He is currently starring as Hollywood bigwig Pat Brady in Amazon’s lavish adaptation of The Last Tycoon. Married four times, the 62-year-old father of seven lives in the US with his British wife Kayte Walsh.
What attracted you to the character of Pat Brady in The Last Tycoon?
He’s a guy who doesn’t quit and that’s interesting to play. He’s a fighter who has chosen a life that is always on the verge of collapse. For him, it’s the fight that keeps life interesting.
Can you relate to that?
No – I’m a simple guy! I like to go to work from nine to five then get home to my family.
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Last Tycoon, which is set in Hollywood in the 1940s. Why do you think the story has endured?
Fitzgerald was interested in glamour and wealth like everyone else. He examined glamour and wealth and the veneer of society – and a manifestation of the veneer of all things is Hollywood. The story survives because Hollywood survives.
There’s a father-son dynamic in the show. What does being a father mean to you?
It means everything. I didn’t know my dad. My grandfather raised me and died when I was 12. My dad died when I was 14. So being a dad is very important to me.
I had no playbook, so I’ve been improvising.
You have quite a brood…
I have a 33 year old, a 25 year old, a 15 year old, a 12 year old, a five year old, a three year old and an eight month old.
I love being a dad. But your relationship with your children, at least in terms of the early years, is not permanent. You have to prepare them for leaving and becoming their own productive human beings. Seeing them flourish is terrific.
More than a decade after Frasier finished, do you still get people quoting it to you?
Yes. I’m happy about that. Frasier was a great show.
Many actors say TV is where the juiciest roles are now. Do you agree with that?
I’ve been given the opportunity to play a lot of different things and this one, in The Last Tycoon, is a good role, so we’ll see. I think there are other great roles out there and I think there’s more coming… I’m in a position in my life now where I have a great family and a wonderful, rich, full life, even without my career.
Does that mean you might retire soon?
No, because my career is something that defines me still. It’s something I really care about, so I’m going to continue to look for roles that challenge me.
The Last Tycoon is now streaming on Amazon Video.
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