>> Stephen: HEY, EVERYBODY! WE'RE BACK HERE.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) ♪♪
WE'RE BACK HERE WITH AMERICA'S SWEETHEART, JEFF DANIELS.
( LAUGHTER ) I WANT TO GO BACK TO SOMETHING
YOU SAID A WHILE AGO.
YOU KNOW YOU'VE MADE IT WHEN YOUR MANAGER GOES WHAT DO YOU
WANT TO DO AS OPPOSED TO WHAT ARE THESE OPPORTUNITIES?
>> YEAH.
>> Stephen: WHAT ABOUT, WHEN YOU FIRST START OFF AS AN ACTOR,
I'M SURE YOU HAVE ALL KIND OF DOUBTS ABOUT YOUR CAREER,
WHETHER YOU'VE ROLLED THE BONES ON THE WRONG PATH OF YOUR LIFE.
WHAT WAS THE MOMENT IN WHICH YOU WERE, LIKE, OKAY, I'LL STICK
WITH THIS, THIS IS WHAT I WILL DO.
I MIGHT MAKE IT.
>> I WAS 21 WHEN I CAME TO NEW YORK CITY, 1976, SEPTEMBER 1
AT 2:00 P.M. IN THE AFTERNOON.
I CAME THROUGH THE HOLLAND TUNNEL WITH MY BUICK, YOU KNOW,
AND EVERYTHING I OWNED IN THE BACK SEAT.
I CELEBRATE THAT ANNIVERSARY EVERY YEAR 45 YEARS AGO.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) SO STARTED OUT OFF BROADWAY, AND
THEN I GOT TO DO COMMERCIALS WHICH PAID THE RENT.
>> Stephen: SURE, KA-CHING.
AND BAD PARTS AND BAD TELEVISION PILOTS, NOT TOO MANY.
BUT THEN I GOT "TERMS OF ENDEARMENT" WHICH CAME OUT TO
HAVE THE BLUE, BUT I WAS 28 WHEN THAT HAPPENED, SO THAT WAS SEVEN
YEARS.
THEN WHEN I GOT LEADING ROLES, PLURAL, IN WOODY ALLEN'S "PURPLE
ROSE OF CAIRO" WHEN WOODY WAS AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS FILMMARK
STATUS WHEN HE AND MIA WERE STILL IN LOVE, THAT'S 1985, WHEN
THAT HAPPENED, I KNEW THAT I WOULD AT LEAST BE ABLE TO MAKE A
LIVING IN THIS BUSINESS.
I WOULDN'T BE A STAR, BUT I COULD MAKE A LIVING IN THIS
BUSINESS.
NEXT MOVIE I WENT UP ON WAS HEARTBURN, MIKE NICHOLS DIRECTED
IT.
WENT TO MIKE'S APARTMENT WHERE YOU MEET MIKE, YOU WALK IN AND
TALK TO MIKE AND SAY -- I SAID, DO YOU WANT ME TO READ?
HE SAID, GOOD ENOUGH FOR WOODY, GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME.
>> Stephen: WOW.
YEAH.
I'M DOING CLINT EASTWOOD'S "BLOOD WORK" AND THIS WAS LATER,
2002, AND I HAD CLOSE CHOSEN -- I REALLY WANTED TO DO "DUMB AND
DUMBER."
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) I WANTED TO DO BIGTIME COMEDY,
GETTYSBURG, BECAUSE I'M LIVING IN MICHIGAN, YOU KNOW.
>> Stephen: OKAY.
THERE ARE JOBS IN BETWEEN ALL THOSE, SO I THOUGHT, IF I CAN
PULL OFF "DUMB AND DUMBER" STANDING NEXT TO JIM, THEN I MAY
BE ABLE TO HAVE -- I'M WALKING DOWN THE SET WITH CLINT
EASTWOOD, AND CLINT -- I HAD DONE A DRAMA CALLED "TWO DAYS IN
THE VALLEY" AND "DUMB AND DUMBER," BOTH OF WHICH CLINT HAS
SEEN.
CLINT SAID, IF YOU CAN DO "TWO DAYS IN THE VALLEY" AND YOU CAN
DO "DUMB AND DUMBER," YOU CAN DO THIS (IN CLINT'S VOICE ).
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) >> FIRST TIME I MET CLINT I WENT
TO THE PEBBLE BEACH GOLF TOURNAMENT, YOU'RE AN AMATEUR, A
CELEBRITY.
YOU'VE GOT TO GO ONCE.
I'M IN THE BREAKFAST TENT WEDNESDAY, AND I DON'T KNOW
ANYBODY AND I'M GOING TO GO PLAY AND I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER CAN I
EVEN PLAY ANYMORE, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN CLINT EASTWOOD WALKS
ACROSS THE BREAKFAST TENT AND IS LOOKING RIGHT AT ME.
I'M YOU KNOW, THE EGGS.
AND HE CAME, JEFF DANIELS.
GENERAL, CLINT -- EAST WOOD.
EAST WOOD, YES.
(CLINT) I SAW DUMB AND DUMBER.
HE SAID, THE TOILETTE SCENE -- I SAID, YES, SIR -- THAT HAPPENED
TO ME.
( LAUGHTER ) HE STARTED LAUGHING AND HE
TURNED AROUND AND WALKED AWAY AND THAT WAS IT.
TEN YEARS LATER, WHATEVER, I'M ON BLOOD WORK.
>> Stephen: JEFF, LOVELY TO HAVE YOU HERE.
GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE AGAIN.
>> THANKS SO MUCH.
>> Stephen: YOU BET.
"AMERICAN RUST" AIRS SUNDAYS ON SHOWTIME, JEFF DANIELS,
EVERYBODY.
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH "CBS MORNINGS" NATE BURLESON!
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) ♪♪