| AP: Oh yeah,
yeah! I needed the rest!
*Hey, as long as you still know all your lines. Have
you ever experienced your Insomnia character's kind of sleep deprivation?
AP: Yeah, sure I have. But sometimes it was
purposefully.
*Purposefully?
AP: Yeah you know, I was out for a few nights. And
didn't want to go to sleep. But I think I can relate to the sleep
deprivation thing. I mean, there were periods in my life where I found it
difficult to either go to sleep or get up early.
*What did you do about it?
AP: I had to wander around in the night. So it's
something I could identify with.
*Winona Ryder said recently that you have two
o'clock in the morning conversations.
AP: I wish, is all I can say! The thing is, when
you're very tired, at two in the morning you could call the coast.
Although I don't. I don't know why, but there's something about the
nighttime, and the trying to get back to sleep. And trying to do things
that are not stimulating. They say when you have insomnia, that you should
get up and walk around. Or start to read something. Especially if it's
something innocuous, you read it and it helps you to fade out. But a phone
call might be too stimulating. Hey listen, I'm recommending things to do,
and I'm sleepless! I don't know, please. I am not equipped, I don't think,
to say. Anyway, that's my experience.
*The director of Insomnia, Chris Nolan, said he was
glad you took the role, because you embody the iconic cop figure. Do you
concur?
AP: I think there are times when you feel that's a
part that people seem to want to see me in, that kind of role. So you want
to do that from time to time. But I mainly did Insomnia because of Chris
Nolan, and his work. So his approach to making movies was the biggest
reason I did the picture. And then I like the idea of a character that is
in conflict. And a good-bad guy. I like the good-bad guys!
*Your character Dormer is a genius for the intuitive
when solving a crime. How do you rate your own intuitiveness as an actor?
AP: That's very interesting. I knew when I did
Serpico, that as soon as I met Frank Serpico, somehow I wanted to play
him. It's almost like something an artist just has to paint. I didn't get
him at all though. I wish I did, but I didn't. But that was a springing
board for me. I had a desire. I thought there was something I could
identify in him. Like in his eyes, I could tell. And there have been other
people who I've met, and I just didn't respond in that way. And then I
didn't do that movie. So it is an intuitive kind of a thing. I try to
listen to that. You don't want to be too quick to judge though, that's a
problem. But at the same time, it's a good thing to listen to. You know,
I'm still here, as witness! I'm still around.
*What was it like working with Robin Williams, as
your Insomnia co-star?
AP: Well you see, this is what I've been trying to
do, be funny like Robin! He's my idol, I just love being around him. I
like to see him personally after the picture, and we try to get together.
Robin is a very bright, caring guy. You know, about the world, and
everything around it. He's well-informed, and just fun to be around.
Because he's also so sensitive. I can't say enough about him. And as far
as funny goes, he's up there, he's amazing. So I appreciate his
friendship.
*How was it shooting up in Canada?
AP: Of course I'd like to shoot where you could just
come over to my house! Yeah, I'd like to shoot the picture there. But the
location does serve the picture so much, so you have to weigh that when
you're going to make a picture. And as far as Canada goes, it's beautiful
up there. So it was swell. Although I was popping down on the weekends all
the time to see the babes. But where I was, in upper Vancouver and Alaska,
is probably some of the most beautiful sections. And we were up there with
the bears, the grizzlies. I even watched an avalanche. They called me
outside and said, there's an avalanche, it was just a few yards away. It
was surreal. I thought, really? Like shouldn't I go back in my camper? And
it had a kind of placid look about it. There were wolves too, which I'm
not used to seeing, frankly. We were living on boats, because there were
no hotels. And the woman living on the boat next to me had a wolf! It was
a beautiful thing to behold. And wolves from all around would come at
night, and coo at us.
*Did you touch it?
AP: Did I touch a wolf? I looked at it, we looked at
each other, and uh, that was it. Anything on a leash, I think twice before
I touch!
*Out of all your roles, which did you feel closest
to?
AP: I was just going to say The George Washington
Story. But I didn't do that, did I? I can't answer that, I'll have to
think. I've done a lot of roles. The classic answer, the answer you hear
all the time, is that some of them are closer than others. But I really
don't know. It's comforting for me to look at it, as a painter looks at
different objects they paint. And sometimes it's odd. Because the
characters that you may think are the farthest from you, turn out to be
some of the best work you've done. And the characters that you feel are
closest to you, sometimes don't take the same step. So it's hard to know
about that. Desire and a passion to do a role, doesn't mean that it's you.
It's just a desire, and it's a complicated paradox. And I'm not really
smart enough to really understand it. But I go with the glow, as they say.
If I feel there's something in it, and that I maybe could get a
performance out of it, I go for it. And sometimes I miss. But that's how I
go by it. See, what I learned early in my life as an actor, is that you
try different parts in order to see if any of them will work.
*What about taking chances?
AP: It's much easier on the stage. It gets tougher
to do out there in the commercial world, if you know what I mean. You want
to take chances, but you get burned for them.
*Speaking of risky behavior, you have to jump
through lots of hoops in Insomnia. How do you prepare for a physical role
like that?
AP: Well, you go into a hospital for a week before.
You check in, and have people oil you and massage you, and tie you up and
mummify you. Then you pray. Then somebody says action. And you still pray.
That's it! That's all I know. But I couldn't believe it, as I was doing
it. It's like when I had to run, those trees are not going by as fast as
they used to when I was young! But you have to get in shape and prepare
for scenes like that, as you get older. Like when I had to chase Bobby De
Niro in Heat. We pulled out at about three or four in the morning, to go
chasing. I did one take, and boom, there goes the hamstring. I said gee, I
feel like the old Al. I am the old Al! And that was unfortunate, because I
had to stop for about a week and a half. You know, you learn from these
experiences. So when I was doing this stuff in Insomnia, I prepared.
Because I'm not the kind of guy who when I'm off, works out and stuff. But
I'm learning that I better start doing something! You know, whenever I get
the urge to exercise, I lie down till it passes! Now that's Oscar Wilde.
*You're often called a legend. Do you feel like a
legend, or is that idea scary to you?
AP: Well, what I usually do when they say that, is I
say, this is a legend. [Al whips out a harmonica and plays a tune!] Now,
that's all I can say to that!
*What do you say when people tell you that you're a
legend?
AP: I have to say that, when someone says that, I
say, well I guess. I've been around a while! I think that is all I can
answer to that. I lasted, I'm here, I'm still standing.
*When did you first realize you were famous?
AP: When I was on a street corner once, and there
was a really attractive redhead standing there next to me. And I turned
and looked at her, just as a gesture of, hello. So I was on my way to
cross the street, and she said, hi Michael. And I thought okay, I'm not
Michael Corleone. But maybe I am also, you know what I mean? So I better
go home and have a cup of tea! Who knows what this could lead to.
Copyright 2002 by Prairie Miller
VIA CINEMAN SYNDICATE
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