On the 15th of each month a new question and answer session with James is posted online. Please submit your questions using the email address to the right. Before submitting please have a look through the Q&A Archive to see if your question has already been answered in previous sessions.
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What Shakespearean villian(s) would you love to portray? I ask, because I think you'd make a great Iago!
Exactly - so that would be the one!
Do you use funny voices when you read to your kids at bedtime?
Uhm, my kids are too old, they don't want me to read to them anymore. But when I did, the voices I used were (adopts exaggerated proper diction and posture) appropriate and not funny at all, which led to the drama of the book. (laughs loudly) But no really, they weren't funny voices but they were right for the story - so yes, I would use different voices, but in a way that the kids didn't even process that the voice changes - it was just integrated as part of the story.
Technically speaking, which singer has the skills you’d most love to emulate?
Bruce Springsteen – he has the most honest voice out there right now. I would love to get a little tiny John Lennon, who was, afterall, the original Kurt Cobain, in me as well.
What is the origin of the name Piccolo?
Online I’m told it was from the musical instrument but I don't know if that’s true or not.
What prompted you to start a You Tube page with your son Sullivan?
I wanted to introduce Sullivan to fame. I was counting on somebody being rude in the talkbacks, but the comments were all so nice that I don't think I got the lesson I was looking for for my son, which is that fame is a double-edged sword. Right now it just totally looks cool to him and I wish people weren't quite so polite. (laughs)
Either/Or
Star Trek or Star Wars
Wow. Uhm, both. Star Trek came first of course and Star Trek gives me hope for the future. Star Wars rekindled a deep mythology - Star Wars is basically a thousand year old story. It's amazing that it made so much money because we've been told that story a thousand times - but it's just such a good story. So, yeah. both. I'm not gonna choose.
Ginger, Mary Ann or Mrs. Howell?
Oh!! Totally NOT Ginger! Mary Ann. Totally Mary Ann. Because Ginger would never be true to you. I live in Hollywood. I know! (laughs)
Finish this sentence:
At home my favorite item is ... Keys to let me in the door. Home is a good place.
I tend to be emotional when... I breathe.
How do you handle hecklers in the theater who refuse to shut up, even when you ignore them?
Luckily in theater we don’t have hecklers. I’ve always felt for comedians because of that. But you cannot stand up and shout Shakespeare sucks because he doesn’t! I usually find myself frustrated by people rustling.
’"Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." Do you believe this to be true?
Absolutely. Love is what makes life worthwhile in its many forms. Tennesse Williams said something about this in “Camino Real” - he said “Make voyages! - Attempt them! - there's nothing else.”
What don't you understand about the opposite sex?
My problem is that I think understand too much about the opposite sex - but I may be wrong.
What are your biggest hopes of the Obama administration? What are your biggest fears ?
My biggest hope is that Congress will give him every program that we the people mandated. My biggest fear is that the people will not pay attention and we will forget what we asked him to do.
Which of your songs effortlessly wrote themselves and which did you have to wrestle out of hiding?
Wow...95% of my songs come very fast. I tend to wait a long time until a song writes itself in my head. If it doesn’t come fast, I usually bog down and it never gets done. My latest song “Moonshot” came out of its own will.
Finish this sentence: Clowns make me… Think.
Yes or No -
Did you have braces when you were a kid?
No.
Would you eat a tarantula for $1,000?
Hell yeah – let him be scared for once!
How would you define Spike's role to Dawn in Buffy?
Inept father figure.
What's the most honest insult you've ever gotten?
I am a parent so I am flooded with them daily!
A lot of writers only write their best when they have certain music going in the background. Does having specific music help you create or you or do you find that a quiet stillness is best for you?
Stillness is best for me. I’m always trying to blow past my intellect, to turn it off so that the music can play in my head.
You mentioned your time at the Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts as being very positive and formative years. Would you ever consider being a mentor or teacher, sharing what you have come to know, understand and believe acting is all about?
Yes, I’ve always wanted to teach but that will have to wait until my kids are grown. I can’t imagine a better place to do it then the PCPA.
You mentioned that you'd love to come to Dragon Con in costume. Who or what would you come as?
Storm trooper, storm trooper, storm trooper.
Do you think aging means to relent and to settle down or is it a motivation for taking more chances?
Aging is a good excuse to get to know yourself, start avoiding your weaknesses and supporting your strengths. It is not a time to slow down.
Firsts:
Which presidential election was the first one you voted in? 1980 - Carter vs Reagan.
First car - A Chevrolet Duster when I was 32 years old – I have never been overly married to cars.
What part of acting do you prefer, when you feel like you are another person different from yourself, or when you see your performance fooling the audience?
I feel best about my performance when I’m revealing my true self and not fooling anyone. Then it is truly dangerous.
What is your most eccentric habit?
I use my fingernails as dental floss.
What is your perfect holiday - apart from sleeping?
Watching election returns. Unfortunately it only happens every four years.
Your fans are well acquainted with your love of Macbeth, but I’ve never heard you speak about any of Shakespeare's comedies. Are you more drawn to his tragedies? If so, why?
Definitely drawn to his tragedies. His comedies have so many references that many of his audience members don’t understand. Too many of the jokes can fall flat; well, except when Kenneth Branaugh and Emma Thompson are doing it. I did do a pretty funny Sir Aguecheek inTwelfth Night in a blonde wig – I looked like Andy Warhol. I did it in repertoire along with Macbeth.
Would you rather people say you're naughty or nice?
Naughty, naughty, naughty!!!
Macbeth! When was the first time you read it?
When I did it at the Intiman Theatre in Seattle in 1998.
Are you obsessive about your passions or can you turn them off at will?
I have never even thought of turning a passion off. I have always chased after them. Dante would say that’s a mistake.
Is there any movie genre you would really rather not--or even hate--to watch?
Any movie that ends with a prom!
Being a musician and working with Harry Connick, Jr. on the set of P.S. I Love You, did you two have a chance to jam or talk music?
Yes, we did get to talk music and his love for early jazz and bebop.
If you could have the ability to read minds, whose mind would you like to read and why?
Uhmmm. I would choose not to! (laughs) I don’t know if any of us are mature enough to handle the brutal honesty of what’s inside other people's heads.
How important is it for there to be chemistry between two actors? Did you ever have to perform opposite someone you truly did not like or get along with off-screen?
For me, chemistry is trust. If you have trust you can risk together. It’s like a partnership and it means you can have fun together while jumping off a mountain. I have not always been able to get good trust with an acting partner. One of the best was Juliet Landau; I always felt safe with her. Chemistry has nothing to do with physical attraction – that often gets in the way.
Describe your process as a book-on-tape reader in finding ways to evoke the emotions and actions of the story using only your voice.
My process is to complain and bitch to my very patient producer Bob! I’m always wanting to get lost in a story and he’s always wanting to concentrate on things like pronouncing the words and correcting my lisp.
What barriers do you feel women still face in Hollywood?
Sighs.... Hollywood is a progressive town but it also has its ear to the ground and will give the country the entertainment it wants, so in a way it’s very conservative too. But I remember the 70’s when tv and movies were very progressive – if we could combine that with the present female-infused Hollywood power structure I’m not sure how many barriers would be left. Steve however reminds me that there is not equal pay for equal work in Hollywood; maybe some of these questions should go to Steve in the future!
When you are in polite company and someone is being a real jerk, do you think it's better to speak your mind or sit and fume?
I’m never in polite company. Just kidding. When I’m in polite company I speak my mind but politely and hopefully with a joke.
Imagine you are setting out to perform a task when you come across a stranger who offers you a trade. Do you firmly hang on to your cow or are you persuaded to take the magic beans, and why?
Cow, cow, cow. Franklin was right and a good steak is the best magic I know of.
Given the stress you have recently with your various guitars, I wondered how do you go about choosing a new guitar? Is there a technical process or do you go with more of a 'gut feeling'?
Ummmmmm.. Everything is revealed when you start playing a guitar. For me it all comes down to tone and action. Action is how far the strings are above the fret board at the twelve fret. If the string is too high the action is not good. I like a good warm low tone, so I am attracted to Gibson, but if you are looking for a deal check out Washburn.
Name someone you consider a genius.
James Carville.
What do you do to prepare for an audition?
I read the script. I memorize the lines. I try not to plan too much. I try to find the character in me and I know it’s working when I get a simple flash of “oh this guy is just like me.” Then I stop acting and it’s good.
Favorites:
Shakespeare theme: That we are all human and all share an ocean – it’s called humanism and Shakespeare was a humanist,
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