Interviews and Essays

Where: his dressing room (Marquis Theatre). 12:45 pm.        A few days after Victor Garber was nominated for a Tony Award for his starring role in the smash revival of Damn Yankees, I went to ask him for an interview. At the time, there were people standing around the theatre congratulating...

Where: his dressing room (Second Stage Theatre). 1:30 pm.        Edward Herrmann and I have met for the first time at this interview, and long before I put the batteries in my old Panasonic, he is already chatting up a storm about everything from the play he is starring in to...

Where: his apartment. 11 am.        Even if I'm at a friend's house, I'm the type of person who feels intrusive and awkward sitting around in someone else's home. So you can imagine how anxious I was when I found out that I had to interview the legend that is Tony...

Where: a diner in Chelsea. 5 pm.        It is so ridiculous that some people believe Malcolm McDowell is as violent and insane as many of the characters he has played. Almost everyone who found out that I would be interviewing him had expressed fear and concern. (My favorite overreaction was...

Where: his publicist’s office. 4:30 pm.        This is one of those times when the interview took a very long time to set up, but it was well worth the wait. Gregory Hines and I first met seven months ago, so we had a very easy-going conversation since we had spoken...

Where: his dressing room (Martin Beck Theatre). 1 pm.        Right before a Wednesday matinee of Guys And Dolls, I interviewed Nathan Lane. As I was setting up, I told him that I had wanted to ask him for an interview for years. However, each previous time was inappropriate because there...

Where: a couple of orchestra house seats (Lyceum Theatre). 6:30 pm.        There are several "first time” occurrences for me in doing this interview with Ethan Hawke. It is the first time that I have interviewed someone who is younger than me and so close to my own age. It is...

Where: a café on St. Mark's Place. 5:30 pm.        When I asked William H. Macy for an interview, I was rather surprised at his reaction to my request. He said that he was flattered that I had asked him and even thanked me. All the while, I kept thinking, "Gee,...

Where: his dressing room (Martin Beck Theatre). 6:15 pm.        To say that it is a miracle this interview has occurred is not an understatement. Here's what happened: A couple of weeks into the previews for Guys And Dolls, I asked Peter Gallagher for an interview and he agreed. We decided...

Written on April 23, 2019.       Back when All About ACTORS was a print publication, we had a recurring series of essays entitled In Defense Of... where we spotlighted a particular actor and "defended" him for one reason or another. Whether it was a character actor who deserved better...