I'm just a character actor.
— Dennis Farina
Change never bothers me, not really.
I would love, one day before this is all over, to do a Western. That, and to play a priest.
Rooting for the Cubs is not easy, but the best things in life never are.
When they released Sidewalks of New York, there were some shots with the towers they were going to take out, and Ed told them no. I don't think they can deny the towers were a part of New York.
Vince or Brad or Benicio would say, Maybe we should try this, and Guy was open to changes.
This generation of filmmakers is very good. They're seasoned, for some reason.
The British have slang words, as we do, but it was fun.
I wanted to do Buddy Faro as a small budget movie. They said no. So I wanted to do it as a series of recurring TV movies, and they said no. So I agreed to do it as a series.
I read the script and try not to bring anything personal into it. I make notes, talk to the director and we decide what kinds of shades should be in the character.
I know people who go back and check themselves, but it drives me crazy. Everybody wants to look in the mirror and see Cary Grant looking back at them, but that's just not the case.
I don't know if I have a technique. I'm just trying to remember the words.
I never jumped into anything, and I never liked being cajoled into anything. I've pretty much always done things because I wanted to do them.
Chicago's always a friendly place to me.
I didn't fall for a lot of that stardom stuff.
You can't act for the editing. You just go in and do the scene the way you think is right.
When I was a kid going to the movies, we'd go because Bogart was in the movie, or Cagney, or John Wayne. We didn't know what the story was about or anything.
Usually you're in movies with a lot of dissolves and things, but this was kind of quick, more jarring than usual. I thought it would be fun to be in a movie that's unconventional. Then I met Guy and I liked him. I think he's a good man.
There's a whole catalogue of actors that never went to acting school.
I've tried writing. Two days later I'd go visit it and say, Jesus Christ, who wrote this crap?
I think first impressions are important when you pick up a script.
I love England and the historical aspect of it.
I have a home in Arizona. I go a couple months a year, but basically Chicago is my home.
Do whatever you're directed to do, and leave the rest of that technical stuff up to the director.
I don't need to see the old school to remember it and the teachers there. They changed the way that I've always looked at life and learning.
I wasn't so sure about signing up for 'Law & Order.' I liked the show, but another TV series? I'll tell you, though, it's been great, and I had no idea how popular the show was.
I was a policeman for 18 years.
You can change a person's life in an instant; put him in a movie, and you start thinking differently, you want to be in another movie. It's like an addiction almost.
What you do as a policeman might be the right thing to do, but it's not entertaining. I left that behind me.
This is my first experience working in a foreign movie, but the mechanics, I think, are pretty much the same all over; you still have to wait in the trailer.
The cast was huge, but I never saw anybody.
I'd love to do a Western. A real Western like John Ford used to do. There's not too many of them made, so I don't know if I'll ever get to do that. They're awfully hard movies to make.
I think all actors are supposed to be character actors.
I learned a long time ago: You're in the entertainment business. You're not in the reality business. One has absolutely nothing to do with the other.
I don't like to be talked into anything. I don't want to be cajoled.
As far as carrying the American banner, you just do what's right for the kids.
