, everything there was, but 761 00:35:25,280 --> 00:35:29,839 Speaker 3: he maintained who he was and his talent was beyond recognition. 762 00:35:30,239 --> 00:35:33,560 Speaker 3: He was a one of a kind and he died alone. Dude, 763 00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:35,840 Speaker 3: He died very much. He really yeah, you know, he 764 00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:38,520 Speaker 3: really know he had AIDS, but yeah he was. He 765 00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:41,600 Speaker 3: was a gay Russian with AIDS. How marginalized can you 766 00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:45,680 Speaker 3: make yourself? And yeah back then, yeah yeah, but there's nothing. 767 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:48,160 Speaker 3: There's nothing moving forward with that now then, I know 768 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:48,440 Speaker 3: of No. 769 00:35:49,360 --> 00:35:51,520 Speaker 2: Let me tell you some pell. You are a great, 770 00:35:51,719 --> 00:35:54,040 Speaker 2: great fucking actor, and you're enough. 771 00:35:54,080 --> 00:35:56,759 Speaker 1: And every one of these movies, all of these ten 772 00:35:56,800 --> 00:35:59,360 Speaker 1: thousand fucking movies you make a year, they're lucky to 773 00:35:59,400 --> 00:35:59,680 Speaker 1: have you. 774 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:02,319 Speaker 2: They're lucky to have you. They are they're lucky to 775 00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:02,600 Speaker 2: have you. 776 00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:04,200 Speaker 3: I will tell them you said so. 777 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,480 Speaker 2: My thanks to actor Eric Roberts. 778 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:14,240 Speaker 1: This episode was recorded at CDM Studios in New York City. 779 00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:19,400 Speaker 1: We're produced by Kathleen Brusso, Zach MacNeice, and Victoria de Martin. 780 00:36:19,840 --> 00:36:24,200 Speaker 1: Our engineer is Isaac Kaplin Woolner. I'm Alec Baldwin. Here's 781 00:36:24,239 --> 00:36:24,480 Speaker 1: the thing. 782 00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:27,240 Speaker 2: Is brought to you by iHeart Radio.