April 3, 2002 interview with Paul McCrane on the Kidd Kraddick
Morning Show, a nationally syndicated radio program out of Irving, TX.
The voices you hear/read:
Kidd (morning show host)
Woman’s Voice (morning show cast member)
Man’s Voice (morning show cast member)
Paul McCrane!
KIDD:
We have Paul McCrane on the phone.
Do you know who that is?
MAN:
Yesssss…
WOMAN:
Sorry, no.
KIDD:
You don’t know who Paul McCrane is?
WOMAN:
I’m sorry, I don’t.
MAN:
Didn’t he do that song with Michael Jackson? “Ebony and Ivory”?
KIDD:
No, that’s Paul McCartney.
[everyone laughs] Paul
McCrane. Wasn’t he in “Hogan’s Heroes”? [audible click] Oh, he hung up.
WOMAN:
Oh, maybe ‘cause he was offended that I didn’t know who he was? [laughing in background, W gets
perturbed] Somebody would tell me who
he was, I wouldn’t have an issue with it.
KIDD:
What happened there? [M is still
laughing in background]
MAN:
He hung up!
KIDD:
Good, because I wanted to play the listener dropping in.
WOMAN:
Who is Paul McCrane?
MAN:
That’s just bad producing, there, Scott.
KIDD:
That’s the dude on ER that had his arm cut off by the helicopter.
WOMAN:
Oh, oh...he’s grumpy anyway.
KIDD:
Dr. Romano!
WOMAN:
That’s why he hung up.
KIDD:
Yeah.
WOMAN:
I don’t watch ER!
KIDD:
Oh, maybe he’s [a butt] in real life.
I was told he’s a great guy.
MAN:
Really? He didn’t appreciate my
Paul McCartney joke.
KIDD:
Apparently not. Maybe we could
just...
WOMAN:
Well, why would you ask me if I know who somebody is? You know good and well I don’t know who
anybody is!
KIDD:
You know who everybody is!
WOMAN:
I don’t know who that is!
K and MAN: [blah blah blah] Pop culture Queen!
KIDD:
Okay, okay -- he’s back. So be
nice, right now. Okay, go ahead. Who cares.
[big pause] Good morning, Mr.
McCrane!
PAUL:
Hey, how are ya?
KIDD:
Good! Thanks for calling in, all
right! [morning show applauds]
PAUL:
I got a little lost...well, actually, you know, I hung up, because,
after the comment about, y’know, me and Paul McCartney and all that kind of
stuff...
KIDD:
I know!
PAUL:
...I just got a little, you know.
KIDD:
That’s what we were thinking, that you were offended!
PAUL:
Well, actually, you know, to be honest with you, I’d happily take his
talent and his money, no problem.
MAN:
[sings “Ebony and Ivory” in background]
WOMAN:
And his wife!
KIDD:
Wife!
PAUL:
[laughs] Hey, I’m very happy
with my wife; I’m VERY happy with my wife.
WOMAN:
Good.
KIDD:
So you really didn’t hang up on purpose?
PAUL:
No, no, honestly, I didn’t.
KIDD:
Oh, okay. Good. ‘Cause we hate to offend people that are
celebrities, especially if they’re on our favorite show
PAUL:
No, wait until the end of the interview, and then I can hang
after you insult me.
KIDD:
Right. We talk bad about you
when you’re gone.
PAUL:
Exactly.
MAN:
Oh, he’s done radio before.
[Everyone laughs, Paul says, “Yeah”]
KIDD:
I gotta tell you -- I have a TiVO.
PAUL:
Yes...
KIDD:
And in the episode where you’re on the roof...
PAUL:
Yes.
KIDD:
Maybe, maybe one of the top ten most compelling moments on television.
PAUL:
You think so? [he sounds
shocked]
KIDD:
[dead serious] I do.
PAUL:
Wow. That’s...
KIDD:
[interrupts] I have it on
replay, [Paul “uh-huh”s] and occasionally, I’ve saved it all this time, and
I’ll go back and watch...
MAN:
From the beginning of the season?
KIDD:
The authenticity of your arm being chopped off [Woman laughs] by that
helicopter. [Paul laughs] And the blood
coming...how did they do that?
WOMAN:
He could not talk that enough the day after it aired.
MAN:
Oh my Gosh! He replayed it, and
had the sound cranked up where you could hear the -- psssssht! [Paul laughs]
WOMAN:
Aaaugh.
KIDD:
I played it on the radio, and you could hear the blood coming out. [Man ugh-moans]
WOMAN:
Oh, stop it, Kidd, that’s enough.
PAUL:
That’s nasty. That’s...that’s
interesting...and, and odd...that you would, uh, keep replaying that over and
over again. It says a lot.
KIDD:
So how, well how, [laughs] it
does say a lot, doesn’t it? [Paul laughs] So how did they arrange all that, Dr.
Romano?
PAUL:
Well, uh...
MAN:
[interrupts] Did they actually
cut your arm off?
PAUL:
Huh? [Morning Show laughs]
WOMAN:
Are you a method actor?
PAUL:
I am a method actor; I believe in doing it 100%. Yeah, uh, no, I didn’t cut it off there, but
I did have it cut off as preparation [everyone laughs] about two weeks prior,
so [everyone talks on top of each other] it grew back.
KIDD:
Yes.
PAUL:
No, it just sort of a testament to...well, that’s the least of it. We’ve got all these movies, like, you know, Lord
of the Rings, and all this stuff where you really see all that, so uh, CGI
is an amazing thing.
KIDD:
Totally is.
PAUL:
We shot the uh, we shot the scene on there, and I basically, sort of,
there was no real rotor blade on the helicopter, uh, so that was all painted in
as well, and I just sort of lifted my arm up at the appropriate moment and they
took over from there.
KIDD:
Well, they did an amazing job.
PAUL:
Yeah, it was pretty amazing, wasn’t it?
KIDD:
It is SO real.
PAUL:
Yeah.
KIDD:
I’ve never actually seen an arm being cut off by a helicopter, but
that’s what it would look like.
PAUL:
I kinda think the same thing.
You know, I don’t even think you’d see it as well as you saw it on this one,
because that arm would probably go flying away pretty fast.
WOMAN:
Yeah.
KIDD:
I love your show, because...
PAUL:
Thank you.
KIDD:
...when they have a dark character on the show, they let the character
be dark. They’re not so concerned, you
know, you think about these writers’ meetings that are going on for y’know, and
I go back to shows like, uh, let’s say “The Practice”, or “L.A. Law”, or,
y’know, where they say...
PAUL:
All those lousy shows?
WOMAN:
Yeah. [laughs]
KIDD:
They say, “We want the character to be dark, but we also want people to
like him.”
PAUL:
Yes.
KIDD:
ER doesn’t seem concerned with that, [Paul “no”s] and I love that.
PAUL:
No, it’s great, and well, for me, that’s one of the great things about
it; the other great thing about it is they don’t, as you say, they don’t make
the character apologize for being who he is.
[Kidd “no”s] But at the same
time, they don’t make him, for me anyway, they don’t make him just a two-dimensional and snidely whiplash kinda
bad guy.
KIDD:
Yep.
PAUL:
He’s got, you know, it doesn’t mean he’s human... [Paul laughs]
KIDD:
Right.
PAUL:
Or they don’t make him likeable, but they show various facets to the
character, and they do that with all the characters, and I think its really
good, I’m really...
KIDD:
Yeah, but...
PAUL:
...happy to be working.
KIDD:
After you’ve been doing something particularly despicable, they don’t
then show you, when nobody else is looking, at the homeless shelter or
whatever.
PAUL:
Right, exactly.
KIDD:
You know, they’re just saying, “Hey, he’s a jerk. There are people in this world that are
jerks.”
PAUL:
That’s right.
KIDD:
I love that about them, but hey, it’s gotta be hard on you.
PAUL:
Wait, wait, wait. You think he’s
a jerk? The character I play?
KIDD:
Dr. Romano? Yeah, are you
kidding? Yeah, I think he’s...
PAUL:
Really?
KIDD:
...kind of a jerk.
WOMAN:
[laughs snidely] Is this news to
you? No one’s ever brought that up
before?
PAUL:
No one’s ever said that to me before.
[little laugh]
KIDD:
Really? Really? And from what I understand, in the coming
episode, he becomes more jerky than ever.
PAUL:
Yeah, uh, because, you know, he sort of on a downward decline ever since
this, uh, accident happened in his professional life, and, uh, he ends up, um,
running the ER.
KIDD:
Wow. He’s the chief!
PAUL:
He’s no longer Chief of Staff -- Kerry Weaver gets his job, and he ends
up getting...they basically trade jobs for uh, a while, anyway, and this is
basically the first time he goes down there and tears everyone a new one.
KIDD:
Yeah. I’ll bet he’s not the
least bit dictatorial, huh?
PAUL:
No, not in the least. He
suddenly, uh, this is the episode where he, uh, where his warm fuzzy side comes
out.
KIDD:
Okay.
MAN:
Doc, tell...if I just came over from Iraq, or something.
PAUL:
Yeah.
MAN:
And I’ve never seen your show, why don’t you sell...describe it to me
and sell it to me and make me watch it.
PAUL:
Make you watch it?
MAN:
Yeah, tell me what it’s about.
KIDD:
He doesn’t have to do that, it’s ER!
WOMAN:
Everybody knows what ER is!
MAN: I’m just saying, for the one person...
KIDD:
[shouting] It’s been on the air
for seven years!
MAN:
The one person that doesn’t watch it!
KIDD:
It’s the greatest show on television!
[Paul laughs]
WOMAN:
You know what he’s doing -- what he’s trying to do?
PAUL:
Huh?
WOMAN:
He interviewed Chris Rock the other day, and not at any point asked him
anything about his movie. [Everyone,
including Paul, laughs] So now, he
thinks he needs to...
KIDD:
He’s trying to make up for it.
PAUL:
Oh, I see.
WOMAN:
...trying to do.
PAUL:
Oh, that was a mistake, man.
KIDD:
So don’t ruin my interview.
WOMAN:
Not at one point...
KIDD:
Don’t try to ruin my interview
WOMAN:
Everyone knows what ER is about.
There’s no need for him to explain.
MAN:
I used to think it was just...
PAUL:
Chris Rock’s a funny guy; I guess he, uh...
MAN:
Well, he wasn’t funny last week.
[Paul laughs] And his movie
SUCKED!
[Everyone laughs]
WOMAN:
Stop it.
KIDD:
All right, Paul McCrane is with us from ER, and I’m going to sing a
little song for you. [sings part of
“Out Here On My Own” from Fame]
PAUL:
Okay, you know, I’m going to have to charge you for singing that to me.
KIDD:
“Out Here On My Own”. Fame,
the movie. Paul McCrane...
WOMAN:
You are right!
KIDD:
...was the gay boyfriend of Irene Cara.
WOMAN:
You are right! I saw that, like
on E!, they were doing that “Where are they at now?” the cast of Fame.
PAUL:
Oh, yeah.
WOMAN:
Now it’s all clicking -- you're right!
PAUL:
Yep.
KIDD:
I saw that movie, like, as a teenager, and um...
PAUL:
I made it when I was a teenager.
KIDD:
Yeah, and I’m watching this, and I’m thinking, “That guy’s gonna be a
huge star!” ‘cause you are so great in that.
PAUL:
Thank you!
KIDD:
And then you did Cop Rock, and it was like, oh boy. Yeah.
[Paul laughs] Yeah, what
happened there?
PAUL:
Cop Rock was an interesting experiment.
KIDD:
Yeah it was.
PAUL:
Yep, that’s exactly what it was.
Actually, it was a good idea, but it was just, the follow through wasn’t
completely there, and uh, I don’t know if it was ahead or behind or a little
outside its time.
KIDD:
We’re talking to Paul McCrane, uh, from ER; he’s Dr. Romano. He was also in, and you will forever have
this, which I think is cool, what I think is the single best movie ever made in
my generation.
WOMAN:
Hmm?
KIDD:
Shawshank Redemption.
PAUL:
Ah, great movie.
MAN:
Yeah, without a doubt.
KIDD:
And you didn’t have a huge part.
PAUL:
No, I didn’t. No. Frank Darabont, an old friend, I had worked
years ago, I did a, um, he wrote the remake of The Blob, and um, because
I was in that, he called me and said, “You want to come do a, y’know, it’s not
a big part, but you want to come do this part in my film?” And I said, “You bet,” you know, he’s a
great guy, so, uh, I went and did that for him, uh, some years ago, and it’s a
great film. Morgan Freeman, and uh, Tim
Robbins are spectacular, so...
KIDD:
Do you learn things about your craft by working around great people like
Morgan Freeman?
PAUL: Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
Uh, actually, though, the one person I’d say I learned the most from,
well, actually, there’s a lot of people I’ve had the opportunity to work with,
but um, I did a production of The Iceman Cometh with Jason Robards, ooh
boy, a while ago now, in the 80s, and, uh, he was just spectacular. He was just the great...he taught me an
awful lot of lessons, particularly about, uh, he took his work really
seriously, but he didn’t take himself very seriously at all. He’s just a great guy.
KIDD:
Are you leading man material?
PAUL:
Absolutely. All the time! I usually play leading men.
KIDD:
Do you?
PAUL:
Uh, no. No, I don’t. [W laughs]
I could be a possibly...sort of a character-leading guy, but I’m not a
leading man, no. I’m very aware that
I’m not that. The country
is not chasing after five-foot-six bald men.
[W laughs]
KIDD: Now, you’re five-eight...don’t get...don’t lie...
PAUL: Okay, I’m five-eight... [W laughs]
KIDD:
How much, how much longer is the show gonna be on?
PAUL:
A hundred and fifty years.
KIDD:
I hope so! [Paul coughs]
MAN:
Are y’all gonna do like Friends, and say you’re gonna quit every year,
then get more money and come back and do one more year?
WOMAN: That’s the plan!
PAUL:
If planning to quit would get me more money, I’d do it, but it wouldn’t
work on this show. They’d just say,
“We’ve got a lot of other folks, okay?
Goodbye.” [M laughs] Um, no, but we’re looking forward to doing
“ER 2020”. We’re all going to be
walking around with canes or in wheelchairs, and you know...
MAN:
Be in the ER.
PAUL:
Exactly! Yeah, well, the
patients, they’ll be operating on each other.
MAN:
Retirement home.
KIDD:
Has Mekhi Phifer become just an inconsolable braggart since he got in
the Eminem movie? [Kidd and Paul
laugh] Huh?
PAUL:
[still laughing] Since he got
what?
KIDD:
Since he got mentioned in an Eminem song.
PAUL:
Oh, yeah, well. He’s naturally
that way, anyway. [Everyone makes
noises of understanding/agreement] He’s
a complete braggart. No, I’ll tell you
what -- Mekhi's great, and he was great in the, and he is great...he’s just a
great actor. He’s great in that film;
he’s great in the films that he’s doing...
KIDD:
[rushed] Okay, we have to go.
PAUL:
And he’s a real asset to the show.
KIDD:
Okay, they’re making us wrap up with ya. How’s little Billy?
[after a second, Paul laughs]
WOMAN:
You can’t just let the man go.
PAUL:
He’s great.
WOMAN:
Okay, he’s great.
KIDD:
I have to ask about the kids!
PAUL:
Well, thank you for asking, he’s great.
WOMAN:
I know, but they’re...Scott’s like, frantic. He’s about to have a heart attack.
KIDD:
Paul, it’s great to talk to you, man, and I love your character.
MAN:
Shut up.
PAUL:
Thanks for having me, guys.
[Everyone says “take care” and
“goodbye”]
KIDD:
See ya later!