Have you ever thought about directing?
I’ve thought about it. I’ve been working on a screenplay and I’ve toyed with doing it one day, but I don’t think I’m organized enough. I’m quite all over the place. Like I’m giving a baby shower for my friend next week for 40 people and I started calling them yesterday. “Can you come? Can you bring something? I don’t know – a bagel?” I’m not terribly organized and I think a director has to be organized, or they have to be good at delegating, and I’m not good at delegating either. So it’s probably not my gift.
But you’re working on a screenplay?
Yes. I’ve been writing an awful lot over the last 20 years. You know, I have almost a complete novel and a bit of this screenplay and a bit of that screenplay. But I don’t know if I’ll ever be brave enough to put my writing out there. That takes a lot of courage and I don’t know if I have it.
How is that harder than putting yourself out there as an actor?
Well, as an actor, I’m always hiding behind a character to a certain extent. But in writing, you really put your soul on the page and say, “Here I am. Have at it.” No matter what you write it’s personal, even if it’s fiction, just based on your soul’s journey and who you are and what your life has been.
Let’s say you could organize your thoughts and put them onscreen. What would you like to do? Or better yet, what would you like to see onscreen?
That’s a good question. What I want to see on screen… I’m an actor with very pedestrian taste in a way. I grew up on “Indiana Jones” and “Lethal Weapon” and “Die Hard” movies. And they are still movies I really want to see. I went to see the ‘most critically acclaimed movie’ last night and I’m sitting there during it going, “Oh my God! I’m going to kill myself!” There were so many minutes where I just wanted to walk out because a lot of times I don’t want to go to the movie and have to learn and have to get emotional with myself and investigate myself. I just want to go away. I just want a fantasy. I’m really present in my real life and I don’t want to do that in a movie. I want to just be in a fantasy world so I’m dying to do that sort of movie. I love normal people in extraordinary circumstances and how they deal with that. That will be my next thing.
