Original subtitles

We don't want to change the system.

We want to blow it up.

I take it you've done this before?

And I'll do it again.

For some reason, I guess it matched, you know, my bad New York street punk rock

attitude. I came in as an angry young man and got the part

because of that, I believe.

This is my first professional job. I'd been auditioning for quite a while and

not getting anything.

I was kind of like a New Yorker number one, a punk rocker number two. I would

go to these auditions. I probably had a pretty bad attitude about auditioning

for television, and that vibe must have come through because I found myself at

this casting director's office reading for St. Elsewhere, and it was this part

of this person that had an attitude.

You want to see if I'm crazy?

That's what they pay me for.

Well, how are you going to find out?

There's a nice dynamic that's in the character, this kind of arrogance, this

privileged rich kid that was misguided and lashing out.

So I read it. I was shocked to get the job. This being your first job, you go,

a job?

And I got my call time.

And it was like, you know, it was early. It was probably a 6.30 call or something

like that.

Well, The Clash were playing.

And I'd never seen The Clash.

And I had the opportunity to see them.

And I got tickets.

And I knew that I had to work in the morning, but I knew I also had to see

The Clash. One of my favorite bands, you know.

so i went you know a little nuts that night and got home pretty late uh i

overslept

And this was my first professional job and my second day of work. I was late. I

was a couple hours late.

And they're pissed off. They should be. We don't look very kindly on attempted

suicide. You wouldn't believe the paperwork.

So I get ready. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how to just jump

into character. So I get into character.

I'm now a terrorist.

I'm sitting in the makeup chair getting ready.

You're a pig, Bill.

I am recommending that they send you to...

Walpole Correctional.

It's maximum security.

I walk on the set. I'm ready. I'm ready to go. I'm ready. And I've got a fuck

you attitude.

And I'm ready. You know, I'm playing this person. I'm going to take this

seriously. And I'm going to, you know, kick ass with this scene. I'm going to

be as scary and as mean as you could possibly imagine.

Well.

Everyone, of course, thought I was the biggest asshole in the world because I

never apologized.

I went right into character. I was like, okay, I got a job to do.

What are you staring at?

Catherine McAllister's dead. This is the first set I'd ever been on.

So I had no idea of the people you talk to or the people you apologize to or

how you deal with any of this stuff.

Yeah? Yeah.

Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It's wild.

It's like I'd entered a different world, you know? It was like I wasn't sure of

myself in this world. I didn't know that I belonged.

There I was, and I had a job to do. It was very exciting.

I wish that it wasn't so damn early in the morning at the time, but I would

come to understand that, well, that's part of being an adult. You've got to

wake up early and get to work on time.

Hey, Sambo, take it nice and slow. I want to enjoy the view.

That's when I realized, all right, get your stuff together.

This can be actually really beneficial to you if you just grow up, if you

take some responsibility, if you find a way to be more

polite.

And understand that this is an incredible gift that is being...

presented to you a great opportunity to be able to develop a career in show

business, you know. So I started taking it very seriously after St. Elizabeth.

Why'd you do it?

You're soft.

You're weak.

You wouldn't understand.

I really liked David Morse. I think the scenes we did together had a real

good...

dynamic to them. Ed Flanners put me at ease.

Norman Lloyd and G.W. Bailey.

Unfortunately, I had to spit in his face.

Again, my behavior just didn't endear me.

It was not tailor-made for me to be the most popular guy on the set. Let's put

it that way.

But he was a sport about it.

William Daniels and Denzel Washington.

Christina Pickles is a very impressive, you know, and every single one of

those, solid actor.

Probably the classiest job you could have on television at the time.

That tape that I got from that show made it possible for me to work.

It also allowed me the opportunity to have the luxury of time.

where I could create the theater I was creating with the Actors Gang.

It was big. It was a major thing for me.

It got me started.