The White Lotus star won the 1985 Best Actor Oscar for Amadeus. 'I became full of myself,' he says, and began turning down film roles — after a while, the phone stopped ringing.
I'm a first-generation American. My father's from Syria and my mother was from Italy. I grew up with people like Bert, and their attitude toward women was very real. And my mother, an Italian woman, treated them like they were the king, and the sons were the princes.
... In an odd way, I'm still puzzled by [the fact that] so many women like my character, even though he's really nothing but a male chauvinist pig, as we used to call it, in the old days. I personally am a feminist, but the way he treats women as people to be pursued and won and enjoyed ... but I think the women who respond to this character understand that he really has a good heart, that he really is a decent man, just from another time.Adam DiMarco, F. Murray Abraham and Michael Imperioli play three generations of Di Grasso men in the HBO seriesAll I can say is, I thank my lucky stars for it, because that was the best job I think I've ever had in my life — and I've been acting for a long time. It was just heaven. When that show closed after four months in Sicily, I asked [Mike White] if we could shoot the whole thing all over again. It was really great. It wasn't just the script or his direction. He's a delight to work for. But it was everybody I was working with, and I'm talking about the crew, the cast. I'm carrying on about this because it's a very rare experience. The place was closed up. We were the only residents and everyone lived in the hotel — crew, cast, we were all together. So sometimes we were able to show up for makeup in our pajamas. It was idyllic. What that contributed, I think, to the making of the [series] is a real joy and a life that comes through the camera, even though there are some real dark things that are dealt with. I think what you get a sense of is family.I mentioned to the ['Homeland'] wardrobe people that I thought he wore women's underwear and what the wardrobe people did was to sew lace on my panties. I always thought of him as not only bisexual, I thought he was up for anything. And I mentioned to the wardrobe people that I thought he wore women's underwear and what the wardrobe people did was to sew lace on my panties. There are certain scenes I am wearing those lace underwear. I'm not going to tell you which scenes they are, but I can give you a hint: They're the most violent scenes. ... Those secrets add something to each character that I do and are no one's business. And it's ... I think it adds to the mystery of the character, no matter what I do.I grew up about four blocks from the Rio Grande, and I grew up with all Mexican friends. And I speak Spanish fluently., Mexico, in those days was not dangerous, not like it is now, and we had really free passage back and forth. It cost a penny to get across the bridge, but they never really collected. If you didn't have the penny, you didn't pay. Well, we would walk across the Rio, no problem at all. It's too bad that there is a wall down there in El Paso, because growing up with two cultures is such a benefit and I grew up with that benefit. ... The accent that I have inOn studying with legendary acting teacherIt's great to be liked by someone like Uta Hagen, and I was a favorite, and I became a monitor in her class. ... And every student should keep this in mind: The more charismatic your teacher is, the more you will give up your own talent in order to please that teacher. And that's the route I was taking. And at one point, after having studied with her for over a year, I was really lost. And at one point during an exercise, she stopped me and she said,"This actor has a great talent and he pisses all over it." And that was the last class I ever had with her. She realized that I was losing it and she wanted to force me out of the class. ... And as soon as I left her, I started finding my feet again. It's an interesting lesson for everyone to learn. ... I was shutting off my own instincts in order to do exactly what she was saying. That's a dangerous path to follow.The idea that this unknown actor was going to get the role was out of the question. The only reason that I ever auditioned for [director] was to meet him. And I knew I didn't have a chance. It was [written by] a British writer and it was written for a British actor. The point is, Miloš did see something in me, invited me to his apartment to do a little rehearsal. We then did a videotape of it, and at the end of the videotape, he said,"All right, now do the old man [version of the Salieri character]!" And I said,"Well, Miloš, give me a chance to look at it. I didn't even examine..." He said,"No, no, just do it." So I did it and I improvised. And I looked at the script and when I got through, I looked up to see what his reaction was and he was gone. He wasn't even there. He left the studio before I even had a chance to say anything to him! So I figured he hated it. And two days later, he called and said I was his first choice. But that was only one step. Then I had to meet the producer and meet the writer. I still knew I didn't have it. It was too much to ask, really. It was a dream. Lauren Krenzel and Joel Wolfram produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Beth Novey adapted it for the web.
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