Vol. 46
Thursday, November 20, 2008
©Marc Allan
All Rights Reserved
Ed Asner stars in the Hallmark Channel movie "Generation Gap," which premieres Oct. 25:
Q: I saw you on Curb Your Enthusiasm and immediately thought, "That's Ed Asner," rather than the character you were playing. Do people ever turn you down for work because you're such a recognizable face?
A: I suppose they do. I couldn't give you the answer. You'd have to look into the mind and heart of each person who does the hiring. I'm always amazed when I've done good work for successful people and they don't come back and get me again. In the case of Larry David, I went up to him a year or two afterwards and said, "Why don't you have me back?" And he said, "Welllll … you died." I guess he doesn't watch TV. So that frustrated me. But I can't give you an answer.
Q: How far into the run of The Mary Tyler Moore Show did you know it was a classic?
A: I didn't bother myself to worry about that. I was so delighted with the character I had, the venue we were working in and the script. And the scripts kept coming. All I can say was, "I don't care if we're canceled tomorrow, next week, three weeks from now. These are the best scripts and the best character, and at least I've had this." So it didn't matter to me, to live in fear. I was in seventh heaven.
Bonus question:
Q: What was it like to work with Nancy Marchand? She showed such incredible range in the two roles we'll forever know her for, Mrs. Pynchon (on Lou Grant) and Livia Soprano (The Sopranos). Was she as good as we think she was?
A: I knew her at Stratford and heartily applauded when her name came up. I think she did far more with that role than they ever expected. When I saw her on the first show as Soprano, I saw too much work going on and a lack of relaxation, and I feared for her. Second show, she began to hum like a Soprano and never looked back. She was a premiere actress. I loved her. Great legs too.
marc-allan.com
BIO:
Marc Allan is a freelance reporter/ writer whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and many other newspapers and magazines.
He's based in Indianapolis.
If you need something written, contact him at marc@marc-allan.com
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