“You and I seem to have met in the late eighties, shortly after you played the role of Jerry Lee superbly ...”

- We met on board the plane. Both flew first class and greeted each other like a celebrity with a celebrity.

-  I remember, I flew on a MGM Grand plane. This airline had only first class passenger lounges. And now comedian Robert Klein comes in, walks along the central aisle, points a finger at people - such as Richard Gere, Barbra Streisand (just go crazy) ...  And now Robert Klein walks down the aisle - and says: “Well-known. Famous. Unknown. Unknown. Famous..."

- I have never understood this airline. You find yourself in a huge plane, and they have it there - like in trains with private cars, where there are such small sections: three places opposite each other. And the stars had to sit and look at each other through the passage. When I fly on an airplane, I especially appreciate that I do not have to talk to anyone, to conduct conversations. You can just go headlong into reading and so on. And on these "star flights" this was impossible.

- I must say that I'm not the biggest extrovert at all, so in my life I have had things worse than isolation. But even now, even though I sometimes rebelled against society, I really want to just walk down the street and have the voices of other people as a background ... I would like to run into humanity again, so to speak. This is not enough for me.

- Yes. We, as actors, are accustomed to this: you finish work, you don’t know when the next one will be, and sometimes it takes months to wait. You just sit at home or do something of your own. So in such periods, this experience is very useful.

- You have such a resume that you can easily download ... What, in the name of all saints, led you to the creation of the Dennissance podcast?

- Last year, the fruit of my collaboration with Jared Gutstadt took second place among the best music podcasts. It was called Bear and a Banjo.

The podcast was so successful that we wanted to do something like that again and more. Therefore, we created a platform called Audio Up. We are trying to become a kind of YouTube for podcasts, a kind of studio. We have a whole selection of podcasts. Dennissance is the flagship here - he was the first on this platform.

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  • © Eric Gaillard

We also have an audio art guide. We have prepared a program called Scripts From The Drawer. I work with a script about Spade Cooley, and Billy Bob Thornton works with a script about Floyd Collins .

We will have a troupe of actors. We work with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayerand Warner Bros. Records. MGM has given us access to all of its scripts that have been delivered, and perhaps even to those that have  not been delivered, since the 1930s. So we have a whole library in our hands.

- And what exactly will you be doing on your show, which now, as I understand it, has gone beyond quasi-industrial stories? Will you be interviewing? 

- Yes, I have already recorded several issues. You know, in the actor’s work, I like the preparation stage most of all ... Especially when I play a real person - if it’s, say, Gordon Cooper or Jimmy Morris from the movie “Newcomer”. I’m trying to penetrate into the very depths of my character’s psychology, to truly recognize him, to understand what is driving him.

It was this approach that I brought to my show called Dennissance. I invite people I know well, as well as those who are just starting to recognize, and try to find out what drives them. In general, I approach the matter as if I’m going to play them in a movie, and therefore I ask very personal questions.

And sometimes we just joke and laugh, but I still try to understand them as best as possible. And it is quite possible that here they show the side that you will not see in the course of an ordinary interview ... 

- You are probably often represented as an actor and musician ... But the music is clearly in your blood. Before your older brother Randy met director Peter Bogdanovich, why did you have more soul - for music or for movies? 

- In childhood, when parents went to work, Randy would close himself in the room and rehearse his parodies, comedy scenes, and so on with a tape recorder. I sat at home and played the guitar ... I was then fifteen years old. By the way, I got a guitar that evening when Elvis Presley had a special concert. Remember his 1968 television concert?

- Yes, when he performed on a small stage in the form of a ring. 

“It is true that he was covered in leather there ... I had a guitar from that evening ... I played the guitar, and it was my first love.” This was the first thing I really wanted to do. I never managed to play masterly, but I wrote songs.

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  • © MediaPunch / face to face

Then I ended up in a movie, and it was great. But I must note that I have a lot of music films in my luggage, so my interest in music here, of course, came in handy.

I was lucky to play and chat with a lot of people who were my idols in childhood. In general, who knows, what if I suddenly become a rock star (the oldest in history)? It's never too late. So maybe in the end I can do it ... 

- Elvis is like an alien and could be the hero of Michael Rennie in the film “The Day the Earth Stopped”, because he is clearly from another planet. He was the first after such mastodons as Chuck Berry and Little Richard ...

“Again, here you can mention Jerry Lee, nicknamed the Assassin ... I starred in a movie about him called The Big Fireballs.” I did not know how to play the piano, but I had a year to prepare. I played the guitar, which means I understood something in a musical rhythm. The killer was one of my mentors.

When we shot the film, he sat behind me and sometimes shouted: "Son, it's not like that!" But at the same time, he was a man of a very broad soul. Such musicians are no more, that's for sure. This guy was the epitome of true rock and roll.

- Watching you at that time, I thought, “This is a breakthrough. The guy seems to go to the very top. " Yes, there, upstairs, it’s quite comfortable, but so quickly gaining fame - this must be a strange sensation. Like Shakespeare: “Let this world be my oyster.” So you probably had a dizzying period the first time.

- Yeah…(Laughs)Those still stood out oysters. How to accept success and the much that comes with it - nobody will teach you this beforehand.

Some are doing great. My son Jack, as I see it, turns out great. Well, it didn’t work out so well for me. I spent some time on rehabilitation - I was treated for cocaine addiction in 1990. Fortunately, everything turned out as it should, and the first time: I got out. I was very lucky both in life and in my career.

- What a terrific way ... P straightening your health, you have purchased the most that neither is a sporty look . It seems, my friend, you, having tied up with drugs, with the same zeal attacked a healthy lifestyle. 

- Yes. There is such a thing ... It turns out curious: doing your own health, putting your life in order, you expect that it will be much easier further. But actually it becomes much more difficult. It's me that you need to ask the Lord with caution, otherwise he can give what you ask ...

“Now let's talk about Billy Bob.” I always admired him ... I must say right away that I know little about the Goliath series - I will not pretend and assure that this is not so. So I’ll ask you now to tell me about him, as well as how you worked with Billy Bob. 

- Honestly, I have few friends in the acting environment - actors are so obsessed with their loved ones (and this also applies to me). But Billy Bob is so simple, normal. Lives just about a kilometer away from me. At one time, he and I starred together in the movie "Fort Alamo" and made great friends. 

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  • © Danny Moloshok

It was very easy to work with him - especially on the set of this series. He just always remains himself. And the series is so tricky, there are the most unexpected turns. I am delighted with the script, and it is unfortunate that my character had to be killed, otherwise I could linger there ... 

- You have wonderful works in the filmography, but there is ... well, as they say, "you need to earn something." You played astronaut Gordon Cooper - where is he now? Probably quite old? Or has he already died? Tell us about Gordon.

- There is an interesting story about Gordon Cooper. There is a documentary series called Cooper's Treasures. Gordon died a few years ago, but when I got this movie role, he was my favorite astronaut. Everyone wanted to play in this film.

It turned out that in Los Angeles he lives five kilometers from me. I've been talking about the training that is needed for acting. We met and became very good friends. For the sake of this film, I got a pilot license.

Gordon Cooper was the last person on Earth to fly a spaceship alone. The flight seemed to last a couple of days. Gordon was a treasure hunter, and flying around the planet in orbit, he - although this was not in the program of his flight (because you can’t talk about this) - looked through the window and saw the sunken ships. So Gordon found the Spanish galleon, which sank four hundred years ago. And he flew into space, counting on it. And for 20, 30, 40 years everything was kept secret.

- Just unbelieveble! It’s like the plot of a movie like “Treasure of the Nation - 3”. Cool story!

- Yes, history be healthy. I think this is no longer a state secret: astronauts, flying into orbit, looked out for the Russian missile bases and their submarines, which were under water. And under such an excuse, Gordon began to look out for other things. He was an inventive man! A versatile gifted person.

- On Facebook they  ask: "What role - for personal or professional reasons - turned out to be the most difficult to play?" 

“Perhaps Jerry Lee Lewis.” After this role, I went for rehabilitation. She completely exhausted me. It was probably too cool. But it was worth it.

See the full version of the interview on RTD.