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Anthony Edwards interview - Radio Times, February 1999 |
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Modest, hard-working and thoroughly nice, Anthony Edwards is remarkably similar to his ER character. Andrew Duncan meets the actor behind Dr Mark Greene.
On his childhood interest in acting
"I kind of idolized [my family] rather than being involved. They were all artists,
and I couldn't draw. I wanted to show off and be liked
and discovered the theatre gave me a feeling of mattering,
and was a great place to play and have fun. It's odd to
pretend for a living, but we all do things for pretty
basic reasons - insecurity in my case."
On his attitude to acting
"I made several films I loved but from an agent's point of view they were not the right decisions. I
don't have regrets. I wasn't attracted either
organically or emotionally to any big studio. I
didn't think I was mature enough to know who I
was and what I was selling."
"I'm a bit artsy - I hope without pretension
- and because I got into acting for emotional
reasons it's hard to make decisions that aren't
based on that, even to the point where, when I
was offered ER, I was committed to direct a
children's movie. So I went to the first meeting
saying it was great but I didn't think I could
take it. That made the producers even keener.
It's probably the best manipulative career
move I've made, but it was inadvertent. Playing
hard to get is a good idea."
On celebrity
"Being on display,
the monkey at the airport,
isn't much fun. Celebrity is a
completely contrived thing
for the 20th century, created
in the US to sell commodities.
I'm smart enough to realise
it's a deal you make and part
of my job is to thank people
and be part of the circus."
On the future for ER
"All long-running
TV series have beginnings, middles
and ends. The trick is to keep the end staved off
for as long as you can and make it quick when
it happens. Shows are usually cancelled a year
or two after they've worn out their welcome. I'm
sure people already say ER isn't what it was. It
has to evolve. We can't just bang through the
doors all the time with a new emergency. We've
done that so often. Heartbreak and romance
will remain a staple, but it has to be kept
challenging."
His plans when his time in ER comes to an end
"There's a
nomadic part of me that loves travelling. LA
has been very nice but it's a one-business town
and very success-oriented. The ethnocentric
nightmare of Hollywood is that you think
nothing else exists. We do ourselves a disservice by thinking
we are the centre of the world. A lot of very
talented actors stay in regional theatre and
have wonderful careers without having to
'make it'. But who knows, perhaps I'll be talking
to you in 20 years' time, and still be here."
"I'll never again be on a show this successful, but
I'll continue acting - the insecurity gene is still
there, although I no longer
feel controlled by it or need it
so much emotionally."
**
Now take a look at our full ER guide.
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