How he got the role

Howard Deutch, the director, is a friend of mine and he told me he was doing this movie. I asked if there was anything in it for me and he said, “There might be. Why don’t you read it and let me know what you think?” I read several parts that I thought I could be right for and I called him and he said, “Well, what do you think about Martel, the quarterback?” At the time, in the original script, it wasn’t that large of a role and Martel wasn’t near as antagonistic. Howard said, “I’d really like you to do this role.” I said, “Okay.” He said I was going to have to read for the producers. So, I went and read for them and then I got the part.

Did you have to prove some athletic ability before being considered?

They didn’t ask me about any of my athletic ability, although Howie knows me and knows I’m very athletic.

Football training camp and 100 degree weather

We had a three-week training camp. They had the first week without me and then Howie called and said, “Why aren’t you here?” I said, “Well, they didn’t tell me when to come and they hadn’t made any plans for me.” He said, “I want you here now.” So, I said, “Well, okay, send me a ticket.” So, they sent me a ticket and I flew to Baltimore and I did the last two weeks of training camp. Basically every morning we would wake up about 8:00 a.m. and be downstairs and we’d get in this big sort of tour bus and we’d drive out to this high school football field where we’d train at in Baltimore. We’d go in and get suited up and you could have breakfast if you wanted it and then you went out to the football camp. You did calisthenics and then they’d separate us. They’d say, “Quarterbacks over here.” There was me and Keanu and then four other guys who were doubles, along with T. J. Rubley, who was the quarterback coach, and Mark Ellis. We’d basically split up the quarterbacks and receivers and the linemen would be working and it was basically like a football camp. Then they’d get us all together and show us a play, because the plays had to be choreographed so you could have certain things happen. We’d have a fumble or a pass caught and a guy would get creamed. So they’d show you the play, tell you the name of the play and you’d have to call the play to the huddle and then you’d run it.

Pretending to be a quarterback

The first day I was there, Allan Graf said, “Okay we’re going to take it easy on you today.” They’d run the play twice with the stand in and then he’d say, “Hey Brett, come here! Let’s do it!” I’m like, “What?” He’d say, “Run the play.” I’m like, “Okay.” I’d never even taken a hike from a center since I was about eight years old. So, I go up there and get underneath the guy and call out the cadence and they hike the ball and we ran the play. It was kind of horrifying. I kept looking at these guys — these monster linebackers and linemen — and they start acting, pretending we are filming and they’re doing what they’re supposed to do, which is saying, “I’m going to kill you, quarterback! You’re mine! I own your ass!” And I’m like, “Okay, okay, this is a lot of fun.” You see, I was a baseball player. I didn’t really play football, but when I did, I was a running back and defensive secondary. So, I didn’t have a lot of “throwing the ball” training, so that’s what I had to work on. It was funny, because T. J. Rubley used to call me “The Money.” At practice I would throw the worst ducks you could possibly imagine. The passes were just horrible. Big floppy passes. Really bad stuff. But whenever the camera was rolling I would nail it and he seemed to believe it was because I wasn’t thinking about it. I was always thinking about the mechanics and how to throw the ball. But once we were actually shooting, for whatever reason my mind got off of that and I could throw the ball. And most the time it was pretty much on target and a zipper. I was comfortable doing all this. I’m a fairly athletic guy and I’m in fairly good shape.

Making friends with the big guys

The one thing that was funny for me was this one guy who played the middle linebacker. He was in the Oliver Stone’s movie “Any Given Sunday.” He was the big black guy that, when the owner, Cameron Diaz, walks in the locker room, is standing there with his, uh…member hanging out (laughs). Anyway, THAT’S this guy. He’s screaming at me, “I’m going to kill you! I own you! I’m going to eat you for lunch!” He’s screaming all this stuff at me while we’re rehearsing. And it was getting intimidating! I’m standing off to the side after I’d done my one run-through and Howie was standing there with me and goes, “How do you feel about these guys? They’re going to kill you!” And the guy is standing next to me and I go, “I’m not worried.” And the guy said, “Yeah? Why not?” I said, “Because I’m going to be your best friend! I’m going to buy you beer every night so you’re happy.” Then he put his arm around me and said, “I like you, Brett. You’re alright by me. You’re cool…nobody will hurt you!” As in pro football, when you’re practicing, the quarterbacks wear red shirts. So, that’s the sign that none of the team can actually injure the quarterback. If they’re going to sack him, they just come up and kind of grab him. They don’t really throw him down and pounce on him.

In Keanu’s words

I was fairly comfortable but I was nervous because I wanted to do a good job and I was concerned I wasn’t going to be up to the chore of looking like an All-Pro quarterback who’d won two Super Bowls. They used to videotape us and one day Keanu and I were watching the videotape and Keanu watched me and said, “Man, you look just like an old, gritty veteran.” And I said, “Yeah, old is the operative word.”

What was the most challenging thing, physically, for you on the field?

We started in July or August in Maryland, which was very hot and humid. It was reaching 100 degrees. And we’d practice from 9:00 in the morning to 1:00 in the afternoon. The hardest thing was the heat. It was really tough on us. You had to drink a lot of liquids and take in a lot of Gatorade. We were sweating and taking a real pounding in terms of what it was doing to our bodies. We would practice and then have lunch. Then we’d get back in the van, go back to the hotel and they’d tell us to sleep, to rest our bodies. So we’d shop, buy some clothes or something, and then go back and take naps for an hour or so. In the afternoons we’d go to the gym. There was a gym right around the corner from the hotel and we’d all go work out and do our weight training. So, it was physically challenging.

Were you injured or did you get pounded by the pro players?

I didn’t get injured. I did get pounded a couple of times but that was on purpose when we were doing second unit with Allan. There was a joke around the set — for a period of time the second unit was called “The Brett Cullen Unit.” We were shooting 24 hours a day. They’d shoot first unit all day and second unit was night in the Baltimore Ravens stadium. I would show up and a lot of nights it was just me and the football players. Allan Graf would have them mike me and then let me improvise. A lot of the stuff I was doing with the guys, like screaming at them and calling them names on the field, was all stuff that I sort of came up with. Howie was fine with that because he trusts me and he wasn’t there and Allan liked it because I gave him all this stuff to play with, in terms of giving him more than what was on the page. Then we had a couple of times where I got sacked or creamed and hit by the guys pretty hard after making a pass. These guys are 300 pounds, 6′6″ linemen. They liked me though. We were all friends because we’d all go out and party together. So, I’d say to Allan, “How do you want to do this?” He would tell me and I’d go to the guys and say, “Listen, I’m going to throw the ball and you’re going to sandwich me from two different directions. What I want you guys to do is to come in and make contact with me, but don’t really hit me and I will act like you creamed me and I will throw myself down.” Then they’d do a cut of me going back and hitting the ground and then a cut of those guys landing on me. And they would do that by being a foot above me and just falling on me. So, it was cut in pieces, but yeah, I got hit a couple of times. As far as professional football, it was nothing. But as far as an actor getting hit – I’m not accustomed to getting hit by two guys whose combined weight is about 500 or 600 pounds. But I was an athlete prior to being an actor so that was exciting for me. I enjoyed that. It was fun.

Standing on the 50-yard line

Charlie was our location manager. He was the location manager on “Legacy” and he does all the big movies and series over on the Eastern seaboard. I call him the first night I got into Baltimore and said, “Let’s get together.” I’d been there for a day. So, we had dinner at McCormick and Schmidt’s and after dinner we got in his car and he said, “Come on, I want to show you something.” We drove over to the stadium, which was completely dark. We went around to the back entrance and he flashed his badge to security and they let us in. We walked onto the field and out to the 50-yard line and stopped. He looked at me and said, “What do you think?” I looked around. I’m standing on the 50-yard line in the Ravens stadium, and you look at all those seats and it was overwhelming. I went, “Oh, now I know why these guys do this.” If you can imagine the stadium being full, and you’re playing football and you’re in a fishbowl and everyone’s screaming at you — it’s a lot like being a gladiator. I saw it and went, “I get it now.” That was real thrilling for me. That was one of those moments before we started doing the picture that I went, “Wow, this is going to be cool.”

The thrill of the crowd

I didn’t shoot the sequence when they actually had the crowd there for the football game, which they shot at halftime during one of the Ravens pre-season games. But when I did work they would have thousands of extras there. I remember the first scene they shot was where Martel comes back to play for the team. We were standing in the hallway and they announce me and I come running out. That was pretty cool. I’m like, “Wow, this would really jack you up.” But the fun thing was — they’d call and say, “You’re call is at 10:00 at night.” So, I’d show up and get dressed in my football uniform in the dressing room and then they’d get me in one of those football carts and drive me down to the stadium. And then I’d come running out onto the field from the tunnel. Just running out on the field was such a thrill. Like, when Keanu runs on the field at the end of the movie, where he comes back after they’ve thrown me into the equipment room — that whole feeling you get watching it, like the hero is running back on the field and everyone’s screaming his name. That’s kind of what it feels like, even though you’re just an actor running onto a field with a bunch of extras and other actors. It still feels very special. From an actor’s point of view, you immediately go into your imagination and think, “What if this was real?” So, I dug that a whole lot.

Larger than life on the JumboTron

When I was shooting the opening sequence where I slide and don’t go for the touchdown because it’s the last game before the strike — well, we were shooting that scene and they were doing stuff on the JumboTron — you know, that huge screen up on the stadium where they show you playing. They would do shots of me! (laughs). I’d be calling signals or be in the huddle and I’d look up and see that the camera was on me. I was like, “Oh my God!” It’s incredible! It’s bigger than a movie screen! It was thrilling!

While watching Gene Hackman work, what was the one thing about his talent that struck you the most?

One: his talent. Two: his professionalism. He is probably one of the most honest actors I’ve ever worked with. He’s one of the greatest actors of my generation. All I can do is watch him in awe on a certain level and on another level really appreciate the fact that I was getting the opportunity to be on the same playing field (no pun intended) with one of the great actors of my time. He was very generous and enjoyed the fact that whatever I brought to the table in a scene he embraced. Working with Mr. Hackman was an honor and a tremendous learning experience for me. The last night Gene was shooting I went to the set to watch him do this scene. It’s the scene he has with Keanu about him being nervous and being a duck on the water. I showed up and I walked over to the sound guys and said, “Can you give me headphones so I can listen to the scene?” They were off a ways and I’m over by the monitors and I put on headphones. I watched him do the master, the medium close-ups and then the close-ups. Watching him refine the scene in that period of time, from the wide shot to the medium shot to the extreme close-ups was really interesting. To watch him actually paint the large strokes and then the medium strokes and then get to the fine, intimate details of his performance was fascinating. He NEVER hit a false note — ever!

Being in acting school again

While I was there, some of the other guys came to pick up Orlando Jones because Orlando came to say goodbye to Gene since it was his last night. One of them said, “What are you doing here?” I said, “I came to watch Gene.” He said, “We’re going out to dinner. You want to go out to dinner?” I said, “No.” And He said, “Why not?” Watching Gene Hackman, Bobby Duvall, Robert DeNiro — they are another class of actors that there aren’t a lot of out there. I said, “This is my school. This is my training ground. I’d rather be here watching him and learning and trying to pick up some sort of idea of what it is this man does and how he does it and why he does it — than going out to dinner.”

Going to dinner with Gene Hackman

It was an honor and thrill to be around Gene and not only just work with him but to go out to dinner and have drinks and talk about his work. Sitting next to him at dinner, I was like a kid in a candy store. I had to hold myself back because I kept wanting to go, “Okay, alright. What about ‘Superman?’ What about the ‘The French Connection?’” I just wanted to ask him about every movie he’s ever made. When I got the nerve up to ask him about certain pictures, he was extremely forthright and extremely honest about what his feelings were. He didn’t hold back anything. So, that was a real thrill too.

Live or Memorex?

Mike Justice is the best stuntman. He is such a great double for me. He was my double in this movie. I hadn’t worked with him before. I’ve since worked with him again. He’s now doubling Travolta, too. He was the perfect double for me. We actually look similar. He’s more muscular than I am, obviously. But we have the same hair and you can’t really tell us apart. In the fight scenes, I did some of my own stuff. Like when Jon Favreau runs and tackles me in the bar — that was me. But when Jon takes me and slams me into the bar headfirst and then throws me into the glass case — that was Mike. But if you look at it, you can hardly tell. I mean, he’s such a perfect double that everyone who saw it went, “Wow, that was you!” And I’m like, “No, it wasn’t. That was my double.” He’s great. I’ve since become really good friends with Mike. We surf together occasionally and we try to keep in touch. I’ve been over to his house. He worked on the Martin Lawrence movie I did, “National Security.” He doubled me. We watched basketball over at his house afterwards. He’s a wonderful guy. His wife is a really well known stuntwoman. He’s a great guy and I was fortunate to run into him and I can’t wait work with him some more.

What was your take on the alluded-to relationship between Martel and Annabelle, the cheerleader?

There was a scene that got cut out of the movie where we alluded to a past relationship. I believe Martel probably — being the arrogant asshole that he was — had a relationship with most of the cheerleaders or tried to and maybe had a relationship with Annabelle that went south. Maybe he slept with her and then blew her off and then realized that she was the one that he shouldn’t have let get away. It was cut out of the movie but it was sort of alluded to that I cared about her. We did the scene where I tell Keanu that she deserves better. In my opinion, if there had been any kind of weakness in the script, it’s that they didn’t capitalize on that. Maybe they felt the animosity I had toward Falco was great enough already with the fact that he was taking my job. But there was such a personal animosity toward Falco from Martel’s point of view that I thought it could have been highlighted more — but he didn’t have the heart and soul and the leadership qualities that Falco had. He was a businessman and he cared more about taking care of himself and doing what he had to do and not really caring about the team. Falco became the leader of that team. So, some stuff got cut out. A feature film gives you a certain amount of time to tell a story and they had priorities. Their priorities were not creating a relationship between Martel and Annabelle. They touched on it and let it go and maybe realized once they were in the editing room that what they had didn’t pay off. But it’s what it was and I’m proud of it.

Having a safety net

I’m proud that Howie trusted me and as far as I’m concerned, Howie is one of my favorite directors I’ve worked with. I think he’s marvelous. He shoots a lot of film, but I think the reason he does that is because he wants to have options and he really likes actors. He likes to get what he thinks the scene is about, nail that and get those takes, and then he wants you to try something completely different to see what happens. So, it’s like you have this marvelous net you can fall into that gives you security that you’re not going to be laughed at. Or if it stinks, you know he’s not going to use it AND he’s more than willing to try to give you the opportunity to discover something new that may not be on the page.

On playing the bad guy

I’ve done it before. It’s actually quite fun. I did a movie called “Dead Solid Perfect,” where I played a real shallow fellow. But in this movie, we went to the press junket in New York and slipped into a screening of the movie in Times Square. Keanu and all of us went to the screening. I sat way in the back of the theater. It was packed. Rhys Ifans was down on the floor in front with his girlfriend. It was really cool to watch. It was interesting to hear people hiss and moan over stuff I did. I actually think that if they do that, you’ve done your job well. That’s what you’re hired to be. When Howie hired me he said, “I don’t want you to play this as a comedy.” I said, “I’m not.” One of the first days I talked to Gene I turned to him and said, “Can I ask you a question? You play a lot of bad guys. Do you have any advice? Or what do you think is the key to playing a really unsavory character like this?” He looked at me and he had a twinkle in his eye and he said, “Just enjoy it.” (laughs). So, I did. I tried to have fun being this sort of smarmy, obnoxious, arrogant professional athlete.

Was your family with you on the shoot?

This is the only time EVER I’ve gone on location and never brought them with me. I’ve gone on location for a couple of weeks and then flown them in, or had them come after a week or so — so I could get my feet grounded and get settled into a character. But this was the first time ever that I hadn’t had them with me at all. For the entire shoot, they never came to Baltimore. I’d finish a scene and they’d say, “Brett’s wrapped.” Howie would ask, “Well, when do you work next?” And I’d say, “I don’t work again for a week.” He’d turn to the production manager and say, “Fly Brett home.” Howie is married to actress Lea Thompson and they are really good friends of ours and he understood I wanted to be with my family. The worst it got was there was a period that I went an entire month without coming home, which drove me nuts. I felt like I had forgotten who Michelle and my daughter were. I was so desperate to see them and so very lonely.

What did you do when you weren’t working?

I hung out with Howie some, because we’re really good friends. I played a lot of golf. I spent a lot of time on the computer talking to you, Mare! (laughs). I had my laptop while I was there so I answered letters. Rhys Ifans and I hung out a lot, along with Bear, Gailord Sartain, Greg Goossen, David Denman and Greg Goosen, Gene’s stand-in. We hung out together a lot in the bar of the hotel. Greg even got cast as Drunk #2 in the movie so we spent a lot of time in that bar rehearsing (laughs). I spent a lot of time with the football players, too. I hung out with Keanu, Orlando Jones, Michael Jace. We’d go out and have dinner. Sarah and Caroline, the girls that played the two main cheerleaders, the strippers, would hang out with us. We would go to some clubs and dance and had fun. But a lot of time it would feel empty to me because I was not with my family. These waves of sadness would overwhelm me because I was missing my wife and daughter. But it was tough to be away from my family. So, whatever I did they were always in the back of my mind.

A moment to remember with Lyle Lovett

My favorite thing was one night we went to McCormick and Schmidt’s, which became my favorite restaurant there. I ate there all the time. We sat outside and across the boat slips there was an outdoor arena where Lyle Lovett was playing one night. We were outside with Favreau and the girls and we were all eating dinner and you could hear the concert clear as a bell. I picked up my cell phone and called Michelle in LA while he was playing one of my favorite songs. I said, “Hi, it’s me.” She said, “What are you doing?” I said, “I’m out to dinner with the cast, but I want you to hear something.” I held the cell phone up so she could hear the music and she said, “What is that?” I said, “It’s Lyle Lovett. He’s playing about 75 yards away from me and we’re having dinner outside and I can hear him.” My wife and I LOVE Lyle Lovett. So I wanted to share that with Michelle. It was very cool!

Did a “team” camaraderie occur with the actors and football players during filming?

Yes it did. Those guys, the replacement players — we became close. Bear and I got along really well even though he was on the other side. He would make me laugh. Faizon Love would make me laugh. We hung out sometimes. There was a camaraderie amongst all of us. I can’t tell you how many times I’d show up someplace and Allan Graf and Mark Ellis would be there and all the football players. They would be so excited. And then we’d all sit around and drink and we’d dance and we’d hang out and of course they would all be chasing girls. It was always just a lot of laughs and there was a lot of alcohol consumed. It was a lot of fun. These guys were really terrific. And, as it’s been the case over the years when I work, I tend to get really close to the crew or extras. And in this case, the guys that were playing football couldn’t really be called extras, because they were an integral part of the movie and without them, we didn’t have a film. They were really involved with us on a day-to-day level. They were there for everything. They were there in the dressing room; they were there when we’d get ready. We’d hang out with them all day and in between shots we’d be sitting on the field together. So, a camaraderie really did exist between all of us. It was fun to hang out with those guys.

Making friends and influencing people

I was shooting with the second unit and all these football players are really cool. So, we’re hanging out on the field and I said to them, “What time are y’all wrapping?” They said, “About 6:00 this evening.” So, I went to the teamsters and said, “Here’s a $100 bill. Can you go buy $100 worth of beer?” They did and I had it all iced down for team when they arrived and put it in the player’s locker room. So, they sat there and drank beer for three hours. The goodwill that THAT created — you know, because it’s getting toward the end of the movie and everyone’s exhausted, and all of a sudden, here’s someone doing something nice for them, which shows our appreciation for how much effort they put into the film. It’s important. Basically, actors are coddled. If I want a cup of coffee, it’s, “Okay, here’s a cup of coffee, Mr. Cullen.” If I need a Coke, it’s “Okay, we can get you a Coke. You need some aspirin? Let me get the medic over here.” Anything you need is at your beck and call when you’re on the set. And those guys, the football players, don’t get that sort of treatment at all. I think it’s important because these guys — who are really what you might call, if you’re thinking in terms of the Army, the grunts, or the Marines, who are on the front line — never say a word and just do their job. You’ve got to let them know that they’re important and that they are really appreciated.

Beer or dinner?

Dennis Quaid worked with most of these guys on “Any Given Sunday,” the movie that Oliver Stone directed. Dennis told me he took all his linemen out to Joe’s Stone Crabs in Miami. And these guys were telling me about it, (laughs) and I said, “Well, Dennis makes a lot more money than I do, so I’ll just buy you beer.” (laughs).

What was your favorite scene to act in and why?

It would have to be the scene with Gene. Any time I worked with Gene was great. My favorite scene would have to be the scene in the dressing room at half time when I come back. That and also the stuff I got to do with the second unit, because that was all improvisational. It was just really great and exciting. It all came from me so I was constantly trying to think of things to say and asking other people for ideas. I got a lot of help! (laughs) So, it was really cool. But truly, any scene I got to do with Gene Hackman was a favorite because I got to work with such an incredible actor.

Martel’s quick exit

In the original script they threw me into the equipment room and locked me in. They had Gene Hackman coming in and asking, “Where’s Martel?” And they’re all, “We don’t know, Coach, we don’t know.” It became more of a confrontation between me and the players instead of me and Coach McGinty, so they rewrote that. They had to take that sequence out. But I got thrown in there and they shot a scene where I tear the equipment room up because I’m so pissed off that they’ve locked me in there. You see a professional athlete tantrum. I knock everything off the shelves. There’s a TV in there, up in the corner, and I watch the game. They show Falco running on the field and kissing Annabelle and they show my reaction to that. Then they showed me watching him make the touchdown and win the game. I said to Howie, “If they win, that means they are in the playoffs and this is their last game and we’re all coming back. So, we’re in the playoffs and I’d be excited.” So, we shot it where you see a slight smile cross my face. He had to love the fact that this guy led the team and won. He has a certain respect for Falco and that was what that smile was about. It’d be like, “Damn, he did it.” Remembering what it was that made him play the game in the first place. But, all that got cut.

Were there any other scenes of yours that didn’t make it in?

In the beginning of the movie, after the slide that I did, there was a scene we did underneath the stadium. Annabelle comes walking up and she and I had a flirtation and she sort of puts me in my place because I’m like, “Come on, baby, let’s go do something,” and she shuts me down. That got cut out. But that’s the nature of the business. The amount of stuff I’ve shot over the years that never ended up in movies is astronomical, as every actor has stories about that happening. I’ve been in movies that I was completely cut out of. But I can’t complain. I was very happy with what Howie used of me and how he used me in the film and I thought he did me proud. I thought it was a strong performance and he made me look good, from a bad guy standpoint.

Explain how you ended up sporting a soul patch for this movie

When I got the part I had a soul patch. I showed up, did the training for two weeks and I said to Howie, “Should I cut this off?” He said, “You know, I kind of like it.” I’d seen Brett Favre and different football players, and they all have something that’s real distinctive about them. Some have sideburns, some goatees. So, I thought this would be interesting. When Howie said, “Keep it,” I said, “Okay, I’m going to go with this.” I thought it was fine. I didn’t think it was anything to get excited about. I just shaved my soul patch off the other day. I turned to Michelle afterwards and said, “Do I look younger without it?” She said, “Yes.” And I went, “Oh, okay, thanks.” (laughs). I normally have one. When I’m not working, I grow it. It’s sort of my way of being rebellious and “surferesque.” (laughs). So, that’s how it came about.

The acting process versus the finished product

When you work on a film, you hope it’s successful and you hope that people go see it. But the truth is — and I’ve learned this over the years from older actors whom I’ve worked with like Jean Simmons and Barbara Stanwyck — they didn’t really care about the finished product. They generally didn’t see their films. What they cared about was the process and the actual working on the job. Once an actor finishes his day, or his work on a film, it’s really taken out of his hands. Between editing, the editor’s cut, the producer’s cut — everyone has a say in what they want. The truth is, you can’t control it. So, all you can do is to remember and enjoy the process you went through on the set with the director and getting the creative juices pumping so you can deliver something that’s interesting. That is fulfilling. That is exciting. It’s also fulfilling to watch a film once it’s done and see how they’ve taken a very large canvas with a great deal of paintings on it and cut it down to one picture. Generally when you shoot a movie, unless you have a director who knows exactly what his cuts are from the get-go, you have more than one film there. When shooting “Pretty Woman,” Julia Roberts told me, “We had three films.” There were three movies there and he cut it into one. The process of making a film is just that — a process. You have to enjoy every minute of it. Once you’re done, your performance is taken out of your hands and you can’t worry about it.

So, did you get to ride in Martel’s Porsche at all?

Well, yeah…they gave it to me. I still have it. It’s out in front of my house. They did, really. It’s my car (laughs). No, I never drove the Porsche. And the funny thing is — the other night I went to see Monday Night Football with a friend of mine. My friend David, who lives half a block from me, drives a Porsche and he said, “I’ll give you a ride home.” We got out of the house, got in the car and I couldn’t believe how small this car is. I couldn’t fit in it. I’m too big for those cars. I would never own a Porsche. Not because it’s not a good car, but because I’m a little over 6′2″ and I feel squashed in it. But no, I never got to ride in Martel’s Porsche.

Closing remarks

To me, the film itself was really good. I adore Howie Deutch. I think he’s a wonderful director and I would love to work with him again. He’s also a very good friend who’s given me opportunities that I’m very thankful for. He’s a very cool guy. Keanu was a great guy. I really like Keanu Reeves. He’s a very special man and a very smart guy, which I don’t think most people give him credit for. It was a wonderful experience. So, there you go.

On his character Jamie Johnson…

Jamie’s background was that he had been recently divorced. In his divorce settlement he had to sell all his horses, including his prize winning horse, which is the one Robert Duvall rides in the movie. The deal was that he bought all my horses, but I had to come and train him. That’s what brought my character there. There was actually a scene that got cut in half, where I talk about having met her before. That set up the fact that we had known each other and I was sort of attracted to her. In fact, there was a scene where she walked away and she said, “Did we ever dance?” And I went, “No,” and we smiled at each other. That was in the original script but I don’t think that it ended up in the movie. So, that’s what brought Jamie there. Robert Duvall’s character had bought my stable. But the deal breaker was that he had to bring me along as a trainer for the horse.

Playing a Good Guy…

Jamie was a man who had principles and who was very attracted to and cared about Julia’s character and, as you saw in the movie, he didn’t want to be a one-night stand. But that’s why I think people liked him, because he had principles and had a sense of honor and integrity. He was like, “I want to do this, but I want to do it for the right reasons.”

How he landed the role…

When I read the script, I really loved it and wanted to get in on it, but I couldn’t get an audition. Dennis had called me from where he was shooting some movie and I told him I had tried to get in, but the casting agent didn’t think I was right for the part. And he said, “You mean you wanted to read for Jamie? You’re perfect for that role!” And I said, “I know, but they won’t see me.” And he said, “Whoever does this part needs to be someone that I actually believe would take my wife away from me, and you’re perfect for this.” So he said, “Well, I’m going to call them.” So, he called Callie Khouri and the producer, Paula Weinstein, and my agent called me the next day and told me I had an audition the next day. Well, I was on the “Apollo 13″ set, and I went to Ron Howard and told him the deal and he said he could rearrange the schedule to get me out of there by 11:30 to make the 12:00 audition. He said, “If we’re running late, I’ll call the director and tell him it’s my fault that you’re running late.” And I thought that was very kind and gracious of Ron. So I went and read for it and they liked me and they wanted to see me on Saturday and I went to the hotel where the director was staying and he taped me, because I guess Julia wanted to see what I looked like, and I got the okay, and I got the part. And I’ve always been thankful to Mr. Quaid for making that call.

On working with Julia Roberts…

Who wouldn’t love getting paid a lot of money to make out with Julia Roberts? (laughs). I had always had a big crush on her, ever since I saw her in “Mystic Pizza.” I think she’s a beautiful woman, and obviously a really big star. And then when I got to meet her, she was really down to earth. My impression of Julia is that she’s a movie star but underneath all that, she’s just a really fun Georgia girl. She’s from the South and we used to have a lot of fun; dinner and dancing. A whole bunch of us would go out together. It was a great role and basically throughout the whole movie I got to work with Julia and Robert Duvall and a little bit of Kyra Sedgwick. Julia is a doll. I mean, who wouldn’t love the opportunity to make out with her? (laughs).

Getting to work with Dennis…

It wasn’t actually the first film we had done together. We had done a scene together in “Wyatt Earp” that ended up being cut out of the movie. That was the first time Dennis and I had worked together, after all the years we had known each other. That was cool. I was only in Santa Fe for about five days on “Wyatt Earp,” but when I got to do “Something to Talk About,” Dennis and I, and eventually my wife Michelle, who was pregnant at the time, all got to hang out. We were in Beaufort, South Carolina for three and a half months, and then we went to Savannah, Georgia and we had a great time. It was really fun to watch Dennis work. It was like being at home. Being with family. He’s like a brother. So that was great. And, of course, I constantly remind him that everyone I talk to thinks that Julia should have gone with me instead of him. And he doesn’t respond much. He just gives me the evil eye. His reaction to it was, “I read the script, and I get the girl.” And he did. (laughs).

On being cast as the “heartthrob”…

The concept of being a heartthrob doesn’t really enter the picture when you take a part, at least in my mind. I mean, my physical attributes are what they are. I can’t really do anything about them, unless I have surgery or something to better the way I look or to make my nose smaller, or whatever you don’t like about your face or your body. But what I always look at is what the role means and how it fits into the whole movie. So, that doesn’t ever enter my mind. However, what did enter my mind was that I knew I was going to have to do that scene with Julia. It was written that we were going to be taking our shirts off, and I was like, “Oh God, I have love handles!” (laughs). So, I was running five miles a day so I would at least look physically appealing when I had to do that. Then I never had to take my shirt off. We never got that far. And because of the way they had us dressed, I had a t-shirt and a shirt on, so I was wearing two shirts. And we did it once where I ripped my shirt off and Lasse, the director, said, (using Swedish accent) “No, no, it looks like you are trying to rape her.” (laughs). He said, “Just leave your shirt on and we’ll just go from there.” So, I tried to stay in shape and did some abdominal work instead of being a beer guzzler, like I like to be. (laughs).

On playing the romantic lead…

The majority of my career, except for the occasional bad guy I get to play, I’m playing one of the romantic leads. And when doing so, in my mind, it’s more about the internal mechanism that you find for the character. The inner monologue, or the motivations of that particular character, is what I find the challenging thing. If it’s a well-written script, you really don’t concern yourself with “God, I have to look like a heartthrob, or I have to act like a heartthrob.” Basically, you’re playing a man, whether he’s fat, short, tall…who’s in love…or falls in love. It’s about how you play that, so that it’s real.

On being around horses…

As a child, I was given the opportunity to take riding lessons. That was my first introduction to horses. And then I didn’t really ride much as a kid. I grew up in Texas, on the Gulf Coast, and I did a lot of surfing. I didn’t care too much for cowboys. And then when I moved to California in ‘79, I got my first series, which was called “The Chisholms.” And I had to ride. So they took me out to this ranch and put me on a horse and said, “Here ya go.” And I started bouncing around on the horse because I didn’t know what I was doing, and this old cowboy came out and walked up to me on his horse and said, “C’Mon, let’s just talk and walk around the arena.” And we started doing that, and then after about three circles around the arena he said, “You look like you know how to ride now!” It was because I had relaxed and was talking to him about stuff and wasn’t thinking about what I had to do. And basically, I guess from that experience, I started really trying to look like I knew how to ride and focused on it, and practiced. Every chance I got I would get on a horse and ride around the set, and it really paid off.

On his horse, Serena…

Then, through the years, I had “The Thorn Birds” where I had to ride, and then “The Young Riders” was really paramount to my education. I was one of the guys that did know how to ride on that, and I had a horse, too, Serena. A friend of mine was going to get rid of this Arab he had, this Polish Arab. He was going to give it away, so I took the horse and we ended up sharing the horse and keeping it up at a friend’s ranch up in Malibu. I used to go ride two or three times a week. Then when I got “The Young Riders,” we ended up giving the horse to Alan Thicke. He has a ranch up in Santa Barbara. And that’s where she is now.

On becoming a team roper…

I started riding all the time in Tucson during “The Young Riders” and got to be really good friends with all the wranglers. They started teaching me how to rope. First, I would rope people’s feet walking around and then finally, they took me out to this arena. I got invited to this Ben Johnson’s Celebrity Roping, and I said I’d go, and I didn’t know what I was doing, so the guys took me out to the arena and had me start roping a burro’s legs. Eventually I got around where I could do that and then I got serious and started roping. And that’s how I got into the team roping. I’m very comfortable around horses. I love horses. I think they are very smart. I just love being outdoors and being around the animal. It also goes back to a time in our country’s history that was really exciting. You rode a horse to live. And when you’re doing a western, you sort of fall into that sense of history.

On how often he rides……

How often do I ride now? Not very often! (laughs). I live in Venice Beach, so there’s not a lot of horses around here. Then with “Legacy,” it was about horses. My children and my horses. That was great. I was one of the actors the wranglers trusted. They let me get on a horse and ride away because they knew I knew what I was doing.

On acting opposite Robert Duvall…

In the career that I have had, I’ve had the opportunity to work with some really fine actors, Duvall obviously being one of them. He’s challenging. Initially he challenged me when we first started working together, and I held my own with him and from that point forward he respected me and he liked me a lot. We got along really well. He’s not the sort of actor that discusses the work and discusses each take. But you know when it’s on and you know when he’s happy. And he liked the fact that I held my ground with him. It was an actual joy and a real honor to be able to work with, I think, one of the top five actors of our generation. He’s amazing. What’s interesting about Duvall, though, is when you work with him; sometimes he would do stuff with me and I would think, “God, that seemed really intense.” And then I’d go to dailies and see the footage, and he has a softness to him, a vulnerability, that you don’t see in person. The camera captures it. I always thought that was really interesting about him. He’s a wonderful guy and I really enjoyed being around him. I’d love to work with him again.

On what he did in South Carolina when he wasn’t working…

I did a lot of golfing (laughs). And I ran every day about five miles, seven days a week. And at night, there were a lot of times when there would be parties we would have, or several times we would all go out to dinner. It was a small town, Beaufort, and we would all run into each other. There were only so many places to go to and there were some nights that Julia and her friends and me and some other people would hook up or we’d have dinner and then go have drinks and she’d go, “I want to go country dancing!” There was a marine country bar not far from Paris Island down the road. So, there we were, two-stepping with Julia Roberts. It was great, because no one really bothered her.

Running out the back door with Julia…

We would always have one of her bodyguards with us. They were all CIA, First Division Rangers, ex-soldiers…pretty tough guys. So, one night we were there and it got pretty rowdy and her bodyguard was getting a little nervous. And I got to be pretty good friends with those guys and I was like, “What’s the matter?” And he said, “I’m a little nervous.” And I was like, “Well, what do you want to do?” And he said, “Well, if anything happens, I’ll take care of the fight and you grab Julia and run out the back door.” (laughs). So, that was what we planned to do. It was funny.

Like being with family…

Meg came into town and she and Dennis rented a house at Hilton Head on the ocean. And there was a period where I didn’t have to work for about seven days and Michelle joined me after Christmas and we went and stayed with them. We would run on the beach and Dennis and I would play golf and go to dinner. It was really nice. Being with a bunch of friends and getting paid for it.

On scenes cut from the movie…

There were two scenes that were cut. One was that scene on the porch where she and I talk about my divorce. They re-wrote that and it’s a much shorter scene. I think if they had kept that scene in, it would have given more weight to our relationship. They also cut most of the scene out at the end when she and I are out by my truck and Dennis sees us hugging. There was a really nice scene there that they cut down quite a bit. It was a couple of days after Julia and I almost sleep together and I’m saying goodbye because Duvall gives me my horse back and says, “Bring her back next year.” I’m going away with my horse and she’s like, “I’ll see you.” And it was one of those uncomfortable moments, with them kind of saying goodbye.

Choosing Jamie over Eddie…

I think what they were finding was that…Dennis played such a cad in the movie, and you don’t really want them to get back together and you can kind of see this new relationship happening and it could be a really cool, healthy one. I think the film makers were concerned it might be too much, so they tried to cut down the scene. They might have been worried it would have overshadowed your wish to see her and her husband get back together for her sake, and for their daughter’s sake. It had nothing to do with the actors, but with the story itself. That’s what they chose to focus on more than putting the hope there that she and I could make things work out later.

The horse scenes were cut too…

They also cut a lot of the actual horse stuff out, like the jumping contest. People go to see the movie and they don’t really give a damn about watching the tournament. It’s not like, “Who’s gonna win? Who’s gonna win?” (laughs). It’s not about that. It’s about the people. So they cut around that and made it more streamline. Some friends of mine that were in the jumping horse “world” were disappointed in the way they depicted the horse jumping. They said it wasn’t truthful. And we actually did shoot all of that, but the movie wasn’t about horse jumping. It was about the relationships and what those people were doing at the horse jumping. So that was another thing they chose to do and I think that was the right decision.

I see dead people…

I’ll tell you a funny thing that happened to me. I rented this house right on the river. And it was this beautiful, two-story ancient house with three century oaks on it. Two acres, beautiful dock, right on the water…and the house was haunted. (laughs). The first night I was there, I had some cocktails, I played my guitar, and I went to bed. It was all rental furniture I had gotten because it was an empty house and I had those kind of lamps where you just put your fingers near the turn off switch and it goes off from the heat. So, I turned both of them off, went upstairs, and went to sleep. Got up in the morning, came down to make coffee and looked in to see both lamps were on. And I was like, “Well, that’s weird. I know I turned those off…but…who knows, maybe I had too much to drink.” So, then two nights later it’s the night before I’m going to start working. I have to be up at 5:30 in the morning. So, I’m laying there in bed, I go to sleep, and at 2:00 o’clock on the dot I wake up in a cold sweat, and I have this anxiety. Something feels different to me and then I start hearing these footsteps downstairs. So, I get up and I turn on the lights and walk all around the house and there’s nothing there. So, I go back to bed. 3:00 o’clock. Boom! Same thing. An hour later I wake up. Cold sweat, my heart’s palpitating, and this anxiety. I’m like, “What the hell?” And I hear the footsteps again. I go downstairs, look outside on the sun porch, this covered, screened in porch, and there’s nobody there. I thought maybe it was a homeless guy outside. I didn’t know who it was. Nobody there. Go back to bed. 4:00 o’clock. Same thing. At this point, I’m convinced there’s a ghost in the house. And I was so pissed off because I had to be up in an hour and a half. And I went, (yelling) “Dammit! I gotta go to sleep and get to work in the morning! Now leave me alone!!!” And I slammed my bedroom door and went back to sleep and slept until 5:30 and went to work! (laughs).

I see more dead people…

Three or four days later, it’s sprinkling outside and I’m laying in bed at 10:00 at night. I had to get up early the next morning. Now, there were two bedrooms that I didn’t furnish. And there was a hall closet between the two bedrooms and if you walked through it, you would get this chill up your neck. It was just so creepy. It was like something was there. And I just closed those two rooms off. I never went in there. They scared the daylights out of me. So, anyway, I’m laying in bed that night, reading a book, and all of a sudden I could hear a woman’s voice. It was distant. You couldn’t actually hear what she was saying. So, I get up and walk around and I look outside and I think, “Well, maybe it’s coming from the next house over.” It’s dark and raining and there’s no one outside and I’m two acres away from another house. So, I go back upstairs and sit down and start reading again and I keep hearing it and I realize that there’s just a woman ghost living in this house.

Getting rid of the ghosts…

So, I’ve been telling my hair and makeup people the story about what’s been going on and there was a guy named Benny. He was this old black man that was one of the stable guys. A really great guy, Benny. He drove a limo on one of the islands out there in the Outer Banks. And Benny had a voice like this (using raspy voice). And I’m telling the story to the girls that do my makeup. And the hair girl had given me some sage and said to burn it and blow it out, so it’s smoking, and to go into each room and face North, South, East and West and say, “In the name of Jesus Christ, be gone.” So, I did that to the whole house. (laughs). Except for the attic, because I didn’t want to go up there. Because there were no lights. During the day it was okay, but during the night…so I’m telling Benny this story and he says (using raspy voice) “You got yourself a ghost living in tha’ house.” And I said, “Yes sir.” And he said, “I can take care a’ that fo’ ya!” And I said, “How can you do that?” And he said, “You got any rock and roll music?” And I said, “Yes sir, I do.” And he said, “You got any James Brown? Papa Got a Brand New Bag?” And I actually had that CD and he said, “Alright, I want you to play that song, one time, really loud. And I want you to dance.” And I said, “Okay, and then what?” And he said, “Then I want you to play it again, and I want you to dance really hard.” And I said, “Okay, then what?” He goes, “I want you to play it a third time really loud and I want you to really dance really really hard!” And I said, “Okay, and then what?” And he said, “Then you’ll be so damn tired you’ll go to sleep and the ghost won’t bother ya!” (laughs). He just laughed real loud and I was like, “Thank you, Benny.”

Unwanted guests at parties…

If you’re shooting nights, you shoot from 4:00 or 5:00 in the evening until dawn. And you sleep during the day. Well, if you shoot nights for the entire week, you shoot Saturday until Sunday morning and then you go to bed and have Sunday and Sunday night off. Then you go back to work on Monday. So, on Sunday, we all want to stay up because we want to stay on that schedule. Otherwise you’re going to be exhausted on Monday. So, I used to have these big beer parties. I’d get 10 cases of beer and invite all the townfolk and we’d hang out. Anyway, there was this one guy on the crew that was having a thing with one of the local girls, and she was at the party, because I invited everybody. I saw them go upstairs. And I thought, “Oh my God, he’s taking her up into my room.” And they were stumbling drunk. Well, they came down three or four minutes later and she’s white as a sheet and sober as a church mouse. She walked up to me and said, “Your house is haunted. I’ve lived in this town my whole life and I’ve had dreams about this house. Can I come back tomorrow?” I said, “Fine.”

Going into the attic…

Well, she comes back the next day, because we don’t go to work until 4:00 in the evening. She came on her lunch hour about 12:30, and I was just waking up and having coffee. We went up into the attic and I showed her the closet and she said, “Oh my God, my whole life I’ve had dreams about this house.” See, this house is like a historical landmark, it has this big wooden thing outside that describes the house. She said when she was a young girl she’d have dreams where she’d be riding by the house on her bicycle and she’d look up and at the attic window, she’d always see this woman looking down at her. So we went up there and the weird thing was the only thing up there was a fainting couch and it was right by that window. That was kind of scary. But I was fine with it. She never bothered me or seemed threatening.

A visitor in the night…

Well, when Michelle showed up, the first night she was there, we went to Charleston and had New Year’s Eve with Meat and his wife, and then we drove down on the first and went to the house. Well, you know what palmetto bugs are? Those big roaches? I had never seen any of those bugs in the house the entire time I was there. We went to bed that night and go to sleep. I have to get up at about 5:30. Well, about 3:30 in the morning, Michelle starts screaming her bloody head off and jumps out of bed. She’s screaming, “It’s in the bed!” And I’m thinking, “What the hell is going on?” I flip the light on and she’s standing there pointing at the bed and I pulled the sheets back and there’s this huge palmetto bug. She was sleeping, having a dream. She dreamt there was this bug that was on her forehead. It crawled down her nose to her chin. Then it jumped off her chin and onto her chest. She was dreaming and thinking, “This is really weird.” Then at that point she realized she wasn’t dreaming and there really was something on her chest. That’s when she woke up screaming. Well, I never saw any palmetto bugs in this house and there was nowhere for it to come from above. Michelle was convinced that the ghost had taken the palmetto bug and put it on her. After that, Michelle wouldn’t stay in the house. If I had to go to work at 5:30 in the morning, she’d get up with me at 5:30 and would get in the car, we’d go to the set and she’d sleep in my trailer. She was scared to death of the place.

Like going to school…

Watching Gena Rowlands and Bobby Duvall work was amazing. You know the scene where Gena Rowlands locked him out of the house and she’s drunk? It was just mind-blowing watching those two giants work together. Just incredible. I would just go to see these two people work. It was so amazing. For an actor like me to get an opportunity to get to work with such extremely talented people like that…if you’re smart and you take advantage of it, it’s like going to school. Being able to go to the set and watch DeNiro, Duvall, Gene Rowlands, or any number of great actors, like Gene Hackman or Dustin Hoffman, and see how they work their craft. It’s an education, and most actors don’t take advantage of it and I did. I was really pleased to get that opportunity.

Wrapping it up…

I had a blast doing the movie. I think it’s a really funny movie and it was a wonderful opportunity for me to work with Dennis and Julia. And to get to work with Bobby Duvall, and Gena Rowlands, whom I think are two of the greatest actors alive. And Kyra Sedgwick, who practically steals the movie. Lasse Hallstrom is a wonderful director. I would love to work with him again. It was a real treat. Everybody was just terrific. So, that’s my take on “Something to Talk About!”

How he got the role…

I heard about the project through the grapevine and got my agent to get me an appointment, which of course, they said was difficult. They finally said, “Would you go do a pre-read for the casting directors?” and I said, “Of course I will,” and I did and they put me on tape and I read for Ron Howard and talked to him for a while and next thing I know I was told I had a part; that I would be one of the CAPCOMs. Then another actor decided that the role of CAPCOM 1 (I was going to be CAPCOM 2) wasn’t big enough for him, so he passed on the project, and so Ron said, “Let’s give that to Brett.” So that’s how that part came up and I actually thought it was going to be pretty much a voice, not a personality or character. I thought it was mostly going to be about the guys in space. To my delight, it turned out to be quite a wonderful part. It was basically the story about the men on the ground and the men in space and how they worked together to bring them home. So that’s how it happened.

In preparing for your role, did you listen to the actual exchange between the CAPCOM and the astronauts?

Yes, we listened to the tapes, and we had a two-week Mission Control school we went through. I had the actual Ground-to-Air Manual that had all the dialogue for the entire mission given to me. Yeah, it was necessary to hear how the men sounded, even though it was filtered through thousands of miles of space, but you wanted to hear what tension was in their voice or what kind of emotional state they might be in, or whether you could hear that in their voices. Then I also spent about two hours on the phone with the actual CAPCOM, Jack Lousma, about what they were experiencing. We created a fictional name for CAPCOM Andy. But there was a real astronaut. He was a wonderful guy. The CAPCOMs, traditionally, were the backup crews to that mission. They probably had been locked on to another mission that they would be the primary astronauts on, but they also had backup crews for everything. So they were the backup crew in case something went wrong with Jim Lovell. He was one of the guys that would have gone up.

About those colored knit shirts…

That’s what astronauts wore in those days. CAPCOMs are astronauts. The other guys were Mission Control technicians. That’s just generally what they wore. I stuck out because of all the beautiful colors that I chose! Yellow, minty green (laughs). They initially had me in a shirt and tie and I said, “Wait a minute,” and Dave Scott or one of the technical advisors said, “These guys were astronauts,” so the costumer went and yanked us out of our white shirts and ties and put us in the astronaut shirts. Rita Ryack, who was the costumer designer, was amazing. She goes, “No one will wear this shirt. It’s powder baby blue.” And I went, “I will!” She said, “You will?” And I said, “Sure!” (laughs) I think costumes are a great element to a character. And if you can get away with doing something really wild, why not? It gives you a little bit more character.

On talking into a headset versus to other actors…

Well, actually, I didn’t just speak into a headset. All the other guys in Mission Control were on a loop, so everyone could hear everyone else. So they could hear me. And also, I think it was because of Ed Harris’ schedule, we shot all the Mission Control stuff first, before they shot anything else, and that was like, five weeks of shooting and Tom and Bill and Kevin basically came to the set every day and were there for us in another room with headsets on. They would do their dialogue for us. We couldn’t see sometimes, things they would do up on the screen, things we were supposed to be looking at, like images on the Mission Control screen. We didn’t necessarily always see the stuff that was supposed to be there. But at least we had the actors. They were committed to the movie and that’s how great Tom and Bill and Kevin were. They’d show up and do their dialogue for us and be there for us emotionally.

So that was really special in the sense that everyone was really committed to the ensemble of the piece. No one was like, “Hey I’m the star, I don’t have to be there, I’m not getting paid yet.” When I finished shooting, I told Ron Howard that I would come in and do the CAPCOM voice stuff with the astronauts. And he said that he really appreciated that. And I went through, I guess, about three or four days, and he pulled me aside and said, “Brett, listen, there are a lot of guys that I hired that didn’t get to do much on the movie and they would really like to do this too, and would you mind?” And I said, “Hell, no.” So I did three or four days and then another actor would come in and do Mission Control voices and do my dialogue and whatnot and everyone felt like they were a part of something. Everyone was involved and that was one of the reasons why I think the process was so special and made the movie so special. Our two technical advisers, the two Jerrys, I called them, Jerry Bostick and Jerry Griffin, they were there and I remember at one point, Ed Harris pulling Jerry aside and saying, “Listen, I want you to describe to all of us what happened at this moment emotionally for all you guys. What the feeling was.” Then he would, and Ron would say, “Okay, let’s roll.” So we all had a story told to us about what was going on emotionally in their lives and then we would do the scene. One particular moment was when they landed. When you see, all of a sudden, the parachute opens and you know they made it through the atmosphere. And they all start cheering.

On recreating history…

The two Jerrys that were there…they were actually there in Mission Control on this mission. Because of their presence, it made it very real to a lot of us. And because the production designer and the set designer and the art directors worked so diligently on trying to recreate exactly what Mission Control looked like in those days to the point that Jerry would say, “I’ll be right back, Brett, I’ve got to go get a cup of coffee,” and he would walk over to a door and he’d start to open it and I go, “Where are you going?” And he’d say, “Ah, man, that used to be where coffee was in Mission Control.” And I’d say, “That’s Outside Stage,” (laughs) and he’d say, “I know, I know, I’ll go to Craft Services.” We had Dave Scott there, who was a real astronaut, and Jim Lovell visited a few times. Also, because I grew up in Houston, I was sort of weaned on NASA and the Apollo stuff. I know my brother was really involved with it and I was aware of it, so it seemed very real to me and like something I lived through before and wasn’t hard to recreate. The secret is to recreate it based on that character’s history and emotional past and what they’ve gone through.

On the mental state of astronauts…

That was one of the things that the real CAPCOM, Jack Lousma, said. When I talked to him, I said, “You know, come on, these guys…you’ve trained with for this mission…you were the backup crew and now they are lost in space, basically, and you’re the guy talking to them, and wasn’t there ever a moment where you just put your head in your hands and just cried or went out to your car and kicked your tires and screamed to the Heavens going, Why now? Why are you doing this to my friends? Like, a breakdown, or an emotional catharsis of some sort?” And he said, “No, we were all fighter pilots and we trained and flew jets and when you’re flying jets, the personality of generally most the pilots is, ‘You’ve got a problem? Let’s solve the problem.’ You don’t solve the problem…inevitably you push Eject.” He said, “That’s why we make good astronauts. We don’t panic. We don’t get totally wrapped up emotionally. We’re trying to figure out the physics and how we fix the situation.” And he said, “You’re an actor. And you’re going to play this probably a helluva lot more interesting then what I did in the first place because it wasn’t that interesting for me. It was really me doing my job, trying to figure out how to get these guys back. That was my goal. Period.”

What do you attribute to the success of maintaining the intensity in a story where everyone knows the ending?

Ron Howard’s film making. I had really dear, dear friends that said they didn’t want to see the movie. “I don’t want to see this movie, I know the ending, blah blah blah,” they said, and I said, “C’mon, man, see my movie. I’m in this picture. It’s a really cool movie.” And they go see it and call me up and go, “You know, I gotta tell ya, I sat on the edge of my seat, knowing that these guys survive, waiting for them to come through the atmosphere, to see that parachute open…” I mean, a friend of mine who worked on the movie didn’t want to see it and went and saw it and said, “I cried and cheered when the parachute opened. It’s amazing.” And I said, “Yeah, it’s the film making that makes it special.” It was Ron’s take on the whole thing, I think, that made it jump to life and made you care. One of the other things that made it work also is that even though we know the story, no one knew really what happened, how we got them back. It was a joint effort, and in the movie you realize that.

Shooting from the hip…

There was a line in the movie, that Ed Harris has, where he says, “I believe this will be our finest hour.” Missions in space are mapped out and there is a check list for every situation. “If this happens, this is what we have to do.” There was no check list. There was nothing they could do, and they had to figure out how to get these guys back without power, with lack of oxygen and I think they were even low on water and they had to throw the book out and start at ground zero and say, “How do we get these guys back with this information? This is what we have. We won’t have the power to get them here or won’t have the guidance systems.” Man’s ingenuity, his mind and intelligence brought these men back. And the courage of those three astronauts got them back. Computers assisted in trying to figure out certain data, but basically, it was men that pulled together and figured out a way, improvisationally, to get these guys back. Shooting from the hip, without any kind of prior testing. That’s what made the movie special and that’s what made the movie work. Because we didn’t know that, as laymen of the NASA world. We didn’t know what made this work and how they got these guys back. We thought, “Okay, they did that and they did this.” But this movie shows you bit by bit, how they did stuff.

Doing his homework…

Ron Howard was really great. He would come up to me and say, “Tonight, when we wrap, look at the Ground-to-Air Manual.” And he would ask me to look up particular problems they had and bring him some of the more interesting stuff. So I go home that night and look at the Ground-to-Air Manual and I pull up three pages. I’d write out dialogue…stuff that I thought was interesting, and I’d hand it to him and he’d read it and go, “That’s not good. This is good, this is good, that’s not good…okay, great.” And I go, “What do we do?” and he said, “We’re going to shoot that in 20 minutes.” And I go, “Ron, I can’t learn all this technical data in twenty minutes.” And he said, “Well, do what you can.” So I would sit there with a piece of paper and do mathematical equations and then write a line of dialogue and then another line of equations…so I had dialogue written everywhere (laughs) and then he’d roll. And the way you talk to these guys, they’d talk back and you’d say, “Okay, uh, 13….” and you’re not really looking at anyone…you’re thinking or looking at your own screen in front of you and I could have stuff written there. So I’d get my dialogue that way. We had the benefit of the actual Ground-to-Air Manual, which was really helpful. And also, Ron’s editing expertise in terms of what worked and what didn’t. That all became vital to the success of the picture.

Working with “the guys”…

We’d play poker in between takes. That was fun, but sometimes we would stay on the headphones and talk about what kind of cars we drove or whatnot…there was a funny instance once, when one of the actors said, “Yeah, I drive a Beemer, I drive this, I drive that,” and someone asked Tom Hanks, cos he was on the loop with us. “Tom, what do you drive? A Mercedes? What do you drive?” Because, you know, we all know how successful he is and how much money he has. And he goes, “I drive a van! Do you have three kids? You gotta drive a van!” (laughs) I mean, that’s just classic Tom Hanks. But, the poker games were fun. I didn’t play that much, though. I’m not a huge gambler. I’m too Irish (laughs).

Would he have gone up in the Vomit Comit?

Yes. I went to Houston, actually, for my high school reunion while they were shooting on the Vomit Comit. I went down there with the publicist, who was one of my best friends, Andy Lipschultz, and we played golf out at the Woodlands and I said, “Can I get up there?” And he said, “No, there’s no way they’re going to let you. They hardly have room for Ron and the camera.” There’s just no room. They do twenty-five runs in the morning and twenty-five runs in the afternoon. They do G-Force pulls over the Gulf of Mexico and go straight up and then go down and you have twenty-five seconds to get whatever footage you can. So they pull out of it and reset and do it again. I’ve done it before in a friend of mine’s private jet. He flew us up in northern California and the pilot, who used to be with Western Airlines, said, “Hey you want to do a G-pull?” And I said, “What’s that?” He said, “Push off your seat and do a somersault.” He went straight up and then went straight down. You lose gravity. When you’re falling, you rise out of your seat. But the stupid thing was, the guy who owned the jet has vodka and bourbon and all this stuff in bottles in the back in those crystal things with little tops that lift off…well they all lifted off and spilled (laughs) and we left it to the pilot to explain that to the owner. So yeah, I did a somersault, or part of one. It was pretty cool. But it was weird having no gravity.

On co-starring with his wife…

“Apollo 13″ was a coincidence. Ron hired both of us separately. It was upsetting to me because I remember, when I got hired, Michelle hadn’t gotten hired yet and she was devastated. And then two or three days later she got the call and she got the part too. She actually worked longer on it than I did, in terms of weeks and stuff. But the movie is more about the men in the capsule. And the men on the ground. Jim Lovell’s wife is vital to the story, Kathleen Quinlan’s role. The other thing, about working with the men, a lot of the time when we were shooting, there would be Kathleen Quinlan and the kids and the wives of the astronauts and all these extras sitting in the glass-encased gallery. So there were women there. It wasn’t like it was all guys on the set. But the women got cut in the movie. Michelle ended up with three lines in the movie. There was a lot more stuff at home. Michelle stayed with Kathleen Quinlan because she was her best friend, stuff like that. I had five or six weeks on the movie and she had seven weeks.

It’s great for both of us. A lot of times what happens is I will get a part on a movie and we’ll go away on location…like we were in New Orleans when she did “Orleans” or for instance, “Legacy.” On “Complex of Fear,” we’d be there and they would be trying to locally cast some role and I’d say, “Listen, my wife is here and she’s a marvelous actress. Michelle Little.” And they’d go, “Wow, she’s here?” And I said, “Yeah, why don’t you read her?” On “Legacy,” Chris Abbott and I were talking when we did the pilot and I said, “If this goes, and I have to move my whole family, it would be nice to find something for my wife to do on the show.” So she said, “I’d love to meet her and see her tape.” So I sent her the tape and then when we came back from Virginia, she came over and met with Michelle after she had seen her tape and said, “My God, I know your work. You’re a wonderful actress. I’d love to have you do something on the show.” Then she called up and said, “Well, there’s a guest star she can do or she can do this recurring role of the tutor to your daughter.” And I said, “Well, let’s do something that’s recurring because one episode is like, eight days, versus, if we’re going to be here for eight months, she can do something every once in a while.” So, she ended up doing that.

On reading the novels written by former astronauts…

I’ve read the book that “From the Earth to the Moon” was based on. And I have “Moon Shot” and I think I read part of it. But no, I didn’t spend a lot of time doing that. I thought the Ground-to-Air Manual was a hell of a lot more interesting. Also, we had Dave Scott there, who had been on three missions and who I later played in “From the Earth to the Moon,” and he and I are very close and got to be good buddies. He gave me what I needed to know. I have the most profound respect for that man. I feel very fortunate that I can count him as a friend of mine.

What color Corvette would you have chosen if you had been an astronaut?

Probably black or red. Black, probably. Course, being in the Texas heat, that probably would have been a real stupid idea (laughs). Maybe white, I don’t know!

A private moment with Tom Hanks…

I remember the day I was there to do off-screen dialogue for Tom and those guys and I knew it was my last day because we were going to let some other guys do it, and I remember I said, “Where’s Tom?” I wanted to thank him, because he had been very gracious toward me, and they said, “He just went to his trailer,” and I went and knocked on his trailer and he said, “Yeah?” And I said, “Tom, it’s Brett,” And he said, “Open up!” So I opened the door and there was no one there. Then all of a sudden this head poked around the corner and he said, “Hey man, what are you doing?” And I said, “I just wanted to thank you for being such a great guy and for being so supportive. This has been a wonderful experience and I want to thank you.” And he said, “Aw, no problem man, you’re great, thanks a lot, you’re terrific…thank YOU! And I said, “Well, thanks, Tom…what are you doing?” And he said, “I’m going to the bathroom, what do you think I’m doing?” (laughs) He had just sort of opened the door and his head was sticking out down the hallway. The bottom line is that’s the kind of guy he is. He’s not pretentious. He’s not someone that goes, “Who are you? Get out of my space.” He was a team player. I think he’s the Jimmy Stewart of our generation.

On working with Ed Harris…

Ed Harris was exciting to work with. I’ve known Ed over the years and there was something he did, it may be hard to describe for print, but they were shooting and they were taking a long time setting it up. They had rehearsed it and Ed is a very intense man, in a quiet way. But he can, on occasion, voice his emotions. And I remember they were doing this thing and Ed was getting antsy and he was behind me, catty-corner to me as the director to the mission. So he was in his spot, and I was in my CAPCOM spot, and when you sit down, they can’t see you, the camera and all the crew. You can see each other, but they can’t see you. I remember sitting there, and all of a sudden, he stood up and slammed his fist down on the desk in front of him and said, “C’mon, dammit, can we go?” And they were like, “Yeah, ok, fine, fine!” And his watch broke when he hit the desk and they said something about it and he said, “Screw the watch! Screw the watch, c’mon, let’s go!” And Ron said, “Yeah, roll it, roll it, let’s roll!” And they rolled and got it, and it was this great moment when the camera pushes in on him, and when they finished, Ron said, “Cut!” And everyone was completely quiet and Ron said, “Ed, you happy?” And he said, “Yeah.” And Ron said, “Great! Print it, let’s move on!” So, Ed sat down and pulled out one of his Camels, tapped it on his desk, put it in his mouth and lit it. I sat down and looked over my shoulder, and he saw me, did a double take, and I was looking at him like, “What the hell was that?” (laughs) And he finally sees me and he looks at me, and he’s real intense, and then he does this little grin and does this little “hee, hee, hee” laugh. So he did it on purpose, to get it going. He was amazing. When he did that to me, I laughed. I have the utmost respect for Ed Harris. He’s just one of those great actors. I just love Ed. He’s got a great heart on him and he’s also married to a fabulous actress, Amy Madigan.

Something to talk about…

Prior to shooting “Apollo 13″ I had gotten the script, “Something to Talk About,” and read it and wanted to go in on the role of Jamie. Well, they wouldn’t see me. The casting director said, “Brett’s not right,” and I don’t know exactly what the reasons were, but my agent said they couldn’t get me in. So a month passed, and I’m shooting “Apollo 13″ and Dennis Quaid, who is going to play Julia Robert’s husband, called me from somewhere where he’s shooting a movie, and I was talking to him and he’s on the satellite phone and he said he was getting ready to do this movie and I said…

“Yeah, I know, I tried to get on for that role of Jamie, but they wouldn’t see me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, they wouldn’t see me. I wanted to read for Jamie.”
“The horse trainer guy that almost steals my wife away from me?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, why wouldn’t they see you?”
“I don’t know. I’m sure it’s cast by now. Don’t worry about it.”
“They haven’t cast it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Whoever plays this role should be someone who I think would be able to steal my wife away from me…and you would! You would steal my wife away from me. You’re charming and good looking…”

Blah blah blah (laughs).

“I’m going to call them.”
“Dennis, you don’t have to do that.”
“I want to.”
“…well, alright. See what you can do and if you can get me in, I’ll go read for it.”

Thank you, Dennis… (laughs)

A little help from Ron Howard…

So I get a call the next day. I’m on the set of “Apollo” and they want to see me on “Something to Talk About” the next day. Now, I’m shooting both those days. So they fax me to the office, twelve or fourteen pages of dialogue and they want to see me the next day at 11:30. So, we wrap that day and Ron’s standing there and I said, “Ron, can I speak to you for a minute?” And I said, “Look, Lasse Halstrom is doing this movie with Julia Roberts and they want to see me tomorrow at 11:30 at Warner Brothers.” Now, we were at Universal, which is right around the corner from Warner Brothers. And I said, “I don’t know what to do. I’d really like to do this audition.” And he said, “Well, you should! Hold on for a second, let me look at the schedule.” So, he sits down on the couch (we’re in the set that’s Jim Lovell’s house, where we had that big party scene), and he says, “I tell you what, tell them you’ll make it, and if we’re running late, and I haven’t gotten you out of here by 11:30, I will personally call Lasse Halstrom over at Warner Brothers and tell him it’s my fault and that you’re on your way, but that we had to finish the shot.” And I said, “Okay, great.” I mean, he was really great. He changed the schedule for me, basically, and then said if he screwed up, he would call the director, which was really nice and beyond the call of duty.

So I stayed up until about 3:30 in the morning, working on dialogue, working on scenes, and then got to the set at seven, worked all morning and at 11:15, Ron said, “Get out of here, Brett. Go to your audition.” I go over there, sat down, read the scene for the director and writer, Callie Khouri, and the producer, Paula Weinstein, and they seemed to love it and then they called back later that afternoon and said, “Halstrom would like to see you on Saturday (this is like, a Thursday).” And I said, “What for?” And they said, “He’d like to video tape you.” And I said, “Why didn’t he videotape me in the audition?” (laughs) And they said, “Well, you need to go to his hotel and they’re going to videotape you there and then they’re going to send the tapes to Julia.” I guess she had cast approval. So I said, “Okay.” So I went and did it, and I got the part and that was all basically because Ron Howard literally bent over backwards for me and gave me a way out to go to the audition. That shows you a little bit about who Ron Howard is. He’s a really cool guy. I can’t say enough about him.

Getting the scoop on Robert Duvall…

Ron’s also the one that told me about Bobby Duvall. When I got the part, I said, “So, what’s it like working with Duvall?” And he said, “Well, Bobby Duvall insists on the truth.” And I said (laughs), “Could you be a little more specific?” And he goes, “Well, he insists on the truth in life and in his work.” So I was like, “Cool, man.” And I ended up getting along really well with Bobby. We became quite fond of each other while we worked together.

Lucky numbers…

The other thing about “Apollo 13″ that’s really nice is that my wife and I’s lucky number is 13. And we had tried for about four years to have a baby and we couldn’t. We did all these different procedures to try and have children until my wife said, finally, that she couldn’t do it any more. She couldn’t do the process anymore. It’s hard on the body. And I said, “Well, honey, let’s adopt, then.” And she goes, “You’d be willing to do that?” And I said, “Yeah! There are plenty of children in this world that need families, so let’s adopt a baby.” So we talked to a friend of ours who has three adopted kids, and he said, “Brett, after about four days, I thought that kid looked just like me.” He said, “It doesn’t matter. They become your children.”

What does blue mean?

So we started the adoption process. We met a lawyer in Santa Barbara, and we were getting ready to do the adoption procedure. About this point, Michelle kept saying to the makeup and hair woman, “Man, I feel funny. I’m kind of dizzy.” And the makeup lady, Joy, said, “You’re pregnant,” and Michelle said, “No, I’m not.” Well, I was out training. I was out running five miles a day, trying to get ready for the movie with Julia, because I wanted to be in good shape, and I said, “What does a pregnancy test cost?” And she said, “Twenty bucks.” And I said, “Well, I’m going for my run. Go buy a damn test and let’s see!” (laughs) So I went for my run and when I came back, she was sitting on the couch and was quiet and I said, “What’s the matter?” And she said, “It was blue.” I said, “What’s blue?” And she goes, “The pregnancy test.” And I go, “What does blue mean?” And she goes, “It means I’m pregnant.” So, we went to the doctor and he said, “Yeah, you’re pregnant.” He said to come back in two days and we’d do another ultrasound. We came back in two days and I went out with my friends that night and the doctor called her that night after the ultrasound and said, “It’s not a viable pregnancy.” And that broke Michelle’s heart, after two days of being pregnant. He said the fetus hadn’t grown. It wasn’t even the size of a fingernail and he said, “You should go to an ultrasound specialist.”

Houston, we have a heartbeat…

So, we basically fired that doctor and I was furious. So I left, and ten days later Michelle went to see the ultrasound specialist. Now, I was out on the plantation with Julia doing a rehearsal for the dance sequence and I left the dance hall and called Michelle. So I asked her, “What did the doctor say?” And she took a long pause and goes, “I heard a heartbeat.” And then eight and half months later our daughter was born.

At the “Apollo 13″ premiere…

So, when we went to the premiere of “Apollo 13,” Ron was walking by and Michelle was very pregnant at the time, like eight months pregnant (laughs) and Ron walks by and I said, “Ron! Ron!” It’s dark in the theater and he stops and I whisper, “Come here!” And he said, “Who is it?” And I go, “It’s Brett and Michelle.” And he comes over and I said, “We just want to thank you.” And he said, “What for?” And I said, “Our lucky number is 13 and Michelle got pregnant on your movie, and I keep wondering who the father is, Ron.” (laughs) That was the most special thing about “Apollo 13,” the fact that my wife got pregnant on it. Then we had this daughter that blows my mind on a regular basis (laughs).

Some final words…

All I can say about this film is that it was an amazing experience for me. It turned out to be something that was far more important in my career than I imagined it would be. And I have Ron Howard to thank for that, and Tom Hanks, who later hired me to do “From the Earth to the Moon” because, I think, of my work on “Apollo.”

These are a few of his favorite things…

Episode: “Homecoming”

Scene: The end of “Homecoming” when I’m with my daughter, Lexy.

Line of dialogue he said: In “Homecoming” when I tell my daughter Lexy what my wife sounded like. “I guess you could say she sounded like the wind going through the trees in spring. Or a stream going around a bend over rocks. She sounded like love feels.”

Line of dialogue another character said:
Something derogatory about Charlotte! (laughs). Actually, one of my favorite lines of dialogue was in “Homecoming” — the wishing tree, when Lexy talked to God and said, “So look, if you make it where my pa can come back, I’ll do anything you say. I’ll go away. I’ll ship out to sea. Just make him come back.”

Easiest cast member to play jokes on:

Jeremy or Ron!

Describe Ned Logan in a few words. What traits do you feel you have in common with Ned? How are you different?

Loyal. Patient. Loving. Strong. Imperfect. I think traits I have in common with him are…imperfect (laughs) and perfectionist. (Hear audio clip) I am extremely loyal — as Ned is — to a fault. And the one thing I seriously don’t have in common with him is I’m extremely impatient, whereas Ned has the patience of a saint.

Miss Forrester was played by your real-life wife, Michelle. Did you give her a hard time for having to act so clumsy and lovesick around you?

No, that’s how she always acts around me! (laughs). It was fun for me to work with Michelle because she’s so funny in real life. I think probably the hardest thing for her is that she doesn’t realize how funny she is, so she was concerned with trying to make it work and she didn’t need to — and inevitably she would find it. Michelle isn’t a klutz or anything, but the ambiance that it requires, she had already. She’s naturally a very sweet, cute, adorable woman, and that’s what Miss Forrester was. Working with Michelle, obviously, was a dream. We’re married, we’re on location and I get a lead in a series and she was getting to work on the show too. You can’t get any better than that. In two actor’s lives, that’s the ultimate — that they can work together and be together and not be separated. Because in my mind, that’s the biggest pitfall of marriages in Hollywood – it’s the separation between couples that causes divorces.

Soon after the show premiered, Legacy web sites showed up on the Internet and people worldwide were talking about the show. What was that like for you as an actor?

It is a little overwhelming that that’s a capability in today’s technological society. But I didn’t, at the time, pay a lot of attention to it, because when they’re airing one show and people are responding to it, we’re probably three shows ahead of them shooting another story. I appreciate what fans have to say, but what I do isn’t really affected so much by what other people think, as much as the people who hired me and what their desire is for me to do, and hopefully me trying to accomplish that and being a good “soldier.” I showed up and did what was written and was required of me, hopefully. And if they were satisfied, then I was satisfied. My goal is to please my employers and hopefully to also have some impact in the show with the characters I’m playing.

Can’t believe everything you read…

The thing about the Internet and the response you get from people – if I lived and died by that, not that I don’t appreciate it, but it’s like the old adage, if you’re going to read the reviews, you better read the bad ones and the good ones. If you’re going to believe the good reviews, you have to believe the bad reviews. It’s just someone’s opinion, and you can only put so much stock in it. I’m terribly flattered when people like what I do, and terribly flattered when the critics like what I do, as an actor, but on the same level of understanding, I can’t look at it and go, “Well, that’s good and that’s bad, so I’m going to only choose to believe the good or choose to believe the bad.” I just take it with a grain of salt and keep doing what I’m successful at, which is acting. And I hopefully can continue getting jobs doing that, regardless of what public outrage or public sentiment is. You just have to do what you do. You can’t please everybody. But it is overwhelming, the whole concept of the fact that you can do something and then the world, basically, can respond on a computer and say, “That was great! I liked this or I liked that.” That’s pretty amazing.

Did you and Chris Abbott discuss the future of the show beyond the first season?

At the time, we had talked and I know Chris had some ideas about future episodes and I can’t remember now what they were. I do know that the “Homecoming” episode was an episode that sort of came about from several conversations with several different people: Chris and me and I think one of the editors, actually, about the daughter that Sarah Rayne played, Lexy, not knowing her mother. And that’s sort of how the “Homecoming” episode came about – which was the one where I was in the coma and you actually see my dead wife and me together, in my dreams. That was one we had talked about and she was developing.

“Ned Logan became my friend that day…”

The one we didn’t get to do, that was my idea – and the network, I think, was a little afraid of doing it — was the Civil War episode. I kept emphasizing that it wasn’t going to be about the Civil War, it was going to be about two men on a battlefield after a battle. One is seriously injured and they’re from opposing sides. One’s from the South and one’s from the North. It would have been through an evening, in darkness, so you don’t have to shoot all that Civil War stuff and have a lot of other people. So, it would be like a two-man show. Through the process of the night Isaac has my gun and at some point I get my gun back and I can kill him and I don’t. He’s helping me recover through the goodness of his heart, because I’m seriously wounded. When dawn comes, he gets me up and I don’t know what he’s going to do and he starts walking with me and I think he’s going to take me off and execute me. He makes me a crutch out of a tree branch and he walks me out and says, “Keep walking 200 yards that way and you’re going to hit the Southern picket, the fence line of the Southern Army, and you’ll be safe.” So, he saves my life and I turn around and thank him and say, “Listen, when all this malarkey is over with, if you ever need a job, you come to Kentucky and find the Logans and you got a job.” He showed up after the war and became my best friend because of that. This was an idea I really, really wanted to do and I actually threatened to try to write the script myself. I thought it would be a really powerful episode, but we never go to do it. We never got to that point.

Turning Legacy into Melrose Place

The network wanted to “soap opera” up the show a bit, “Melrose Place” it, as it were, by bringing on the woman who played my new wife. It’s just what happens on television – they [the network] don’t understand something or don’t know what to do with it, so they try to make it a little bit more commercial to make it work, in their eyes. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. And to my chagrin, and to Chris’ chagrin, they pulled the show before they even tried showing those episodes to see if it would improve the ratings. I don’t know why they made us do it and then not even show it during prime time. They waited until the summer to burn those episodes off. It didn’t make much sense at all to me, but it’s their company and they can do what they want with it. It’s their party and they can cry if they want to.

Fans said you had the “best hair in prime-time” during this show. What was up with that?
I think it’s funny! (laughs). I don’t quite understand it! I have this very straight hair. I’ve got a cowlick in the front and a cowlick in the back and I guess that’s why I get that wave in the front of my hair, but yeah, I guess people like my hair! (laughs) I always kind of hoped they liked my acting a little bit more than my hairstyle! But I think it’s very sweet they think that, but I really don’t have much to say…it’s just hair. (laughs) And it’s kind of short right now!

If the show had continued, how do you think Ned would have dealt with things in the second season?

Had the show gone on for a second season, I think what would have happened is that Charlotte would have been discovered as the bad seed — that she had set the whole thing up. And because she was previously married, our marriage would have been annulled. She wouldn’t have been in the story any more. I think that Ned would have learned that whatever had happened was a huge mistake and one that he wouldn’t make again. I think he would have finally realized that the most important thing to him was his family, his children, and if he had met another woman, he would have taken things very slowly. But, that wouldn’t have been up to me. All I could do is what they wrote. I think probably, in my heart of hearts, if I really examined this as an actor, had they [the network executives] then come around and said, “We’re going to do this again.” I would have said, “Well, then you should probably get another actor to play the part, because that’s not what I signed on for and the last time it failed miserably.” And they probably would have fired me and got someone else to do it.

The father-daughter relationship between Ned and Lexy struck a strong chord in the viewers. Talk about that relationship and your chemistry with Sarah Rayne.

I think Sarah Rayne was the best actor on the show. That’s not taking anything away from the others, who were fine actors. Whatever chord she struck in me was powerful, maybe because I have a young daughter like her. Sarah could just look at me and say a line and I believed it and it struck a chord in my heart. I felt an affinity for that relationship and was deeply moved by her performance. And whatever she did, I always responded to. Maybe that’s what viewers saw on screen. In my opinion, I think the relationship between her and I was probably the richest on the show. I would work with that girl any day of the week — any time, any where. I think she’s marvelous. And she’s a good kid. She’s not like a lot of child actors, she’s a very well-rounded, sweet girl, whom I just adore. She’s remained to be a very good friend of ours, both her parents and her. She’s still so sweet to my daughter — I just can’t tell you how much I adore that little girl.

How difficult was it for you to portray Ned so differently in the last four episodes?

I looked at it like, “this is just something Ned is going through.” I tried to find a way to make that real. That’s all you can do as an actor, is to try and play what the script tells you to play. And obviously, Ned had fallen in love with this wicked woman. He was blind to it. So, from an actor’s standpoint, knowing what I had been playing, I thought of it as a challenge. But I also was disappointed — as an actor, not as a character — in the direction that it was going. But, as a performer, all I can do is play what was on the page and try to make it real. I don’t want to rip any individual for having made Ned do that, because that was something that was sort of forced upon the entire company. It wasn’t Chris Abbott’s fault and I think the network thought they were making the right decision. In afterthought, I don’t think it mattered one way or the other. They canceled us before we could even get to that point.

If a TV movie was made to tie up the loose ends, what would you like to see resolved and what direction would you like to see Ned take?

I think if you were to make a TV movie of this to resolve it — and then it would never be seen again — I think what would be really interesting is to have Ned stricken with a life-threatening disease such as pneumonia or something. It would be about him saying goodbye to his children and giving them what he could of his moral outlook on life and what to expect in life. And at the same time, have him constantly having conversations with his dead wife. And the last moment would have been him passing away and the kids all crying and my oldest son, Sean, saying, “We’ve been given our tasks, so let’s get to it.” And he’d become sort of the father figure of the show. And the last shot would be me and my wife dancing in a field. That’s what I would do. I mean, the love of his life is Libby. And that’s who he missed and that’s why he hasn’t remarried. He wants to raise his children, but if he’s going to die, then he’d be setting for them the tasks of what to expect in life and what he needs them to do to carry on the Logan legacy. It would only be right that the last thing you see is him with the love of his life and living happily in heaven, or wherever that may be, in my mind.

Or…maybe…

The other side of the equation — is that if you were going to make a TV movie of the week based on the last episode you saw, it would be about the fact that we would discover all the horrible things about the woman I married. And me seeking forgiveness from my children for putting them through that. And being found innocent of the charges of murdering John Turner. Our marriage would be annulled because obviously she had been previously married. She would go to jail and the last scene of the show would be me with my children at my wife’s grave. Me asking my children’s forgiveness and then me at the grave asking Libby’s forgiveness for being so blind. I think — and this was in my preparation for this character and what I discovered through my process of playing the character for one season — the pulse of Ned was Libby. She was a character in the show, in my mind. Everything he did was based on “What would Libby do and how would Libby feel about this?” So, in my mind, she became a character.

What was your first reaction when you found out that fans were forming a campaign to save the show?

I was very moved by it, but I was more hopeful that Chris, who said she was trying to take the show to other networks, could sell it. The problem was that she took a show that was — even though it was probably the best show UPN has ever had on their network — perceived as a failure at the lowest of the five networks. None of the other networks wanted to pick up a failure from the lowest-rated network on the air. They didn’t want to take a show that had failed there and try to put it on a more successful network. I don’t think people at those other companies were interested, and that was my hope — that they would say, “You know what? This show is worth saving. Let’s put it on our network and prove to UPN that it could be a success.” That didn’t happen. I had more faith in that prospect than I did in the fact that there was a fan response to UPN because UPN had already made up its mind. I knew they were disappointed and they had hoped the show would do better, even though we did what they had expected in terms of numbers — or at least that’s what they told us. I’m not sure why the show was canceled. I was very moved and touched by the fan’s response. Obviously, I was hopeful that it would have some impact. But these companies – I don’t think they tend to listen to the fan response as much as they do the commercial buyers and the marketing people who sell the commercial time. But the campaign was very sweet and meant a whole lot to me. It really did. It meant a lot to me that you, Ramona, and Sandy got involved and I thought it was really great, but at the same time, what can you do?

Why do you think people connected so strongly with the Logans and specifically, Ned as a father figure?

I’m not exactly sure, other than the fact that I think it was one of the most beautifully shot shows on television. I think that Chris Abbott is a marvelous writer who I think touched a chord with the people that watched the show. She knows how to write, and it was a family show with a fairly high moral content. The credit, I think, probably has to go to Chris, because Chris really loved Ned Logan. I think she truly felt that if she could have been in a family, this was the family she would have wanted to be in. Or if there was a father she could have, this was the father she would want to have. That’s what made Ned, I think, the man and the character he was – because she wrote him that way. Then, my performance hopefully added somewhat to it. But I would have to give her all the credit, because that’s what moved the people — the writing. I believe any good show starts with the writing — not with the actor or the casting. That comes second after the writing. You have to have a good script and you have to have well-rounded characters.

Ned was a good parent…

But from a performance standpoint, maybe people cared about him because he did sacrifice so much, because he was a single man who hadn’t remarried in over 10 years and his whole focus was trying to be a father to these children and to raise them the right way. And in this day and age, we all wish parents did that, because so many parents don’t. They don’t spend the time with their children or don’t take the time to teach them what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s acceptable and what’s not. I think Ned Logan walked that line. He knew how to raise his children. Everything he did was based on what he thought his wife would do, whom he loved and thought was probably the most fantastic, wonderful woman who ever walked the face of the earth.

What was the most challenging scene to film?

I think, physically, the most challenging scene I had to shoot was the two-parter ["Emma" and "Search Party"] we did, where Lexy was taken by Jeremy’s mom, who was played by Melissa Leo. It’s the scene where I finally find the guy who rips off my son for those horses and I beat the crap out of him. That was probably the most physically challenging scene. It took a lot of energy and a lot of different cuts and to me, was the most difficult thing I had to do. Also, because we shot that in this wooded area – it wasn’t near a street or anything – we were really out in the woods. That day and the next day we were shooting in another place, by a dock, and we were in this high grass. Both my legs — all the way up to my butt cheeks — were covered in chigger bites. I have never been so miserable in my life, for about a week. They are horrible. I had chigger bites when I was a kid, and they were nothing like this. It was just horrible.

Describe your co-stars Grayson McCouch, Jeremy Garrett and Ron Melendez:

There’s a funny story about Grayson – the very first day, Grayson didn’t come to the read-through. I had just flown into town and they had all been there a few days and we had a reading. When I took the part, it was written for a man in his 50s and I obviously wasn’t close to that. I told Chris, “People are going to wonder why a man in his mid-to-late thirties has four kids.” She said it was a “period” thing — that fathers, in that day and age, got married when they were 14 or 15 and he could have had that many children. So, I said, “Okay, I’ll go with that theory.” So, I showed up and I tried to play it a little bit older than the age I was. The first day of shooting I wasn’t working, but I went to the set. They were shooting the very first scene, where they’re standing there in the road, timing the horses, and the girls are racing – it’s the scene that opens the show. I’m standing there and I say hello to some of the crew guys and Grayson kept looking at me and finally walked over very nonchalantly and said hi. I said, “Hey, I’m Brett.” He introduced himself and I said, “How you doing?” And he goes, “So, what are you doing on the show?” “I beg your pardon?” I said. He asked if I was playing William and I said, “No.” “Well, who are you playing?” he asked. I said, “Well, I’m your dad.” He goes, “You’re kidding me!” “You better get used to it,” I told him (laughs). He was really taken aback by how young I was. Grayson, in real life, was 26 or 27 at the time and there was no way he could be my son, even in that period. So, that was our first moment. Then later, he came up to me and said, “You look like my dad! I really think of you as my dad now because you look like my dad.” And his dad was a little older than I was, but when I met him I went, “Yeah, I can see it. I can see that I could have been your dad.” Because his dad looked like me, but just 10 or 15 years older. Grayson was great.

Jeremy Garrett…

Jeremy Garrett… (laughs). I used to always pull stuff on Jeremy that was really sad. I initially became very close to him and I used to do stuff to him. The Assistant Director would be trying to get him out of his trailer and he’d be dancing or doing something and I’d go over and knock on the door and he’d open it thinking it was the AD and he’d go, “What? Oh, Brett, hi!” And I’d say, “What are you doing? Jeremy, they want you on the set right now.” So, he’d hop to it and go running to the set with me and we’d get there and start our work. So, I’d get that set up so that then one day I’d walk up and say, “Jeremy, what are you doing? They need you on the set right now. They’ve been calling for you!” So, he would go running off to the set and then of course, he’d find out I was joking. I felt very close to Jeremy, because Jeremy reminded me a lot of myself when I was about his age. He’s a very sweet guy, but he also has a temper and was also very emotional. He really wanted to do good work and was very curious about it all, but was also someone who could overreact sometimes to things when he didn’t need to. And I would do the same thing. So, I sort of had an affinity toward him, because I saw a lot of myself as a young man in him. This was good for the role, because I thought Ned was probably like him when he was a young man. His character loved horses and was also the trainer.

On Ron Melendez…

I had worked with Ron once before. He was really glad to see me when I showed up. He and I had done a movie of the week together. I was very fond of Ron and tried to teach him how to golf. It was sort of like pouring water into the ocean – it never filled up! (laughs). He had a difficult time with his golf game! But Ron and Jeremy and I would always golf together. Jeremy is a very good golfer. He hits the longest ball I’ve ever seen. He hits the driver like I’ve never seen. This guy kills the ball! The three of us would golf a lot.

Oh, those practical jokes…

But the funniest thing that ever happened was – one day, Heather, my assistant, had pulled my car around to my trailer because I was wrapped and was going to leave the set. She comes into the trailer and I think we had even called you and we were on the phone with you and all of a sudden we came out and the car was gone. She had left it running, sitting there, and Ron and Jeremy had taken the car and hidden it. So, I started yelling at them. “Where’s my damn car? What did you do with it?” And they were like, “What do you mean, we don’t know what you’re talking about, man!” I said,” I know you guys took the car. Where is it?” So, anyway, they had parked it around the other side of the trailer. So, Heather went and got it and they were calling them to the set for rehearsal, so they went to rehearsal. Then I went to their trailers and got their car keys out of their trailers and I moved their cars really a long ways away from the set (laughs). I then, at that point, realized we all had those NexTel phones, the ones with those two-way radios on them. So, they each had one of those. I switched theirs. I gave Ron’s to Jeremy and Jeremy’s to Ron‚ And then I left (laughs). And they actually figured their phones out before they found their cars (laughs again). So, that was my practical joke on those two.

What was your favorite scene in which you didn’t appear?

The opening scene, with the girls riding the horses. That was my favorite. Even now, if I see that opening sequence, with the girls riding the horses through the mist, and you finally see them in petticoats and everything — it still gives me chills. I thought it was the most beautiful scene.

On William and Vivian Winters…

Some of my favorite scenes I wasn’t in had to do with Sean Bridgers (William) and Lisa Sheridan (Vivian) together. Those two – I just loved them. Anything Sean did, I just loved. I think he is such an underrated actor. He’s so wonderful. If I was producing, he is one of the first actors I’d call. He’s just fabulous. I love him. Anything he did made me laugh. Like the scene where they wanted to trade something, and he says, “Well, maybe we could trade land‚” and he’s trying to light the cigar…he’s just funny! (laughs). He’s such a sweet guy. We got to be good friends. I was actually at the birth of his son in Richmond. We videotaped it for him. I was really fond of him. Sean and I have stayed in touch. I miss him. And I think Lisa Sheridan is also underrated. She hadn’t done that much when she got cast in Legacy and didn’t know how good she was. She really didn’t know, and she’s such a good actress.

Was there a scene you kept messing up or just couldn’t get right?

The “Homecoming” scene when I was sleeping. No, I’m just joking! I actually fell asleep in the bed while they were rehearsing and someone touched my hand — one of the actors, like Ron or Grayson — and I jumped, like “What? What?” Actually, I just can’t remember a scene I kept messing up. It’s been two years.

Did you keep anything from the show, or if you could have kept a momento, what would it have been?

I did keep a memento. I always keep my hat. In any western I’ve done, I’ve always taken my hat. If I could have taken anything else with me, I would have taken my family, the Logans, with me. I loved those characters. I thought they were just amazing.

The loss of Legacy…

I think probably Legacy ending was one of the most deeply scarring things that has ever happened to me. It truly set me back (Hear audio clip) emotionally, because I had invested so much in that character and really loved that show and it saddened me so deeply. Not that many people who knew me knew that, because I tried to hide it, but that’s the reality in our business. But I lived with that character for a year and was so deeply fond of Ned and all the other characters on that show — from the Winters to the Logans — just everyone. I loved Richmond, Virginia. I would have loved to raise my daughter there. But when that show ended I felt a great loss — greater than I probably have ever had in my history in this business. That was hard for me. Fortunately, my friend Howie Deutch hired me shortly thereafter to do “The Replacements,” so I had another job to go to, but I was devastated. It set me back in my heart a long ways. I still miss it. I still think about what it would be like if we were still doing the show and what it would be like if we were still there. There was warmth that existed on that set with the great crew. And Manfred, my good buddy, the D.P., who I got so close with — I miss him. I just miss all those people. I miss Chris Abbott. I miss her writing. She is a fabulous writer. She’s got great ideas and a really great sentiment about her. She writes really well-rounded characters who you care about.

What was the last day on the set like?

It was sad, but on the other side, we weren’t told we were canceled; we were just told we weren’t shooting the last episode. It didn’t look like we were going to come back, but there was a little hope. There wasn’t a bunch of angry people walking around. We were just sad that they were doing this. I was probably madder then anyone that they weren’t finishing the story line they had started with Charlotte. That upset me. The last episode is setting me up to go to jail. She killed Casey (John Turner) and I was upset that they weren’t going to show what Charlotte’s true character was. I was a little upset when I found out they weren’t going to shoot the last show. Chris, of course, came out to the set to tell me, because she knew I was going to be upset. But no one was like, “Okay, it’s done, it’s over.” None of us knew what was going to happen. We were just told we weren’t shooting the last episode and they weren’t happy with the show.

Relieved to walk away for a while…

Chris was saying, “Well, if they cancel the show, I’m going to take it to other networks.” I do remember a sense of relief, because I didn’t enjoy, as an actor, the direction the show was going. I wasn’t enjoying playing Ned Logan married to this woman — who I knew because of story outlines that were told to me — that wasn’t who she said she was, and that she was sleeping with other men and trying to screw me. I wasn’t happy about that. So, I was sort of relieved that I didn’t have to play that any more. I could walk away and get a breath of fresh air. Every day I would wake up and be in a crappy mood because I knew I had to go to work and do that. Legacy was one of the few series I’ve ever been on – Orleans was the other one – where I thought, “I could do this easily five, six, seven years. I could play this character and be really happy.” There’s the quality of the writing, the quality of the producer I was working with, and I was really excited about it. It wasn’t until the last two or three episodes that the Charlotte character came on that I went, “This is not good. I don’t like this.” It wasn’t as much fun. I had some hope — because Chris told me what the cliffhanger episode was going to be, which was we were going to find out the truth about Charlotte — that we were going to get back to the show that we had started. So, I was disappointed and elated at the same time, because I was tired and I was ready to walk away from the show for a while, hoping it would be picked up by somebody. Unfortunately it wasn’t, and the rest is history.

If you could tell Ned Logan goodbye and send him off into TV land forever with a few words, what would they be?

Don’t take any wooden nickels (laughs). No, it would be, “Work like you don’t need money, love like you’ve never been hurt, dance like no one is watching.”