Living it up

What according to you distinguishes Murray and Fioravante?

Fioravante’s always been someone whos enjoyed the company of women, and as Murray reasons, athletes get paid for what they do, so why shouldn’t you? When Fioravante is reluctant, he does talk him into it, but he talks him into it in good faith, as he thinks it would be silly to pass up this goldmine that seems to be out there.

Why did you decide to work with another director?

I have great respect for John’s work as a director and an actor, and I felt this was a role that was within my range.

What made you sign this film?

If John had given me a script where I had to play a policeman or something, I wouldn’t have been able to do it, because I’m not really an actor, but this was something I could handle.

You are a great actor, but haven’t you been approached by other directors?

No, I have not been approached by other directors. But when I have, I’ve taken almost all the films that have been offered to me. I have a limited range. For instance, I wouldn’t be believable as Al Pacino’s brother in The Godfather, but this character was a guy who had spent his life running a bookstore.

How was the experience working with Turturro?

He did some really delicate things. He likes to improvise and it was fun to experiment. He’s a very underrated actor. While shooting, he was always on time and ready to start work.

You’ve also directed films, so how did it feel to stand before the camera?

Knowing what it’s like being a director myself, I tried to be as accommodating and do every thing that John wanted me to do. I tried to completely abandon any directorial or writer’s impulse, and follow his instructions completely, as this is strictly his baby.

Can you recall the first big thing you bought yourself when you earned a lot of money?

The only thing I ever wanted was a car and driver, which I got years ago. For many years, growing up in Manhattan, I would find myself in the streets at two o’clock in the morning coming home from an evening out or something, freezing and unable to get a lift or a taxi, so that was the one thing that I wanted. It’s an enormous luxury for a New Yorker to own a car. If I had to give up everything in the world, that would be the last thing.

How do you manage to share a good friendship with your ex-wives?

It’s just a question of the right person. When I first got married, I was very young., only nineteen and my wife, Harlene Rosen was seventeen. We both wanted to make a mark in the world. And we did. She was a wonderfully talented woman, and was a pianist, a philosopher. We had a very good marriage, but we decided to mutually part ways. Then I married Louise Lasser, whom I was crazy about and am to this day, we’re still very good friends. I had no real interest in getting married, particularly, and then Soon-Yi and I started going out and it seemed liked the right thing to do.

Are you pessimistic about love?

You are much more dependent on luck than you think. People say if you want to have a good relationship, you have to work at it. But you never hear about anything you really like, about sailing or going to soccer games. You never say: ‘I have to work at it’. You just love it. You can’t work at a relationship; you can’t control it. You have to be lucky and go through your life. If you are not lucky you have to be prepared for some degree of suffering. That’s why most relationships are very difficult and have some degree of pain. People stay together because of inertia; they don’t have the energy and also because they are frightened of being lonely or they have children.

Can a man love two women at the same time?

More than two. (Laughs) I think you can. That’s why romance is a very difficult and painful thing. It’s also very hard and complicated. You can be with your wife, very happily married, and then you meet some woman and you love her. But you love your wife, too.

Earlier you also starred in the films you directed, but now we see less of you. Why?

Only because there is no good part. For years I played the romantic lead and then I couldn’t play it anymore, because of age. It’s just no fun not playing the guy who gets the girl. You can’t imagine how frustrating it is when I do these movies with Scarlett Johansson and Naomi Watts and the other guys get them. I don’t like that. I like to be the one who sits opposite them in the restaurant, looks in their eyes and lies to them. So if I can’t do that, it’s not much fun to play in the movies.