Beth Blighton: What's the toughest thing you've ever been asked to do as an actor? And what's the coolest thing you've ever gotten to do BECAUSE you're an actor?

Clancy Brown: Wow, the toughest thing... The toughest thing is always getting naked. The other toughest thing is really doing nothing. And the toughest way to do nothing in a movie is sitting in a make-up chair and having them dress you up. The pay-off is great because you get to wear the mask and you act that much better behind the mask, a real mask. But that's always very hard. That's one of the things that scares me about if I chase down a "Star Trek" movie, is that I'll be sitting in rubber or getting the makeup put on for eight hours. It's just very, very difficult. They have to pay you enough (laughs).

BB: Yeah, and you know they'd stuff you into a Klingon suit or something.

CB: Yeah, you know... It's okay if you get paid enough or if the part is great, then it all pays off. But make no mistake -- that ain't easy to do. Physically, I don't know.

BB: You had a hard time during The Bride, didn't you?

CB: Yeah, that was a long make-up. That make-up now would probably only take half as long, but that was back in eighty-whatever, and they hadn't quite gotten the technique as locked-down as they do now.

BB: So what kind of cool stuff do you get to do because you're an actor?

CB: You know, anything is cool. Anything you haven't done before is cool. I went scuba diving briefly for Shoot to Kill. Doing the rappelling for Earth2. Shooting all those guns in Extreme Prejudice. Those things are like fun the FIRST TIME. Then after that it's not that fun. Except scuba diving, that was pretty cool.

BB: Was that in a tank or did they actually have you out?

CB: No, they actually had us out. I think we shot the last sequence in the Bahamas, because that's the only place where you can really get the clear water, the kind of clear water you can shoot in. Golly, there are so many cool things... It's a great way to make a living. There was nothing very cool about playing a doctor, I gotta tell you that.

BB: The Dr. Ellis West thing? (on ER)

CB: Yeah, that wasn't very cool.

BB: So you won't be doing that again?

CB: Nah, I don't think so. I mean I enjoyed doing it and everything, and I loved the people, and like the show very much. I really love the people. And if they came back and asked me to do something again, I would definitely say "Yes", but as far as preparing it . . .

BB: Who's your favorite "villain" and who's your favorite "good guy" you've gotten to play.

CB: Good question... I don't really have a favorite. Golly, I always think in terms of who would I drink with? You know, who would I go out and have a good time with? Who would I like hanging out with?

BB: You wouldn't go party with The Kurgan?

CB: Oh, yeah, definitely! Oh, yeah, yeah... He's gonna be A LOT of fun! You just gotta know when to go home, with him! (laughs)

BB: Yeah, ya gotta love The Kurgan...

CB: Now, I WOULDN'T want to go with that David Brown character (from Love, Lies & Murder.) He was a total creep. And he's a real guy, so that even makes it worse.

BB: Did you ever meet this real guy?

CB: No, I didn't want to. I sorta headed down that path at one point, and said "I'd love to meet him," because that's what everybody does, I guess. That's what all these method actors are supposed to do. The writer and director came over to me and said, "You know, this guy is a LOON! We can't really write how insane he is."

BB: So, who's your favorite "good guy"?

CB: I don't know. Maybe Danziger. I like him.

BB: Was he about the closest to you, to your own personality?

CB: Yeah, necessarilyÉprobably, because there was so much in it and so much of it to do. I really liked his sort of contrary nature. My favorite argument through the whole thing was during "Better Living Through Morganite". When Debrah's character, Devon, decides to go talk to the Terrians, (laughs), and do all this. And I'm like, "What are you, NUTS? They're not HUMAN! You're not on Earth! This isn't a debate! This isn't an election!" That sort of extremity -- even though I don't view as extreme, I view it as realistic -- I wish we had gotten more into that, but everybody's gotta be so chicken-shit politically correct...

BB: My favorite thing was when you threatened to shoot Morgan in the leg.

CB: (Laughing) Yeah, yeah! THAT'S a good one!

BB: Other people will argue with me about that, though...

CB: No, no. That was one of the things we made up on the day. "Just shoot him." Yeah, I love that! Well, that's sort of the way he was heading, so...

BB: I like that, and when you punched Alonzo in the spider episode.

CB: (laughing louder) Yeah, that was a good episode! I like that episode. That was sort of the most SciFi-ey episode.

BB: But it was fun. I didn't know the episode titles until about a year or so ago. I used to call that one "Double Date to New Pacifica".

CB: Oh, that's a good one! (Laughs) That was a lot of fun. Alonzo goin', "She's so beautiful." Yeah, yeah... Right. Thank you. Shut up! (WHAM!)

BB: "I think he had a relapse..."

CB: Mmm-hmmm. Oh, yeah...

BB: You guys had a basketball team. What position did you play?

CB: I forget who got that one going. We all found things to do while we were in Santa Fe. One of the things we all did was go to the local gym to play basketball, some pickup games and stuff. I think Tierre actually organized us, got the thing together and organized a charity game. That was a lot of fun because we were all doofuses except for Tierre and Rockmond. I mean, none of us really knew how to play basketball, we were all just out there running around having a good time. But we actually got to a point where we trusted each other enough as a team to do some things that at least LOOKED GOOD. We were 500 for New Mexico. Though we should've won the first one...

BB: Did you have John cheerleading that one too?

CB: Yeah, I think that was the first one, actually. I think we lost that one.

BB: Well, he must have been a distracting sight.

CB: That was the highlight! Oh my God! That was just genius! He was really nervous. Nobody really knew what he was going to do. He didn't want to tell anybody. I don't know how he characterizes it now, but I remember him being really hesitant and scared and not really sure that he was going to do it. And he sort of revealed it to me at one point and I said, "Absolutely, John, you have got to do it! You've GOT to do it! I am so for this, I can't tell you!" And he went ahead, and he slayed me! Oh my God! It was the funniest thing. But it wasn't just him being funny, I mean everybody was funny. His girlfriend, which I don't know if they were boyfriend and girlfriend at that point, but she participated and Madison participated, and it was just all.... It was beyond... It was like John's genius. I think he's immensely talented.

BB: Well, I think he's nervous until he's doing it and then once he's out there... Because he was so scared about going out on stage at the convention [NP'96], but put him out there and "Ta-Da!"

CB: Of everybody, I think he was the best actor of the bunch. And I would do anything with him again.

BB: He's a nice guy, it was nice talking to him.

BB: Now to take you way back, in Bad Boys, in the opening sequence, they show pictures of you guys as kids, as babies. Is that you, the kid with the black dog?

CB: Yep.

BB: I knew it.

CB: My old dog Buckeye. My folks' old dog. He was a good 'ol dog.

BB: Was there more than one picture of you?

CB: I imagine there is, but I can't remember which ones.

BB: Well you may have just won me a bet. Thank you so much.

CB: Good, good.

BB: Are they going to be doing more episodes of Superman?

CB: Yeah, I have to do one today, as a matter of fact.

BB: See, I love that. Every Saturday morning, it's me and the kid sitting in front of Superman.

CB: They're getting really good. Sometimes they're just sort of cartoon action stupid things. Sometimes they're really fascinating, like the one where they went back to an alternative Metropolis which was fascistic. The artwork in it knocked me out, and the depth of it knocked me out. This one they're doing now is a two-parter with the same kind of psychological depth to it. I love that. Batman is the same way; it's the same people who do Batman.

BB: Will there be any more Mortal Kombat?

CB: No, that was sad. I loved doing them. The shows were a little chatty and I don't think they were particularly written well, but they were going that direction, going toward being a good show. The artwork was a little lame.

BB: You got all the good lines, though.

CB: Oh yeah, Rayden got some good lines. But there was one person who was kind of the champion of it. She was this young lady, she was my age or younger. While we were on hiatus, trying to figure out if they were going to do another 13, which I'm sure they would have, she died.

BB: Oh no.

CB: She just up and died. Some bizarre malady, I have no idea, just sort of out of left-field, and when she died the energy of doing it again died with her, which is too bad.

BB: Now, Ron Perlman did a voice for that one, didn't he?

CB: Yeah, yeah, that was fun. He was Striker. Hilarious.

BB: I'm pretty heavy into the Beauty and the Beast stuff, so I've always thought, 'They've got to work together sometime, they've gotta!'

CB: Yeah, he's a good guy. He's a terrific actor, too.

BB: You should end up on the Magnificent Seven sometime.

CB: Well, actually I saw him. I did audition for that. We were auditioning for the same part, and I knew we would. I sort of went in and said, "You know what? I don't want to do this part because the actor to do it is coming in next, and that's Ron. But I do want to act with Ron, and this is a good little deal, so let me read this other part." And, of course, I read it and they said, "No. You're not that guy." So, I actually feel like I got Ron the part, although I know I didn't, cuz I know he got it all by himself.

BB: There's not quite enough Ron in that show for me, at this point.

CB: Of course not. That's another reason I didn't want to do that.

BB: Now, Patron Saint of Liars was a good book, did they have to change that a lot?

CB: Oh yeah.

BB: Is it going to be as good as the book?

CB: No, it's not going to be as good as the book, it's very different from the book. What's strange, though, is that I think the characters are faithful to the book. Insofar as they can be. This particular story is not particularly faithful, but the characters are.

BB: The author, Ann Patchett, did an article in GQ, and she finally got to the point where she said, "Yeah it was good."

CB: Yeah, of course, she has to. The article was good, in that she sort of copped to the fact that, "It ain't my novel, and it's not gonna be, and it can't be and it shouldn't be."

BB: I was trying to figure out how they'd get around the age thing.

CB: Well, of course, they didn't. They just didn't get around it. According to the demographic Q bullshit that they have to do, if they had filmed the book, then I wouldn't have done it.

BB: Reading the book, I thought you were perfect for this.

CB: Son is old.

BB: Yeah, I know, but they could age you.

CB: Yeah, but not THAT much. If you were going to make the book you really would probably tell Son's story. You probably wouldn't tell her story. Her story is difficult, it's not a story.

BB: No, there's no end to it. There's no resolution.

CB: And that's what's wrong with the movie. If they had made Son's story then I wouldn't be doing it. I'm sure someone else would have been doing it. But I was glad to do it.

BB: That's the way the book is, you get to the end and just sort of go, "What!?"

CB: Yeah, I loved the ending. I thought it was perfect. I thought it was great because it stayed faithful. The triumph is actually Son copping to the lie to his daughter.

BB: I just knew she couldn't take her away from him, though. No one would ever forgive this woman if she did that.

CB: That's actually... Ya know, you want to talk about 'Clancy and his daughter,' and roles that I've had that have had daughters... That's probably a closer approximation to the real thing.

BB: Is there anything you'd like to say to the fans in parting?

CB: Oh yeah, you know, just "Thanks!" It's just so sweet, and that's really one of the best things about my choice to do Earth2, was just how wonderful everybody's been. It's moving sometimes. It's really nice.

BB: Well, we really appreciate you guys doing it, you know, letting the fans get that close and talking and just being normal people with each other.

CB: Hopefully we're all normal people. (Laughs)

BB: With any luck.

CB: I met Arnold Schwarzenegger for the first time the other day, and he is NOT normal. He's just... just not normal.

BB: On so many levels....

CB: He's just bizarre. And there's a few people like that. He's a nice guy and everything, he's just not normal. Whatever normal is... Whatever MY parameter of normal is, he's outside of it. And then there's the other one that I've actually worked with, from Female Perversions. Tilda Swinton... She's not normal either.

BB: She's from another planet!

CB: Yeah, she's totally from another planet.

BB: That had to have been a fun experience, having seen that movie.

CB: Well... The script just went right into my brain. I just loved the script. And unfortunately, what the movie ended up being was completely different. It sort of ended up being a lesbian soft-core movie, in my mind. And that's too bad, because the script was so smart.

BB: What did they do? Did they just go another way?

CB: I don't know. We had a director who was probably too smart for her own good, and she probably got self-conscience about the intelligence of her script. And she probably didn't know how to direct very well, either. So at the end of it, you have to put something together. You have to make the choices between making something that's watchable or making something that's true, and it was probably watchable if you cut some of the esoteric intellect of it and put in more sex, so... Finally, you have to be able to watch it.

BB: I've seen it twice.

CB: It's just not... Ya know, some people really like it. I don't, because I know what I thought it would be and how good I thought it would be, and it's just not there.

BB: Well, with the cast that was involved, everybody must have thought it was going to be something special.

CB: Yeah, you never know. It's always up to the person, but also talking to Susan Streitfield, the director, and reading her script, and speaking to her, and having your dialog, you think, "Oh my God, this lady has got something on the ball." And she does, I'd like to be in her next movie, when she has more of a grasp of the technique of making a movie. I'd certainly love to read any script she ever wrote, because it's going to be provocative.

BB: But Tilda Swinton is just a bundle of little ticks.

CB: Yeah, she's bizarre. I think the director fell in love with that a little bit, and that's just not right. You have to be in love with what you're building and not in love with one of the components.

BB: Thank you so much for doing this.

CB: No problem. Thank you.

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