Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Q&A with John C. McGinley

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/172411-PLAYBILLCOMS-CUE-A-Scrubs-and-Glengarry-Glen-Ross-Star-John-C-McGinley


Stage and screen star John C. McGinley, who returns to Broadway in the role of Dave Moss in the current revival of Glengarry Glen Ross, fills out Playbill.com's questionnaire of random facts, backstage trivia and pop-culture tidbits.

McGinley has previously appeared on Broadway in Requiem For a Heavyweight and played Stu in the Public Theater and film versions of Talk Radio.

Full given name:John Christopher McGinley
Where you were born/where you were raised:Born in Greenwich Village, NYC. Grew up in Short Hills, NJ.
Zodiac Sign:Leo
What your parents did/do for a living:Father: Businessman
Mother: Teacher
SiblingsTwo brothers and two sisters
Special skills:Advocating for the special needs community
Something you're REALLY bad at:Suffering bullies
First Broadway show you ever saw:Harry Chapin's The Night That Made America Famous
If you could go back in time and catch any Broadway show, what would it be?The Petrified Forest with Humphrey Bogart
Where did you train and were there any particularly memorable college productions?NYU Graduate Theatre Program (M.F.A. '84)Camino Real
Did you have any particular mentors or inspirations as a young actor?Mentor: Ron Van Lieu
Favorite showtune(s) of all time:"Not While I'm Around"
"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"
Favorite musicals:Sweeney Todd
The Mikado
Dreamgirls
Camelot
Some favorite modern plays:Speed-the-Plow
Danny and the Deep Blue Sea
M. Butterfly
Angels in America
Some favorite modern playwrights:David Mamet, John Patrick Shanley, Tony Kushner and David Henry Hwang
Stage or screen stars of the past you would most have loved to perform with:Spencer Tracy, Robert Shaw, Anna Magnani, Rita Hayworth, Richard Farnsworth
The one performance – attended - that you will never forget:David Dukes and Richard Gere inBent
Music that makes you cry or moves you, any genre:"Kentucky Ave" by Tom Waits
"The Fixer" by Eddie Vedder
"Do Ya" by E.L.O.
Your personal acting idols:Burt Lancaster, Paul Newman, Walter Huston
MAC or PCMAC
Most-visited websites:Huffington Post
Sports Illustrated
NY Times
Most played song on your iPod:The Prelude to Lohengrin
Last book you read:"The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Must-see TV show(s):"Homeland"
"Dexter"
"Boardwalk Empire"
Last good movie you saw:"The Odd Life of Timothy Green"
Some films you consider classics:"The Grey Fox"
"Field of Dreams"
"Casablanca"
"Butch Cassidy…"
"There Will Be Blood"
"Gilda"
"The Godfather"
Performer you would drop everything to go see:Luciano Pavarotti
Pop culture guilty pleasure:Vanity Fair
Three favorite cities:Dublin, Florence, San Francisco
Favorite sport/team/player:Football
The New York Giants!
Lawrence Taylor
First CD/Tape/LP you owned:Steve Miller's "The Joker"
How you got your Equity card:A summer stock production ofCarousel in Auburn, NY.
Favorite liquid refreshment:Coffee
What was your most recent stage production?Breast Men in the Los Angeles One-Act festival
What do you most appreciate about the stage?No one can call "Cut!"
What drew you back to Broadway after 25 years?David Mamet… and Al Pacino… and Daniel Sullivan
Have you seen any previous productions of Glengarry?The original with Joe Mantegna
How did you research for this role?Worked with my acting coach David Allen Warshofski!
Any upcoming projects you can talk about?"Burn Notice"
"Alex Cross" with Tyler Perry
"42" with Harrison Ford
Will there be hockey this year, and why or why not?Not so much. Because of short-sighted, greedy owners.
How's your golf game these days?My sticks have been put away for the winter!
How are you enjoying your extended time in New York?It has been spectacular!
Worst flubbed line/missed cue/onstage mishap:I "went up" during my monologue in Talk Radio at the Public. After a few seconds I turned upstage and sat back down in my seat… brutal!!
Worst costume ever:The dolphin shorts in "Are We Done Yet?"
Most challenging role you have played onstage:"Heracles" directed by Tony Kushner
Out of so many, do you have any favorite screen roles?Sergeant O'Neil in "Platoon"
Dr. Cox in "Scrubs"
Bob Slydell in "Office Space"
Marvin in "Wall Street"
Other Mamet plays you'd like to take on:Lakeboat
Something about you that surprises people:That I will not abide even the most casual use of the words "retard" or "retarded."
Three things you can't live without:Max
Billie Grace
Kate
Career you would want if not a performer:Stone mason
Words of advice for aspiring performers:1. Train until you are blue in the face
2. Learn your lines!!