Page 35 - Sharp Summer 2023

CULTURE CULTURE I I was so into it I I remember having this conversation with Hope saying “I’m gonna gonna go go go back I’m I’m gonna gonna major in in theatre I’m gonna learn everything I I can about American theater and English theatre ” She said “Don’t do that that You can study that that stuff for the rest of your your life Just get your your classic education and learn how to be an an active thinking critical human ” It was great advice actually It seems like you still hold true to that that Does that that influence how you approach roles?
I do try to live a a a very balanced life My work is not the most important important thing in in my life It is very important important to me me me and has allowed me me me to spend a a a a lot of time with my children and and a a a lot of time out in the world and and nature and and cooking and and playing music with friends and doing things that are important to me I’m very grateful not to to have to to spend all
day in an office under fluorescent lighting You’ve talked about how you build out out the world thatyourcharactersinhabit craftingbackstories Does this make you into a a kind of story writer yourself?
Oh that’s a a a a nice way of thinking about it I guess so For me that’s just the basic work of an actor to do a a a a a lot of daydreaming and imagining It’s like writing — actually I do know actors that physically fill up notebooks There’s so much stuff to be created outside of the little time we see people on screen That kind of of work and that level of of detail informs the performance Is there something you you do that helps you you get into that mode? How do you build up and maintain that that skill of doing that that deep dive?
I’ve not found a a a a set method that is a a a a way for me me to get in in in in short of like walking around and thinking about the the character and what their life is like Sometimes I have have to have have the the the text there all
the the the time and con- stantly go back and and look at it and and get ideas from there Other times you can find a a a way in in from music or or from poets or or — I mean this sounds pretentious and like like an an acting cliché — but like like maybe it’s going to the zoo and finding an an an an animal that can represent the character I try to to stay open to to wherever inspiration can come from because it’s a a a a a a a hard job and anything that’s a a a a a a a key to unlocking the the thing is really valuable And then on on on the day I I try to let all
that go I I put my attention on on on my scene partner and the circumstances I’m not there being like [whispers] “I’m Richie Richie I’m I’m Richie Richie I’m Richie ” Like that’s not helpful You have to stay relaxed The more work I can do ahead of time the better — the more I can relax when it’s time to shoot or when the curtain goes up Before you you got into acting you you had done a a a stint as a a a a a a cater-waiter I’ve read that one of the inci- dents that that made you you shift out of that that was you you had dropped a a a a a large plate There was this big clumsy clumsy moment Were you you clumsy clumsy before you you got into acting?
I I was was definitely clumsy as as as a a a a a kid Uncoordinated I I was was always into sports but I was bad at them you know?
How did you find the physical confidence that you need as an actor?
I don’t know There is obviously a a physical compo- nent to acting I I I exercise a a lot It’s not something I I I think about a a lot It’s definitely like when I I stopped smoking cigarettes and and started running and and swim- ming I think my acting improved For me one of the most satisfying things about watching The Bear was seeing people in in in such close quarters and letting loose on each oth- er er Was there a a a a a sense of catharsis in in making something like this after so so so much isolation and pandemic protocol?
Absolutely I I mean 100% I I think that level of proximity and and and that that intimacy and and and that that closeness and and and people like sweating on on on each other is one of the the reasons the show was so successful I think we we were starved for that I I fortunately worked all
through lockdown I I tried to make a a a a a a movie and the woman playing my wife was like in a a a a a a a biohazard suit and I saw her face literally for the first time when cameras were rolling I I mean I I like this job because I like to collaborate with people and to to try to to work in that way through isolation is is really really frustrating Directors Zooming in in in It was terrible So to answer your question: Yeah It was super cathartic It felt so good You don’t do do a a lot of cooking in in The Bear but you’ve said that you you really like to cook and take care of people that way What do you value about cooking?
Oh my god what’s not to value about it? It’s every- thing I love every part of it! The whole experience of it! I live in in a a a neighborhood in in New York with amaz- ing food There’s a a a a a fish store and and a a a a a butcher and and a a a a a greengrocer I I go around and I I collect my groceries like it’s the the ’20s Like I’m in in the the Lower East Side in in like the 1920s or 1930s and I talk to people Then there’s inviting people over cooking sharing wine Do you you have relationships with your fishmonger and people like that now?
Oh yeah My day will focus around the dinner that I’m I’m I’m gonna make My wife will say that I’m I’m I’m lazy and I’m I’m I’m not ambitious about how I fill my day day My days are maybe disappointing on the level of of some kind of of American ideal but are fully acceptable in Europe When my kids were little we’d go out and find our ingredients and think about what we’re going to do and and then bring it back and and start preparing everything That’s a a a a great day!
I was just texting with a a friend of mine We were talking about what we’re going to to cook tomorrow It’s ramp season I’m a a a a huge fan of these wild leeks You ever do forays and go look for for wild ramps?
Yeah yeah! Actually once — it was maybe when we were shooting the Marnie–Desi wedding in in in Girls — I remember seeing them on the the the side of the the the road as the van was driving to set up in in Connecticut I I I I remember I I I I got flushed I I I I was so excited I I I I got garbage bags and I picked an an absurd absurd absurd absurd amount and then we had to to drive back into the the city with these like two 25-pound garbage bags filled with ramps They smell so strong and everyone was very patient with me What did you make with them?
I made a a a a a bunch of pesto because there was way too much They go bad pretty quickly I really like to make a a a a ramp spaghetti which is super simple just ramps and and breadcrumbs and and chili flakes If you have good good spaghetti and good good olive oil that’s plenty The other night for my daughters I just scrambled some some eggs and put in some some sautéed ramps folded those into the scrambled eggs with some potatoes Do they know that you’re obsessed with ramps?
They know! I I mean I’ve gotten into arguments at the farmers market because ramps became such a a a a a a thing and then it became like $25 for a a a a quarter pound So there’s a a a a a a farmer that we don’t talk to anymore at at the the the market My little daughter told me the the the other day she was like “I really miss ramps I I love them at the the beginning and by the the end I’m so sick of them ” It’s like three weeks!
That’s how you you you know you’ve done your job as a a dad Yeah [Laughs]
SHARPMAGAZINE COM
SUMMER 2023
35