Monthly Question and Answers : 2009
January 2009
Describe your process as a book-on-tape reader in finding ways to evoke the emotions and actions of the story using only your voice.
My process is to complain and bitch to my very patient producer Bob! I’m always wanting to get lost in a story and he’s always wanting to concentrate on things like pronouncing the words and correcting my lisp.
What barriers do you feel women still face in Hollywood?
Sighs…. Hollywood is a progressive town but it also has its ear to the ground and will give the country the entertainment it wants, so in a way it’s very conservative too. But I remember the 70’s when tv and movies were very progressive – if we could combine that with the present female-infused Hollywood power structure I’m not sure how many barriers would be left. Steve however reminds me that there is not equal pay for equal work in Hollywood; maybe some of these questions should go to Steve in the future!
When you are in polite company and someone is being a real jerk, do you think it’s better to speak your mind or sit and fume?
I’m never in polite company. Just kidding. When I’m in polite company I speak my mind but politely and hopefully with a joke.
Imagine you are setting out to perform a task when you come across a stranger who offers you a trade. Do you firmly hang on to your cow or are you persuaded to take the magic beans, and why?
Cow, cow, cow. Franklin was right and a good steak is the best magic I know of.
Given the stress you have recently with your various guitars, I wondered how do you go about choosing a new guitar? Is there a technical process or do you go with more of a ‘gut feeling’?
Ummmmmm.. Everything is revealed when you start playing a guitar. For me it all comes down to tone and action. Action is how far the strings are above the fret board at the twelve fret. If the string is too high the action is not good. I like a good warm low tone, so I am attracted to Gibson, but if you are looking for a deal check out Washburn.
Name someone you consider a genius.
James Carville.
What do you do to prepare for an audition?
I read the script. I memorize the lines. I try not to plan too much. I try to find the character in me and I know it’s working when I get a simple flash of “oh this guy is just like me.” Then I stop acting and it’s good.
Favorites:
Shakespeare theme: That we are all human and all share an ocean – it’s called humanism and Shakespeare was a humanist.
February 2009
Are you obsessive about your passions or can you turn them off at will?
I have never even thought of turning a passion off. I have always chased after them. Dante would say that’s a mistake.
Is there any movie genre you would really rather not–or even hate–to watch?
Any movie that ends with a prom!
Being a musician and working with Harry Connick, Jr. on the set of P.S. I Love You, did you two have a chance to jam or talk music?
Yes, we did get to talk music and his love for early jazz and bebop.
If you could have the ability to read minds, whose mind would you like to read and why?
Uhmmm. I would choose not to! (laughs) I don’t know if any of us are mature enough to handle the brutal honesty of what’s inside other people’s heads.
How important is it for there to be chemistry between two actors? Did you ever have to perform opposite someone you truly did not like or get along with off-screen?
For me, chemistry is trust. If you have trust you can risk together. It’s like a partnership and it means you can have fun together while jumping off a mountain. I have not always been able to get good trust with an acting partner. One of the best was Juliet Landau; I always felt safe with her. Chemistry has nothing to do with physical attraction – that often gets in the way.
March 2009
What part of acting do you prefer, when you feel like you are another person different from yourself, or when you see your performance fooling the audience?
I feel best about my performance when I’m revealing my true self and not fooling anyone. Then it is truly dangerous.
What is your most eccentric habit?
I use my fingernails as dental floss.
What is your perfect holiday – apart from sleeping?
Watching election returns. Unfortunately it only happens every four years.
Your fans are well acquainted with your love of Macbeth, but I’ve never heard you speak about any of Shakespeare’s comedies. Are you more drawn to his tragedies? If so, why?
Definitely drawn to his tragedies. His comedies have so many references that many of his audience members don’t understand. Too many of the jokes can fall flat; well, except when Kenneth Branaugh and Emma Thompson are doing it. I did do a pretty funny Sir Aguecheek inTwelfth Night in a blonde wig – I looked like Andy Warhol. I did it in repertoire along with Macbeth.
Would you rather people say you’re naughty or nice?
Naughty, naughty, naughty!!!
Macbeth! When was the first time you read it?
When I did it at the Intiman Theatre in Seattle in 1998.
April 2009
How would you define Spike’s role to Dawn in Buffy?
Inept father figure.
What’s the most honest insult you’ve ever gotten?
I am a parent so I am flooded with them daily!
A lot of writers only write their best when they have certain music going in the background. Does having specific music help you create or you or do you find that a quiet stillness is best for you?
Stillness is best for me. I’m always trying to blow past my intellect, to turn it off so that the music can play in my head.
You mentioned your time at the Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts as being very positive and formative years. Would you ever consider being a mentor or teacher, sharing what you have come to know, understand and believe acting is all about?
Yes, I’ve always wanted to teach but that will have to wait until my kids are grown. I can’t imagine a better place to do it then the PCPA.
You mentioned that you’d love to come to Dragon Con in costume. Who or what would you come as?
Storm trooper, storm trooper, storm trooper.
Do you think aging means to relent and to settle down or is it a motivation for taking more chances?
Aging is a good excuse to get to know yourself, start avoiding your weaknesses and supporting your strengths. It is not a time to slow down.
Firsts:
Which presidential election was the first one you voted in? 1980 – Carter vs Reagan.
First car – A Chevrolet Duster when I was 32 years old – I have never been overly married to cars.
May 2009
How do you handle hecklers in the theater who refuse to shut up, even when you ignore them?
Luckily in theater we don’t have hecklers. I’ve always felt for comedians because of that. But you cannot stand up and shout Shakespeare sucks because he doesn’t! I usually find myself frustrated by people rustling.
’"Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." Do you believe this to be true?
Absolutely. Love is what makes life worthwhile in its many forms. Tennesse Williams said something about this in “Camino Real” – he said “Make voyages! – Attempt them! – there’s nothing else.”
What don’t you understand about the opposite sex?
My problem is that I think understand too much about the opposite sex – but I may be wrong.
What are your biggest hopes of the Obama administration? What are your biggest fears ?
My biggest hope is that Congress will give him every program that we the people mandated. My biggest fear is that the people will not pay attention and we will forget what we asked him to do.
Which of your songs effortlessly wrote themselves and which did you have to wrestle out of hiding?
Wow…95% of my songs come very fast. I tend to wait a long time until a song writes itself in my head. If it doesn’t come fast, I usually bog down and it never gets done. My latest song “Moonshot” came out of its own will.
Finish this sentence: Clowns make me… Think.
Yes or No -
Did you have braces when you were a kid?
No.
Would you eat a tarantula for $1,000?
Hell yeah – let him be scared for once!
June 2009
What Shakespearean villian(s) would you love to portray? I ask, because I think you’d make a great Iago!
Exactly – so that would be the one!
Do you use funny voices when you read to your kids at bedtime?
Uhm, my kids are too old, they don’t want me to read to them anymore. But when I did, the voices I used were (adopts exaggerated proper diction and posture) appropriate and not funny at all, which led to the drama of the book. (laughs loudly) But no really, they weren’t funny voices but they were right for the story – so yes, I would use different voices, but in a way that the kids didn’t even process that the voice changes – it was just integrated as part of the story.
Technically speaking, which singer has the skills you’d most love to emulate?
Bruce Springsteen – he has the most honest voice out there right now. I would love to get a little tiny John Lennon, who was, afterall, the original Kurt Cobain, in me as well.
What is the origin of the name Piccolo?
Online I’m told it was from the musical instrument but I don’t know if that’s true or not.
What prompted you to start a You Tube page with your son Sullivan?
I wanted to introduce Sullivan to fame. I was counting on somebody being rude in the talkbacks, but the comments were all so nice that I don’t think I got the lesson I was looking for for my son, which is that fame is a double-edged sword. Right now it just totally looks cool to him and I wish people weren’t quite so polite. (laughs)
Either/Or
Star Trek or Star Wars
Wow. Uhm, both. Star Trek came first of course and Star Trek gives me hope for the future. Star Wars rekindled a deep mythology – Star Wars is basically a thousand year old story. It’s amazing that it made so much money because we’ve been told that story a thousand times – but it’s just such a good story. So, yeah. both. I’m not gonna choose.
Ginger, Mary Ann or Mrs. Howell?
Oh!! Totally NOT Ginger! Mary Ann. Totally Mary Ann. Because Ginger would never be true to you. I live in Hollywood. I know! (laughs)
Finish this sentence:
At home my favorite item is … Keys to let me in the door. Home is a good place.
I tend to be emotional when… I breathe.
July 2009
How good are you at spotting liars/phonies?
Too good. Too good.
Have you read Kurt Cobain’s journals that were published a few years ago? If so, what was your opinion on such a personal thing being made public?
I think Kurt Cobain was a wonderful musician. I don’t think I would have wanted to have dinner with him. I think he was very confused – but I loved him.
What impact does shooting a script out of sequence have for a method actor? How do you compensate for the lack of emotional continuity?
No impact at all. Meryl Streep says she forgets on purpose where the scenes fall in the script. You just play one day, one situation at a time, but you do not tell the story.
I appreciate varied constructs of songs and noticed quite a few of your songs don’t have bridges; Finer Than Gold, This Town… Was that a conscious decision or just simply the way they came out?
It’s simply because I’m not that great with bridges! (giggles)
How cool was it to be in Superman’s Ice Fortress? I know it’s an illusion, but are you ever able to forget the cameras and crew and just be within the magic?
No, because it was 115 degrees on that set and I was too busy dying. (laughs) And there was particulate in the air that you just knew was gonna give you cancer, so it was horrible. And poor Tom. He can’t sweat; he’s all about getting it right and Superman doesn’t sweat, so he really suffered.
Favorites:
Period in history? The development of agriculture, townships and the three desert religions (Christianity, Judiasm and Islam) all of which happened back to back.
Ice cream? Don’t get to eat ice cream anymore, but in an ideal world? Chocolate. Wait, No. Fake ice cream. My favorite sugarless ice cream, diabetic ice cream, is Cookies and Cream. It’s really good, but it has this really weird aftertaste. You can’t stop eating it! Like don’t stop eating it because then you’ll realize it tastes horrible. ( Laughs)
August 2009
Is there a movie that makes you cry everytime you see it?
“W” by Oliver Stone. (laughs)
Have you had a role that really changed your life and the way you see things?
Hmmm, (pause). Yes, I have many times. I was very lucky in early adulthood to do many classic plays and I feel half-raised by the great authors. Plays like “Dollhouse” by Ibsen, ‘Measure for Measure”, “Much Ado About Nothing” and “Macbeth” by Shakespeare, “The Red Coat” by David Mamet – these were the teachers at my finishing school.
What did Spike’s vampire face feel like?
Like nothing at all! The foam was very light and moved with your face with no effort. The teeth sucked – they forced you to mumble and slur when you were trying to be inhumanly cool.
Have you considered the possibility of one day starting up another theater company? If you did, is there anything that you know that you would do right off to make it work best?
If I met the right five people who are in on the thing, I could be talked into it, but it is second only to child rearing in its difficulty. The one thing I’d do first is to get a business manager. Doing good plays that are well-received is not guaranteed without that.
Could you say a few words about Andy Hallett? It broke my heart when he died and I’d love to hear someone who knew him say a few words about him.
Andy was a real man – you can tell an adult by how they deal with pain or adversity. Andy’s eyeballs gave him searing pain all day every day because of the contacts they used. He was every moment a gentlemen; laughing and joking, wiping the tears from his eyes.
Obsession – unhealthy or motivating and why?
Unhealthy. You gotta be careful not to want something that you can’t figure out how to get.
I’ve noticed that many fans sing along with you at concerts. What goes through your mind when you look out at an audience and find them singing the songs that you wrote along with you?
I hope we all keep the same time (laughs).
Favorites:
Batman: There’s no other Batman, but the current Batman, Christian Bale. George Clooney? Come on, man. There’s nobody else with the balls of Christian Bale.
Outdoor activities: Hiking, biking and frisbee.
CD you always reach for to play when you’re driving: Nick Drake.
September 2009
How do you entertain yourself on an airplane?
Books, Vanity Fair, science magazines, sleep and giving myself foot rubs.
Who were the first and last bands you saw in concert?
First band was the Clash in 1979 at the Cow Palace in San Francisco and the last one was Arcade Fire at Hollywood Bowl in LA.
As a parent and an artist what do you think of the schools cutting back on art programs?
It is one of many important things being cut right now like security, class size, and new books…and it’s been proven that music programs increase math test results. But so many essential things are being cut right now.
Which do you find easier to portray, characters that are close to your real life personality or those that are wildly different?
I always use my personality traits, the things that are true about me in all roles whether or not I think I am close to them.
Finish the sentence: New Year’s resolutions make me…
Barf.
Yes or No:
Did you have braces when you were a kid? No.
Do you still paint? No, I wish I did.
Do you need reading glasses when you read books? (laughs) Yes, but I always lie about that – don’t tell anyone.
October 2009
What goals do you feel you haven’t accomplished yet in your music, either in your lyrics and melody, or in your guitar playing? What are you still striving for?
Writing a good bridge.
Do you doodle while you’re on the phone and what is your doodle of choice?
Yes, arrows piercing flesh.
There has been a recent resurgence of questions regarding Shakespeare’s identity by groups which include notable actors like Derek Jacobi. What is your opinion of the controversy regarding Shakespeare’s authorship?
Every author has a different flavor and style, they taste different – each of them. To me all of the Shakespeare that I’ve done, including staged reading, auditions and plays, all of it tastes the same.
Do you like your driver’s license photo?
Yes! I actually do! And so much so that I really don’t want to get a new license because I know I’m gonna be older now. I’m two months away from getting a new passport photo and the new one is gonna be like (scrunches up face). Laughs.
What was one of your "least favorite reads" (i.e. assigned or forced on you by a teacher – a topic you didn’t like, or a theme that didn’t fit with your life at the time) that turned out to provide insight, motivation or opportunity for you later in life?
My teachers were cool and gave me good stuff to read; but I did get stuck with Alan Greenspan’s latest book on CD during a 5 hour road trip where he bragged about his finesse of the economy. Obviously written before the economy tanked! Too sad to be funny.
Favorites:
City in the world and why: San Francisco, which is a frontier Paris, but doesn’t pride itself yet and has found the wisdom to be tolerant – which is why United Federation of Planets chose it to be its capital.
Sandwich: Just a good hoagie on a warm day.
November 2009
Do you consider yourself a feminist?
I consider myself a humanist.
I hate screen cliches such as someone someone reaching for another person in bed as they wake up, but that person isn’t there, or someone running but always falling. What movie or tv cliches bug you?
Cowboy six-shooters with 24 bullets. Everyone wakes up looking gorgeous. And everyone dries off from a rainstorm in seconds.
If you could be a part of President Obama’s cabinet, what would you like to do? What do you think you would be good at?
I used to think I’d make a great press secretary until all the teabagging started and I realized I don’t have the patience. I would have lost it a long time ago. I would have said “shut up you fools, he’s trying to help you” but that wouldn’t help the boss.
Do you prefer playing live or recording in a studio?
I prefer playing live. It’s more dangerous.
In Moonshot there were some sequences that appeared to be in a weighless environment. Were they filmed on one of the trainers used to simulate a weightless environment? If so, did you enjoy being weightless?
Ha, ha, ha, fooled you! Those were all poor-boy shots on earth. Credit good mime training.
What process or thought does it take to cry on cue? I’ve heard it’s one of the hardest emotions for some actors.
Mmmm, mmmm… (silence) Crying on cue is hard. The best thing to do is to think of the saddest thing in your life and then try NOT to cry. But surprisingly, laughing with sincerity is harder – especially on take seven.
Do you ever play any low-tech sort of games, like board games or card games? If so, which ones?
Risk and, following the President’s lead, poker.
Either/Or
Neat or messy? Neat… I lie – messy, with very short periods of neat.
Presents on Christmas eve or Christmas morning? Both.
Spend six months traveling in Europe or six minutes on the moon? On the moon, baby!
December 2009
Do you think that Hamlet’s "To be or not to be…" has been taken out of context by most of society?
As long as people realize that he is considering suicide, they have it right.
Did you ever have a crush on any of your teachers?
Yes, an incredible crush on my second grade teacher. I don’t remember her name now, but when I went into third grade she had transferred to become a third grade teacher and I got her again.
Which is more important – intelligence or common sense?
We shouldn’t try to parse these any more. They’re finding that emotion is vitally important to intelligence. We are ignorant of our own intelligence.
You have written several songs about your experiences on current projects such as Moonshot, Torchwood and High Plains Invaders. Have you ever written a song about Spike?
I wrote on song during “Buffy” called “Dangerous” about the importance of self-discipline.
Do you still drink wheatgrass juice? Fresh or powdered and where do you get it?
Fresh from Jamba Juice – they’re friendly and they smell good!
Favorites:
Springsteen album: The Ghost of Tom Joad
Star Wars Toy: My brand new shiny Storm Trooper outfit!
